BIOGRAPHY

STEVEN SPIELBERG

Steven SpielbergProducer | Writer | Director

Date of Birth 18 December 1946, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Birth Name Steven Allan Spielberg
Height 5' 7½" (1.71 m)


Undoubtedly one of the most influential film personalities in the history of film, Steven Spielberg is perhaps Hollywood's best known director and one of the wealthiest filmmakers in the world. Spielberg has countless big-grossing, critically acclaimed credits to his name, as producer, director and writer.

Steven Allan Spielberg was born in 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Leah Frances (Posner), a concert pianist and restaurateur, and Arnold Spielberg, an electrical engineer who worked in computer development. His parents were both born to Russian Jewish immigrant families. Steven spent his younger years in Haddon Township, New Jersey, Phoenix, Arizona, and later Saratoga, California. He went to California State University Long Beach, but dropped out to pursue his entertainment career. He gained notoriety as an uncredited assistant editor on the classic western Wagon Train (1957). Among his early directing efforts were Battle Squad (1961), which combined World War II footage with footage of an airplane on the ground that he makes you believe is moving. He also directed Escape to Nowhere (1961), which featured children as World War Two soldiers, including his sister Anne Spielberg, and The Last Gun (1959), a western. All of these were short films. The next couple of years, Spielberg directed a couple of movies that would portend his future career in movies. In 1964, he directed Firelight (1964), a movie about aliens invading a small town. In 1967, he directed Slipstream (1967), which was unfinished. However, in 1968, he directed Amblin' (1968), which featured the desert prominently, and not the first of his movies in which the desert would feature so prominently. Amblin' also became the name of his production company, which turned out such classics as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). Spielberg had a unique and classic early directing project, Duel (1971), with Dennis Weaver. In the early 1970s, Spielberg was working on TV, directing among others such series as Rod Serling's Night Gallery (1969), Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969) and Columbo: Murder by the Book (1971). All of his work in television and short films, as well as his directing projects, were just a hint of the wellspring of talent that would dazzle audiences all over the world.

Spielberg's first major directorial effort was The Sugarland Express (1974), with Goldie Hawn, a film that marked him as a rising star. It was his next effort, however, that made him an international superstar among directors: Jaws (1975). This classic shark attack tale started the tradition of the summer blockbuster or, at least, he was credited with starting the tradition. His next film was the classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), a unique and original UFO story that remains a classic. In 1978, Spielberg produced his first film, the forgettable I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978), and followed that effort with Used Cars (1980), a critically acclaimed, but mostly forgotten, Kurt Russell\\Jack Warden comedy about devious used-car dealers. Spielberg hit gold yet one more time with Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), with Harrison Ford taking the part of Indiana Jones. Spielberg produced and directed two films in 1982. The first was Poltergeist (1982), but the highest-grossing movie of all time up to that point was the alien story E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). Spielberg also helped pioneer the practice of product placement. The concept, while not uncommon, was still relatively low-key when Spielberg raised the practice to almost an art form with his famous (or infamous) placement of Reece's Pieces in "E.T." Spielberg was also one of the pioneers of the big-grossing special-effects movies, like "E.T." and "Close Encounters", where a very strong emphasis on special effects was placed for the first time on such a huge scale. In 1984, Spielberg followed up "Raiders" with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), which was a commercial success but did not receive the critical acclaim of its predecessor. As a producer, Spielberg took on many projects in the 1980s, such as The Goonies (1985), and was the brains behind the little monsters in Gremlins (1984). He also produced the cartoon An American Tail (1986), a quaint little animated classic. His biggest effort as producer in 1985, however, was the blockbuster Back to the Future (1985), which made Michael J. Fox an instant superstar. As director, Spielberg took on the book The Color Purple (1985), with Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey, with great success. In the latter half of the 1980s, he also directed Empire of the Sun (1987), a mixed success for the occasionally erratic Spielberg. Success would not escape him for long, though.

