The card-carrying member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences worked several seasons on Queen Sugar, creating the lush sightscapes that distinguish that show from many others.

She just built a warehouse in New York that houses all the things she finds and needs to use in her films.

I talked to Mayhew about designing sets for our favorite films, her artistic upbringing, and her focus on mentoring women.

I’m from theater, and all we ever did were period pieces, so I was already a person who’d go to museums as an artist, plus I come from an art family.

The only thing that Jay-Z wanted was a Catholic church in New York.