McKinley Benson was born on January 6, 1999 in Los Angeles, California. He graduated from SCAD Atlanta in 2020 with a BFA in Film & Television. He is a writer and director best known for Death of Childhood (2020), Homestead (2020), and Martha (2019). As a director, he frequently collaborated with Enzo Hui, co-founder of Room 330 Productions. Their film, Kalos (2018), won two Student Emmy awards for Best Direction and Best Short Film.