The late 1980s found Spielberg's projects at the center of pop-culture yet again. In 1988, he produced the landmark animation/live-action film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). The next year proved to be another big one for Spielberg, as he produced and directed Always (1989) as well as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), and Back to the Future Part II (1989). All three of the films were box-office and critical successes. Also, in 1989, he produced the little known comedy-drama Dad (1989), with Jack Lemmon and Ted Danson, which got mostly mixed results. Spielberg has also had an affinity for animation and has been a strong voice in animation in the 1990s. Aside from producing the landmark "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", he produced the animated series Tiny Toon Adventures (1990), Animaniacs (1993), Pinky and the Brain (1995), Freakazoid! (1995), Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain (1998), Family Dog (1993) and Toonsylvania (1998). Spielberg also produced other cartoons such as The Land Before Time (1988), We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (1993), Casper (1995) (the live action version) as well as the live-action version of The Flintstones (1994), where he was credited as "Steven Spielrock". Spielberg also produced many Roger Rabbit short cartoons, and many Pinky and the Brain, Animaniacs and Tiny Toons specials. Spielberg was very active in the early 1990s, as he directed Hook (1991) and produced such films as the cute fantasy Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) and An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991). He also produced the unusual comedy thriller Arachnophobia (1990), Back to the Future Part III (1990) and Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990). While these movies were big successes in their own right, they did not quite bring in the kind of box office or critical acclaim as previous efforts. In 1993, Spielberg directed Jurassic Park (1993), which for a short time held the record as the highest grossing movie of all time, but did not have the universal appeal of his previous efforts. Big box-office spectacles were not his only concern, though. He produced and directed Schindler's List (1993), a stirring film about the Holocaust. He won best director at the Oscars, and also got Best Picture. In the mid-90s, he helped found the production company DreamWorks, which was responsible for many box-office successes.

As a producer, he was very active in the late 90s, responsible for such films as The Mask of Zorro (1998), Men in Black (1997) and Deep Impact (1998). However, it was on the directing front that Spielberg was in top form. He directed and produced the epic Amistad (1997), a spectacular film that was shorted at the Oscars and in release due to the fact that its release date was moved around so much in late 1997. The next year, however, produced what many believe was one of the best films of his career: Saving Private Ryan (1998), a film about World War Two that is spectacular in almost every respect. It was stiffed at the Oscars, losing best picture to Shakespeare in Love (1998).

Spielberg produced a series of films, including Evolution (2001), The Haunting (1999) and Shrek (2001). he also produced two sequels to Jurassic Park (1993), which were financially but not particularly critical successes. In 2001, he produced a mini-series about World War Two that definitely *was* a financial and critical success: Band of Brothers (2001), a tale of an infantry company from its parachuting into France during the invasion to the Battle of the Bulge. Also in that year, Spielberg was back in the director's chair for A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), a movie with a message and a huge budget. It did reasonably at the box office and garnered varied reviews from critics.

Spielberg has been extremely active in films there are many other things he has done as well. He produced the short-lived TV series SeaQuest 2032 (1993), an anthology series entitled Amazing Stories (1985), created the video-game series "Medal of Honor" set during World War Two, and was a starting producer of ER (1994). Spielberg, if you haven't noticed, has a great interest in World War Two. He and Tom Hanks collaborated on Shooting War (2000), a documentary about World War II combat photographers, and he produced a documentary about the Holocaust called Eyes of the Holocaust (2000). With all of this to Spielberg's credit, it's no wonder that he's looked at as one of the greatest ever figures in entertainment.


Spouse (2)

Kate Capshaw (12 October 1991 - present) (5 children)
Amy Irving (27 November 1985 - 2 February 1989) (divorced) (1 child)

