Jay Russell (born January 10, 1960, in North Little Rock, Arkansas), is an American film director, writer and producer.

He graduated from Columbia University in 1985 with a MFA in screenwriting and directing, having studied with producer Michael Hausman and director Miloš Forman.

He wrote the screenplay and served as director for his debut film, End of the Line (1987), which was a Sundance Institute project and was released by Orion Classics.

[15] For the Hallmark Channel he directed the original film One Christmas Eve (2014).

[16] Russell served as a producer on Whole Lotta Sole (2011) and the 2015 stage adaptation of the Cornell Woolrich thriller Rear Window, starring his End of the Line and My Dog Skip (2000) collaborator Kevin Bacon.