Monica Takushi Lee (formerly Zinn) is an Emmy-nominated Chicago based filmmaker. She started filmmaking at a young age, releasing Perfection (2011): a documentary profiling young women with eating disorders that went on to win "Best Documentary" at the Virginia Student Film Festival, when she was 17. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, her follow-up documentary Self Inflicted (2015) earned a Bronze Telly in Education for exploring the often hidden world of Non Suicidal Self Injury (NSSI). In 2018, her third documentary Psyched, won the IMPACT DOCS Award of Recognition for its tender portrayal of a young woman's journey to make sense of her anxiety and depression.

After the three films were picked up for worldwide educational distribution, Monica made two additional documentaries for educational distributor Human Relations Media, titled Reaching Out (2019) and Zach's Story (2020). Her documentary work has been covered in outlets like The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and WIRED. 

​In 2019, Monica expanded her portfolio with narrative shorts Sweet Repose which debuted on WhoHaha and Kept which earned half a dozen laurels, including Best Picture & Best Director at L'Auteur International Short Film Festival.

In 2023 Monica changed her name to Monica Takushi Lee to honor and claim her maternal lineage. 

She is currently living in Chicago; writing, producing, and directing videos for Skalawag Productions, where she earned her first Emmy nomination for their "Making Millennium Park" series.