Uses powerful flashlights in dark scenes (Jurassic Park (1993); The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)). The outline of the beam is often made visible through dust, mist, or fog.
Frequently uses music by John Williams.
Often shows shooting stars (Jaws (1975)).
Onscreen performers staring, usually at something off-camera.
He often uses images of the sun (Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Color Purple (1985), Empire of the Sun (1987), Saving Private Ryan (1998)).
His films often show children in some sort of danger.
Consistent references to World War II.
Frequent references to Disney films, music, or theme parks
Frequently uses a piano as an element in key scenes (Schindler's List (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Minority Report (2002)).
Important images, or characters, are often seen through the rear-view mirror of a car (Duel (1971), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Jurassic Park (1993), Schindler's List (1993), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)).
Frequently casts Tom Hanks, Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford, Frank Welker and Tom Cruise.
Protagonists in his films often come from families with divorced parents, with fathers portrayed as reluctant, absent or irresponsible, most notably in _et: the Extra-Terrestrial_ (Elliot's mother is divorced and father is absent) and Catch Me If You Can (2002) (Frank Abagnale's mother and father split early in the film). This reflects Spielberg's own experience as a youth with his parents breaking up.
A common theme in many of his films is ordinary people who discover something extraordinary - people, places, artifacts, creatures, etc. (Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)).
Since Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), all of his movies have featured visual effects (even those that were undetected) by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the F/X house created by his friend George Lucas. The only exception has been The Terminal (2004), which had F/X work by Digital Imageworks.
Is credited for starting the summer blockbuster tradition with 1975's first $100 million megahit, Jaws (1975).
His films are almost always edited by Michael Kahn.
Known on-set for being able to work and come up with ideas very quickly (the best example of this would be the filming of "Saving Private Ryan", where Spielberg came up with angles and shot ideas on the spot, due to the fact that the film was largely un-storyboarded). Perhaps this is a habit he picked up after the filming of "Jaws", which was, very famously, a torturously slow shoot due to technical problems.
Ardent champion of the "cutting-in-camera" philosophy
Frequently uses (and helped re-popularize) the "dolly zoom" in-camera effect used to signify/evoke an impactful moment or realization, famously employed in "Jaws" upon Chief Brody witnessing the shark attack from his beach chair.


