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Nelson Coates is an award-winning Production Designer for film, television, and theater. The fourth of five children of Abilene Christian University professors Drs. Ed & Jane Coates, Nelson graduated magna cum laude from ACU with a BA in Journalism/Mass Communications with an emphasis in design, and a minor in Biology. He was involved in more than 30 collegiate and professional theatre productions while in college, and went on to perform Off-Broadway, in regional theatre, and film & television, and subsequently began his career in theatrical feature film production design.

Coates was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on the eight-hour miniseries STEPHEN KING’S THE STAND for which he designed 225 sets and locations. He was named Abilene Christian University’s Outstanding Young Alumnus of the Year in 1996, and was recipient of the ACU JMC Departments Gutenberg Award. In 2013, Coates was nominated by the Art Directors Guild for Outstanding Contemporary Film Design for his work on FLIGHT, and in 2019 won that category for his Production Design of CRAZY RICH ASIANS. Other Art Directors Guild nominations include The Morning Show for AppleTV+, and the feature adaptation of Lin-Manuel Mirandas Tony winning musical IN THE HEIGHTS.

Nelsons film design work includes such hits as THE PROPOSAL, FIFTY SHADES DARKER, FIFTY SHADES FREED, MURDER AT 1600, KISS THE GIRLS, ANTWONE FISHER, RUNAWAY JURY, BIG MIRACLE, THE GUILT TRIP, ON THE BASIS OF SEX chronicling Justice Ginsburgs work on gender discrimination, and most recently, Disneys HOCUS POCUS 2. Coates recently was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from his adopted hometown of Abilene, Texas, and the Abilene Cultural Affairs Council.

Coates is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the Television Academy. He currently serves as President of the Art Directors Guild and as a member of the Executive Committee for the Designers Branch of the Academy.