Michael Dante DiMartino

Michael Dante DiMartino (born July 18, 1974 or July 18, 1975) is an American animator, producer, writer, and director. He is best known, together with Bryan Konietzko, as the co-creator of the animated TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, both on Nickelodeon.

Michael Dante DiMartino
DiMartino at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	(1974-07-18) July 18, 1974 (age 50) or (1975-07-18) July 18, 1975 (age 49) Shelburne, Vermont, U.S.
Alma mater	Rhode Island School of Design (BFA)
Occupation(s)	Animator, producer, writer, director
Years active	1993–present
Known for	Co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra
Title	Co-Chief Creative Officer, Avatar Studios
Spouse	Shoshana Stolove
Children	2

Career

Before Avatar, DiMartino worked for twelve years at Film Roman, helping to direct King of the Hill, Family Guy and Mission Hill, in addition to his own animated short, Atomic Love, which was screened at a number of high-profile film festivals. The dedication to his father's memory can be seen in the penultimate episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender. In a 2010 interview the president of Nickelodeon, Cyma Zarghami, confirmed that DiMartino and Konietzko were developing a new series for the network, called The Legend of Korra.^[1] The series premiered on April 14, 2012, running 12 episodes for the first book "Air" and 14 for the second book "Spirits", which premiered on September 13, 2013, to 2.60 million viewers in the U.S., then the third book "Change" and the fourth and final book "Balance" of 13 episodes each.

On October 4, 2016, DiMartino released a new original novel, Rebel Genius.^[2] The story features a 12-year-old protagonist, Giacomo, who discovers he has a magical 'Genius,' the living embodiment of an artist's creative spirit, in a world where artistic expression is outlawed.

In September 2018, it was announced that Konietzko and DiMartino would serve as executive producers and showrunners for Netflix's live-action adaptation series of Avatar: The Last Airbender.^[3] On August 12, 2020, Konietzko and DiMartino revealed on social media that they had both departed the show due to creative differences with the Netflix team.^[4]

In February 2021, ViacomCBS announced the formation of Avatar Studios, a division of Nickelodeon centered on developing newer animated series and movies set in the same universe as Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, with both DiMartino and Konietzko helming the studio as co-chief creative officers reporting to Nickelodeon Animation Studio president, Ramsey Ann Naito.^[5] The first project of the studio is an animated film that is currently set to release on January 20, 2026.^[6][7]

Personal life

DiMartino was born in Shelburne, Vermont.^[8] He graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1996, where he majored in animation.^[9] He met Bryan Konietzko, with whom he created Avatar, while in college.

Filmography

Year	Title	Creator / Showrunner	Director	Writer	Executive Producer	Story Editor	Actor	Role	Notes
1999–2002	Family Guy	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	—	6 episodes
2000–2003	King of the Hill	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	—	3 episodes
2002	Mission Hill	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	—	Episode "Unemployment: Part 2"
2005–2008	Avatar: The Last Airbender	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	—
2010	The Last Airbender	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	—
2012–2014	The Legend of Korra	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Various voices
2021	Adventures in Wonder Park	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	—	Pilot only