Member of Theta Chi Fraternity (Zeta Epsilon Chapter, Long Beach State University). One of his fraternity brothers was Roger Ernest.
Is a supporter of the Democratic Party.
Is among the richest individuals in Hollywood.
Received the Germany's Cross of Merit with star for his sensible representation of Germany's history in Schindler's List (1993). [1998]
Jonathan Norman was sentenced to 25 years to life, for stalking Spielberg and threatening to rape him. [June 1998]
Chosen by Entertainment Weekly as the most powerful person in entertainment in 1997. [October 1997]
Involved in road accident and treated for an injured shoulder. [September 1997]
American Film Institute Life Achievement Award. [1995]
There are seven children in the Capshaw-Spielberg family: Theo Spielberg, who was adopted by Kate Capshaw before their marriage and later adopted by Spielberg, born in 1988, Sasha Spielberg, born on 14 May 1990, Sawyer Spielberg, born on 10 March 1992, their adopted daughter Mikaela George Spielberg, born on 28 February 1996, and Destry Allen Spielberg, born on 1 December 1996. Kate Capshaw's daughter Jessica Capshaw, born in 1976, is from her previous marriage. Steven Spielberg's son Max Spielberg, born in 1985, is from his previous marriage to Amy Irving.
Amy Irving gave birth to his son Max Spielberg on 13 June 1985.
He claims Richard Dreyfuss is his alter-ego.
Attended California State University-Long Beach after being turned down by USC Cinema school twice.
Attended Arcadia High School in Phoenix.
Donated $100,000 to the Democratic Party. [1996]
Awarded second annual John Huston Award for Artists Rights by the Artists Rights Foundation. [1995]
Co-founder (with Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen) of DreamWorks SKG.
He has one of the original Rosebud sleds from Citizen Kane (1941) in his house.
Godfather of Drew Barrymore and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Named Best Director of the 20th Century in an Entertainment Weekly on-line poll, substantially beating out runners-up Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick. [September 1999]
Born to Arnold Spielberg, a computer engineer, and Leah Adler, née Posner, a restaurateur and concert pianist.
Received the Distinguished Public Service Award, the U. S. Navy's highest civilian honor, on Veterans Day 1999 for his work on the movie Saving Private Ryan (1998).
Sits on USC School of Cinema-Television's Board of Councilors.
When he was a child, he sneaked onto the lot of Universal Studios during a tour and befriended an editor who showed him a few things about filmmaking.
Gwyneth Paltrow calls him Uncle Morty.
During filming of their episode of Night Gallery (1969), Spielberg gave Joan Crawford the gift of a single red rose in a Pepsi bottle. During an on-set conversation with Detroit Free Press reporter Shirley Eder, Crawford pointed out Spielberg and said, "Go interview that kid, because he's going to be the biggest director of all time!" Crawford and Spielberg remained good friends until her death in 1977.
Awarded the honor of Knight of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in New Years Honours 2001 by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to the British film industry. As a non-Commonwealth citizen, he will not be able to use the title. [December 2000]
States that the work of David Lean has had a profound effect on his career.
Spent five months developing the script for Rain Man (1988) with Ronald Bass, but had to commit to his handshake deal to direct Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Spielberg gave all of his notes to Barry Levinson.
Almost directed Big (1988) with Tom Hanks starring, but didn't want to steal the thunder of his sister, Anne Spielberg, who co-wrote the script.
Personally offered the American Beauty (1999) script to Sam Mendes, who ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Director on the film, which was Mendes's debut feature.
Flew Will Smith to his Hamptons home via helicopter to offer him the part in Men in Black (1997).
Often casts new actors based on their performances in other works. Rarely does auditions for major roles.
Was asked to approve use of the theme music from Jaws (1975) for Swingers (1996). When he saw a cut of the film, he saw Vince Vaughn, whom he chose to play Nick Van Owen in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997).
He is an Eagle Scout and was on an advisory board for the Boy Scouts of America. He left this position because he did not agree with the fact that the Boy Scouts of America discriminated against homosexuals.
Was directing a childbirth scene when he received a call that Amy Irving was giving birth to their son Max Spielberg.
According to the 2001 issue of Forbes' "400 Richest People In America," Spielberg's fortune is $2.1 billion.
Born at 6:16 PM EST.
Was irked when footage from his movie Duel (1971) was used as stock footage in an episode of The Incredible Hulk (1978). But since Universal Studios owned the rights to both the The Incredible Hulk series and the film of Duel, taking legal action was not possible. However, he subsequently updated his contracts to include a clause that would protect his future material from being used as stock footage.
On May 31, 2002, graduated from California State University Long Beach with a bachelor's degree in film and electronic arts. He had dropped out of college in 1968 to concentrate on his career, but during the 2000s fulfilled his remaining graduation requirements via independent projects, which required correspondence courses and several term papers. For Spielberg, the school waived its requirement that all senior film majors must submit a completed 12-minute short film, accepting Schindler's List (1993) in its place. He donned cap and gown and marched in the commencement ceremony with his fellow graduates.
Received honorary doctor of humane letters degree from Yale University (27 May 2002).
When Spielberg received his undergraduate degree (about 35 years after he had first entered college), the orchestra played the theme from the "Indiana Jones" series of films as he walked up to and across the stage.
