The Controversial Real-Life Story Behind Netflix's 'Nyad'

With their first narrative feature, documentary filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin take viewers into the life of one of America's most well-known swimmers. Based on the 2015 memoir Find a Way, Nyad stars Annette Bening as Diana Nyad and depicts her highly-publicized 2013 swim from Cuba to the United States. Though she is undeniably a gifted athlete, Nyad's aquatic credentials have been the subject of ongoing suspicion among fellow swimmers and onlookers for decades. Some detractors claim she has exaggerated and misrepresented the details surrounding her life and accomplishments, while others have accused her of spreading outright lies about a variety of topics. As a celebrity who's experienced the white-hot spotlight of fame in opposing terms of adoration and intense scrutiny, Nyad remains a polarizing figure and continues to attract controversy.