After five years working in TV as a writer on shows like A Different World and South Central, Prince-Bythewood wrote her first film, 2000's Love & Basketball.
The film was based on Prince-Bythewood’s personal life and her experiences growing up.
It was developed at the Sundance Institute's directing and writing lab.
The film won 12 awards and was nominated for three more.
It won Best Film and Best Film Poster at the Black Reel Awards, and Best First Screenplay at the Independent Spirit Awards.
The film also grossed $27.7 million worldwide, making it the ninth most popular basketball film in the United States at that time.

She directed the feature film The Secret Life of Bees, adapted from the best-selling book by Sue Monk Kidd.
It was released by Fox Searchlight in October 2008, and debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival and Urbanworld Film Festival that same year.

In 2014, Prince-Bythewood directed Beyond the Lights, starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw.
Prince-Bythewood began work on the film in 2007, before work on 2008's The Secret Life of Bees was completed, but struggled to find financing when the original production company, Sony, backed out after she insisted on casting Mbatha-Raw.
The film premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.

Beyond the Lights, originally called Blackbird, is based on the Nina Simone song "Blackbird" from the record Nina Simone with Strings.
Prince-Bythewood said: "That song really inspired the movie and inspired Noni's story."
The main character's story was loosely inspired by the lives of Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland.
Prince-Bythewood did research with the assistance of a number of singers, including Alicia Keys.
The story was also inspired by an experience seeing Keys play the song "Diary."
Elements of the film, especially the sexualization of female pop artists, act as a "critique of American media culture."

The film was shot in 29 days and cost $7 million.
All of the key crew members on the film were women, including costume designer Sandra Hernandez, production designer Cecilia Montiel, cinematographer Tami Reiker, and editor Teri Shropshire.
Other collaborators were choreographer Laurieann Gibson (Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj), hairstylist Kimberly Kimble (Beyoncé), and record producer The-Dream.

In 2016 Prince-Bythewood announced her next project would be an adaptation of Roxane Gay's novel An Untamed State.
The project would be co-written by herself and Gay and would star Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

In 2017 Prince-Bythewood, along with her husband Reggie Rock Bythewood, created the show Shots Fired for Fox.
Later that year, Prince-Bythewood was announced as the director for Silver & Black, a movie based on Marvel Comics characters Silver Sable and Black Cat.

She wrote the screenplay for the movie adaptation of the novel Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver.
The film had an estimated $12,498,674 worldwide box office take by March 2017 after its release date (January 21, 2017).
She directed the 2020 film adaptation of Greg Rucka's The Old Guard for Netflix, starring Charlize Theron and KiKi Layne.
She is the first black woman to make a comic-book film.

Recently, she signed a deal with Touchstone Television to produce their output.
After five years working in TV as a writer on shows like A Different World and South Central, Prince-Bythewood wrote her first film, 2000's Love & Basketball. The film was based on Prince-Bythewood’s personal life and her experiences growing up. It was developed at the Sundance Institute's directing and writing lab. The film won 12 awards and was nominated for three more. It won Best Film and Best Film Poster at the Black Reel Awards, and Best First Screenplay at the Independent Spirit Awards. The film also grossed $27.7 million worldwide, making it the ninth most popular basketball film in the United States at that time.
She directed the feature film The Secret Life of Bees, adapted from the best-selling book by Sue Monk Kidd. It was released by Fox Searchlight in October 2008, and debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival and Urbanworld Film Festival that same year.
In 2014, Prince-Bythewood directed Beyond the Lights, starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw. Prince-Bythewood began work on the film in 2007, before work on 2008's The Secret Life of Bees was completed, but struggled to find financing when the original production company, Sony, backed out after she insisted on casting Mbatha-Raw. The film premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.
Beyond the Lights, originally called Blackbird, is based on the Nina Simone song "Blackbird" from the record Nina Simone with Strings. Prince-Bythewood said: "That song really inspired the movie and inspired Noni's story." The main character's story was loosely inspired by the lives of Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland. Prince-Bythewood did research with the assistance of a number of singers, including Alicia Keys. The story was also inspired by an experience seeing Keys play the song "Diary." Elements of the film, especially the sexualization of female pop artists, act as a "critique of American media culture."
The film was shot in 29 days and cost $7 million. All of the key crew members on the film were women, including costume designer Sandra Hernandez, production designer Cecilia Montiel, cinematographer Tami Reiker, and editor Teri Shropshire. Other collaborators were choreographer Laurieann Gibson (Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj), hairstylist Kimberly Kimble (Beyoncé), and record producer The-Dream.
In 2016 Prince-Bythewood announced her next project would be an adaptation of Roxane Gay's novel An Untamed State. The project would be co-written by herself and Gay and would star Gugu Mbatha-Raw.
In 2017 Prince-Bythewood, along with her husband Reggie Rock Bythewood, created the show Shots Fired for Fox. Later that year, Prince-Bythewood was announced as the director for Silver & Black, a movie based on Marvel Comics characters Silver Sable and Black Cat.
She wrote the screenplay for the movie adaptation of the novel Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. The film had an estimated $12,498,674 worldwide box office take by March 2017 after its release date (January 21, 2017). She directed the 2020 film adaptation of Greg Rucka's The Old Guard for Netflix, starring Charlize Theron and KiKi Layne. She is the first black woman to make a comic-book film.
Recently, she signed a deal with Touchstone Television to produce their output.
Gina Prince-Bythewood