Owns the rights to the Stephen King novel "The Talisman". As of 2002, the book has not been made into a film. He is now producing this film for release in 2007.
His father served in World War II in South East Asian Front.
Michael Kahn has edited all of Spielberg's theatrical features since Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), their first collaboration. Kahn did not, however, edit E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) because he was editing Poltergeist (1982). E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) was edited by Carol Littleton.
According to the 2002 edition of Forbes' "400 Richest People in America," his fortune is estimated at $2.2 billion, a $100 million improvement over the 2001 estimate.
Ranked #1 in Premiere's 2003 annual Hollywood Power List. It is the third time he received the top ranking (the others being in 1994 & 1995). He had ranked #6 in 2002.
In Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), the humans and aliens use music and computers to communicate. Spielberg's father was a computer scientist and his mother was a musician. This fact was only recently pointed out to him on Inside the Actors Studio (1994) by host James Lipton and he was unsurprisingly delighted when he realised the connection.
Is set to produce a mini-series for HBO that will set out to debunk the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The mini-series, written by David Leland, will focus on the historical reality of life in 500 A.D., when Arthur was thought to be King and will have no round table, Merlin, Lancelot, Excalibur, or knights. Camelot itself will be shown to have been a simple Roman fort and Arthur, named Artos in the film, will be portrayed as a humble blacksmith whose forging skills win him the English throne. It was expected to air sometime in 2004. [2003]
The first film he directed that was not scored by John Williams was The Color Purple (1985), which was scored by Quincy Jones.
Was voted the 11th Greatest Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
In 1983, he lost the Best Picture Oscar to Gandhi (1982), directed by Richard Attenborough. He later went on to direct six cast members, as well as Attenborough, in his later movies: Amrish Puri in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984); Roshan Seth in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984); Richard Attenborough in Jurassic Park (1993); Ben Kingsley in Schindler's List (1993), Nigel Hawthorne in Amistad (1997), Martin Sheen in Catch Me If You Can (2002), and Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln (2012).
Has worked with four actors from the Hannibal Lecter film series, in reverse order to the order in which the Lecter films came out. The first one he worked with was Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List (1993), who went on to play Francis Dollarhyde in Red Dragon (2002). His next film was The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), with Julianne Moore, who played Clarice Starling in the third Lecter film, Hannibal (2001). After this, he made Amistad (1997), with Anthony Hopkins, who began playing Hannibal Lecter in the second film, The Silence of the Lambs (1991). After this he made Saving Private Ryan (1998), which featured Dennis Farina, who played Jack Crawford in the original Lecter film, Manhunter (1986).
When asked what are the films he's made he would like to be remembered for, he said E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Schindler's List (1993).
Although close friend, George Lucas, has vowed to only shoot future movies digitally, Spielberg has been the most vocal film-maker of the opposing view: to continue shooting all of his movies on film. Other directors siding with Spielberg include Martin Scorsese and Oliver Stone.
According to his interview on the series Inside the Actors Studio (1994), his favorite curse word is "Rats!"
To date, has never provided a director's commentary on any of his films DVDs. [2004]
In the 2004 edition of Forbes' "400 Richest People in America", his net worth is estimated at $2.6 billion, his highest showing yet. The only filmmaker ahead of him is his good friend George Lucas, whose worth is estimated at $3 billion.
Described One Froggy Evening (1955) as "the most perfect cartoon ever made".
His longtime friend George Lucas originally wanted him to direct the third entry of the original Star Wars trilogy, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) and Spielberg was eager to do so, but Lucas was unsuccessful in getting him the job because of his dispute with the Director's Guild at the time.
When he used product placement in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), he used Reese's Pieces only because M & M's parent company didn't want their product associated with aliens and UFOs.
Directed 13 actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Liam Neeson; Ralph Fiennes; Anthony Hopkins; Tom Hanks; Melinda Dillon; Whoopi Goldberg; Oprah Winfrey; Margaret Avery; Christopher Walken; Daniel Day-Lewis; Tommy Lee Jones; Sally Field and Mark Rylance. Day-Lewis and Rylance won the award for their performances in Spielberg movies.
Wrote a letter to Polish writer/director Mira Hamermesh in appreciation of one of her films.
Graduated from Saratoga High School in Saratoga, California.
Ranked #2 on Premiere's 2005 Power 50 List, behind only Peter Jackson. Had the same ranking in 2004, behind Pixar bosses John Lasseter and Steve Jobs.
Ranked #1 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Greatest directors ever!" (2005).
Has been Honorary Member of the Society of Operating Cameramen (SOC) since 1995 and received the Governors Award "for his contributions in the advancement of the use of the motion picture camera".
He has always been very protective of his name. If his company is working on a film and he feels it is not up to his standards, he will remove his name as a producer.
Aside from producing The Goonies (1985), he also directed at least one scene in the movie.
In the 2005 edition of Forbes' "400 Richest People in America", his net worth is estimated at $2.7 billion, a $100 million improvement over 2004 (due mostly to his share of the DreamWorks Animation public stock offering). He, and good friend George Lucas (net worth: $3.5 billion) are the only filmmakers on the list.
