Adria Petty (born November 28, 1974) is an American director, editor, art director, and artist. She is best known for her music video work with Beyoncé and Regina Spektor. She is the elder daughter of the late rock musician Tom Petty and his first wife, Jane Benyo.
Petty attended Tisch School of the Arts's graduate program prior to her film career.[1] After college, Petty gathered work experience by working as an assistant to directors such as Penny Marshall, Oscar-winner Jonathan Demme, and Oscar-nominated documentary executive Jonathan Stack.
She collaborated with artist Anna Gabriel and musician Howie Statland on a site-specific installation at New York's modern art gallery PS1, a division of the Museum of Modern Art in 1998; the group called themselves "Low Flame". The installation detailed the life of a lonely garbage man that built friends out of garbage.[2]
Petty has worked with various recording artists to develop visual campaigns in print, video and new media. Petty has directed videos for artists such as Regina Spektor, Beyoncé, Coldplay & Rihanna, Kings of Leon, Macy Gray, Corinne Bailey Rae, Duffy, The Duke Spirit, The Veronicas, and Mat Kearney. Petty has also been asked to work outside of the music video format. In 2005, she created tour visuals for rock band The Who. Petty was employed on a freelance basis as a marketing consultant at Sire Records, working with many artists and working on a rebrand of the label. While working at Sire, she most notably created signature marketing campaigns and videos for Regina Spektor.
Her first documentary was a film about Paris Hilton, Paris, Not France, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2008.[1] Her second documentary film, "Regina Spektor: Live in London", debuted in 2010 in the United States with a limited theatrical release.
In 2011, Petty released the short film NU-6 which was inspired by a hearing exam she had to take after suffering from two ruptured ear drums. The film was shot in a day.[3]
In addition to her work in the music video industry, Petty has also worked on commercials, creating advertising for brands such as Target, McDonald's, Clorox, Volkswagen, Hershey, Lancôme, Converse, and Mary Kay, as well as for non-profits CASA and AWE.
Petty has also traveled as a film critic, writer and photographer for Nylon magazine.[1]
