Some filmmakers arrive with a single big break that defines them. Anna Axster built her career the slower way, project by project, moving from short films to music videos to a feature film, and then into an entirely different industry. Among the many celebrity stories that begin with a famous marriage, hers stands out because the marriage is only one chapter.
Anna Axster is an American filmmaker, writer, director and entrepreneur best known for writing and directing the 2015 feature film A Country Called Home. Before that she directed short films and music videos, including several for the singer-songwriter Ryan Bingham, whom she later married. After their marriage ended in 2021, she co-founded Lodestar Whiskey, a women-owned spirits brand, in 2023.
This article looks at what is actually known about Anna Axster, from her film school years in London to her feature debut and her second career in whiskey — including the points where the sources disagree.
Quick Facts
- Full name: Anna Axster
- Born: 1983 (exact date not publicly confirmed; see Common Confusions)
- Birthplace: United States, according to most profiles (some sources describe her as German-born; see Common Confusions)
- Profession: Filmmaker, writer, director, producer, entrepreneur
- Known for: A Country Called Home (2015); Ryan Bingham music videos; Lodestar Whiskey
- Education: London Metropolitan University (Audio and Visual Production); London Film School (Master’s in filmmaking)
- Short films: Souvenir (2006), Sweet Sting (2007)
- Feature debut: A Country Called Home (2015)
- Former husband: Ryan Bingham (married 2009, divorced 2021)
- Children: Three
- Business: Co-founder of Lodestar Whiskey (2023); co-founder of Axster Bingham Records
- Base: Santa Monica and Los Angeles area, California (reported)
Who Is Anna Axster?
Anna Axster is a filmmaker who has worked across independent cinema, music videos and, more recently, the spirits industry. She studied filmmaking in London, then built a career directing short films and music videos in the United States. Her best-known work is A Country Called Home, a small, quiet drama she wrote and directed.
Her name reached a much wider audience through her marriage to Ryan Bingham, the Grammy and Oscar-winning singer-songwriter who later became known to television viewers as Walker on Yellowstone. The two worked together for years before they married, and she directed several of his best-known music videos. When the marriage ended in 2021, after twelve years, she went back to work, and two years later she launched a whiskey brand with her cousin.
Early Life and Education
Anna Axster was born in 1983, according to most of the profiles that cover her. Beyond that, the public record about her childhood is thin. The names and jobs of her parents have not been disclosed in any major publication, and little is known about where she grew up. One profile notes that she has an older sister who is also a screenplay writer.
What is documented is her education, and it took place in London. She studied audio-visual production at London Metropolitan University, earning a degree in Communications and Audio Visual Production, then completed a Master’s degree in filmmaking at the London Film School. That training shaped her style: restrained, observational work that values visual storytelling over spectacle.
Short Films: Souvenir and Sweet Sting
Anna Axster began her directing career with short films: Souvenir in 2006, followed a year later by Sweet Sting, a short crime story. Both were small festival productions, and both showed the same instincts: spare dialogue, careful framing, and an interest in people caught between what they want and what their lives actually allow. They proved she could finish a film and get strong performances with very little. That reputation carried her into music videos, where the budgets were bigger and the audiences much larger.
Music Videos and the Ryan Bingham Collaboration
Anna Axster met Ryan Bingham around 2006, and their working relationship began before their romantic one. She directed several of his music videos, including “Southside of Heaven” and “Bread and Water” in 2007, and later “The Weary Kind” — videos that helped define the visual language of Bingham’s early career: dusty roads, small Texas towns, and a weary, lived-in Americana.
The collaboration worked because the two of them understood the same world. Bingham’s music is rooted in the American Southwest, in rodeo and ranch life and the long drive between nowhere and somewhere else, and her direction gave those songs a visual home. Over time the professional partnership became a personal one. They married in 2009, and the work continued alongside the marriage.
A Country Called Home
Anna Axster’s best-known work is A Country Called Home, the feature film she co-wrote with Jim Beggarly and directed. It is the story of Ellie Edwards, played by Imogen Poots, a 25-year-old woman living in Los Angeles who returns to a small town in Texas after the death of her estranged father. There she finds her father’s girlfriend, Amanda, played by Mary McCormack, and Amanda’s son Jack, played by Ryan Bingham, who also composed the film’s stripped-down guitar score. Mackenzie Davis plays Reno, a local singer who becomes Ellie’s anchor.
The film was a low-budget independent production, funded in part through Kickstarter: in 2013 the team asked for $92,000 and raised more than $100,000 from nearly 1,200 backers. Filming took place in late 2014 in Smithville, Schulenburg and Bastrop, Texas. It premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival on 13 June 2015 and opened in theatres on 26 February 2016.
The reviews were mixed. Critics praised the performances, especially Poots, and the film’s gentle, unforced tone, but some found the story too slight, and it holds a low score on Rotten Tomatoes. For Anna Axster, it was a milestone regardless: her feature directorial debut, and the work she is most often identified with.
Marriage to Ryan Bingham
Anna Axster and Ryan Bingham married in 2009 in a private ceremony, after several years of working together. At the time, Bingham was a rising figure in Americana music, fresh from the success of “The Weary Kind,” the Oscar and Grammy-winning song from the film Crazy Heart. The couple had three children during their marriage, and they kept their family life almost entirely out of the public eye. The children’s names and ages have never been made public.
Their professional lives stayed tangled together through the marriage. She continued to direct his videos, and they co-founded Axster Bingham Records, the label that released his later albums. When Bingham married her, he changed his name, becoming Ryan Axster Bingham — a public gesture that said something about how seriously he took the partnership.
The Divorce in 2021
On 29 June 2021, Ryan Bingham filed for divorce from Anna Axster after twelve years of marriage. The filing was reported widely, and it came as a surprise to many fans. The reason for the split has never been publicly revealed, and neither party has commented on the details. The custody arrangements for their three children have also stayed private.
As part of the proceedings, Bingham applied to change his name back, dropping “Axster” and returning to his birth name, George Ryan Bingham. Bingham has since married his Yellowstone co-star Hassie Harrison, on 7 October 2023. Anna Axster, by contrast, has remained single as far as any public record shows, and she has not spoken about the marriage or the divorce since it ended.
Axster Bingham Records and Other Work
Beyond the films and the videos, she built a small business footprint in music. She co-founded Axster Bingham Records with her former husband, the independent label that released Bingham’s later albums under his own name rather than through a major label. Running a label is unglamorous work — contracts, distribution, release schedules — but it gave the couple control over the music, and it showed she could run a business as well as direct. She was also the executive producer of Ryan Bingham Live, a concert recording taped at the Whitewater Amphitheater on 6 August 2016.
Lodestar Whiskey: A Second Career
In 2023, Anna Axster co-founded Lodestar Whiskey with her cousin Wendelin von Schroder. The two women, both entertainment industry veterans, had developed a love of whiskey while travelling the world in the music business and felt existing brands did not speak to them as female drinkers. When the pandemic brought the music industry to a halt, they decided to make their own.
Lodestar is a blend of straight high-rye bourbon and American single malt, bottled at 45 percent alcohol and sold for around $45. The whiskey is produced by Cardinal Spirits, a small company in Indiana, while the business is run from Santa Monica. The brand is fully female owned and operated, and its name comes from the word lodestar, a star used to guide a ship. The number 1837 on the label nods to Charles Fourier, credited with coining the word feminism.
The launch was a genuine success. Lodestar was backed by Diageo’s Distill Ventures accelerator, was named one of Gear Patrol’s best new bourbon releases of 2023, and was featured by Forbes among ten women changing the whiskey industry. It is sold through the brand’s own website and in bars, restaurants and liquor stores around Los Angeles.
Life Today
As of 2026, Anna Axster is based in the Santa Monica and Los Angeles area, where she runs Lodestar Whiskey with her cousin. She has not publicly announced a new film project, and her public profile is now more closely tied to the whiskey brand than to directing. She has kept her private life guarded: her children do not appear in her public work, and she has not spoken publicly about her personal life since the divorce.
Common Confusions
Searching for Anna Axster turns up more disagreement than most filmmaker profiles attract, because almost everything written about her comes from biography sites that copy each other.
When was she born: 1983 or 1985? Most profiles give 1983, which would put her in her early forties in 2026. One low-quality site gives 4 March 1985 instead, paired with a Los Angeles birthplace and a fine arts degree from UCLA — a version that conflicts with the London education reported everywhere else. This article treats 1983 as reported, not confirmed.
Where was she born: the United States or Germany? Most biographies say she was born in the United States in 1983, while several other sources describe her as German-born. No primary source has been produced to settle the question. This article records the American birth as the more widely reported version.
What is her net worth? Several gossip-style sites put her net worth at $15 million or $18 million, and the two figures contradict each other. No credible financial source supports either number, so this article gives none as fact.
Is she still married to Ryan Bingham? No. The couple divorced in 2021 after twelve years of marriage, and Bingham has since married his Yellowstone co-star Hassie Harrison.
Did she work on Yellowstone? No. Bingham acts in Yellowstone as Walker; Anna Axster has no connection to the show.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Anna Axster?
Anna Axster is an American filmmaker, writer, director and entrepreneur, best known for writing and directing the 2015 feature film A Country Called Home, for directing music videos for Ryan Bingham, and for co-founding Lodestar Whiskey in 2023.
What films has Anna Axster directed?
Anna Axster directed the short films Souvenir (2006) and Sweet Sting (2007), and the feature film A Country Called Home (2015), which she co-wrote with Jim Beggarly. The feature stars Imogen Poots, Mackenzie Davis, Ryan Bingham and Mary McCormack.
Was Anna Axster married to Ryan Bingham?
Yes. Anna Axster married singer-songwriter Ryan Bingham in 2009, and the couple had three children together. Bingham filed for divorce on 29 June 2021 after twelve years of marriage. He has since married actress Hassie Harrison.
What is Lodestar Whiskey?
Lodestar Whiskey is a women-founded spirits brand that she launched in 2023 with her cousin Wendelin von Schroder. It sells a blend of straight high-rye bourbon and American single malt and is based in Santa Monica, California.
Why did Anna Axster and Ryan Bingham divorce?
The reason has never been publicly revealed, and neither Axster nor Bingham has commented on the details. The custody arrangements for their three children have also stayed private.
Where is Anna Axster now?
As of 2026, Anna Axster is based in the Santa Monica and Los Angeles area, where she runs Lodestar Whiskey. She has not publicly announced a new film project.
Conclusion
Anna Axster’s story is not the one most people expect when they hear her name. She was not a person who became known through a famous marriage and then tried to stay known. She was a filmmaker who happened to marry a musician, worked with him for years, and then, when the marriage ended, built something entirely her own.
The marriage brought her name to a wider audience, but it is not what defines her. The films came first, and the business came after, and both were built the same way, with patience and without fanfare. For readers who want to check the background facts about the people and places in her life, a general reference is a good place to start.