In December, he, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen sold DreamWorks SKG to Paramount Pictures Corporation for $1.6 billion.
Once screened Lawrence of Arabia (1962) with director David Lean, who gave Spielberg a "live director's commentary", as Spielberg put it. Spielberg said that it was one of the best moments of his life, learning from a true master. Consequently, Spielberg stated that it helped him make better pictures and that commentary directly influenced every movie he has made since.
His ten favourite films of all time are: Fantasia (1940); Citizen Kane (1941); A Guy Named Joe (1943); It's a Wonderful Life (1946); The War of the Worlds (1953); Psycho (1960); Lawrence of Arabia (1962); 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968); The Godfather (1972) and Day for Night (1973).
Has an estimated fortune of $2.8 billion ($2,800,000,000), according to the "Los Angeles Business Journal". The size of his fortune him the 14th richest person in the Los Angeles area and likely the wealthiest producer-director in the world (with only his friend George Lucas coming close).
His iconic character "E.T." from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) is ranked #26 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
Is the most represented filmmaker on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time, with five films on the list and three in the top ten. They are: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) at #58; The Color Purple (1985) at #51; Saving Private Ryan (1998) at #10; E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) at #6 and Schindler's List (1993) at #3.
Ranked #6 in the Power Rankings and #1 in the Money Rankings on Forbes' 2006 Celebrity 100 List, with earnings of $332 million. Most of those earnings were from the 2005 sale of DreamWorks to Paramount Pictures.
Ranked #4 on Premiere's 2006 "Power 50" list. Had ranked #2 in 2005.
Interviewed in "Directors Close Up: Interviews with Directors Nominated for Best Film by the Directors Guild of America", ed. by Jeremy Kagan, Scarecrow Press, 2006.
In 1996, he purchased Clark Gable's Oscar (which he won for It Happened One Night (1934)) to protect it from further commercial exploitation and gave it back to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, commenting that he could think of "no better sanctuary for Gable's only Oscar than the Motion Picture Academy".
On 14 December 2002 he bought Bette Davis' Oscar, which she won for Dangerous (1935), at a Sotheby's auction in New York to return it to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The statuette was among the memorabilia sold by the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain, which has emerged from bankruptcy protection.
On 19 July 2001 he purchased Bette Davis' Oscar statuette, which she won for Jezebel (1938), at a Christie's auction and returned it to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Early in his career, while working for Universal Studios, he was asked to give a tour to a special guest who had just sold the film rights to one of his books to the studio. That guest was Michael Crichton, who later worked with Spielberg on Jurassic Park (1993).
Both live-action adaptations of "The Incredible Hulk" have references to his films. The first used stock footage from Duel (1971). In the 2003 film by Ang Lee (Hulk (2003)), the impact of the Hulk hitting the ground causes ripples to form in nearby bodies of water, just as the Tyrannosaur does in Jurassic Park (1993).
Though he frequently works with Tom Hanks, Hanks is not, as of 2006, involved in Spielberg's biopic about Abraham Lincoln, even though he is descended from the family of Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks.
Owns one of the largest gun collections on the East Coast. He shoots, but only privately.
Godfather of Gwyneth Paltrow.
Awarded Kennedy Center Honors in 2006, with Dolly Parton, Smokey Robinson, Zubin Mehta, and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
According to Teri Garr, Spielberg told her on a set that one of his favorite movies is Viva Las Vegas (1964), starring Elvis Presley.
Is of Hungarian descent, which explains his surname, coming from the Austrian city where his ancestors lived.
Considered directing Memoirs of a Geisha (2005).
He, George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola presented Martin Scorsese with his first ever award for Best Director, for The Departed (2006).
Is a huge fan of the actors Steve Martin, Bill Murray and Robin Williams. He is also proud to admit they are good friends of his.
Was offered the opportunity to direct California Split (1974), but job went to Robert Altman.
Was originally set to direct Cape Fear (1991). He later recommended Martin Scorsese for the job and personally called the director, letting him know that this was a commercial film that had potential to be a hit, which would exercise more power for Scorcese to make his films.
(September 6, 1997) Attended the funeral of Princess Diana with friends Richard Attenborough, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Tom Hanks.
Went to the same college, CSULB as Frank Miranda.
Was originally in talks to direct The Mask of Zorro (1998) but later only produced it.
Burt Reynolds film "White Lightning" (1973) was originally slated to be Spielberg's first theatrical feature and he spent months on pre-production.
Robbie Williams mentions him in his song "I Will Talk and Hollywood Will Listen".
2007- Ranked #2 on EW's The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood.
Is a fan of Doctor Who (1963).
In 2007, Forbes estimated his earnings for the year 2006 to be $110 million.
Is a fan of video games and says that their development is intriguing to him.
His dog Elmer starred in several of his films including Jaws (1975) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).
Owns homes in Pacific Palisades, California; New York City; East Hampton, New York; and Naples, Florida.
Pulled out of his role as advisor to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, reacting to the Chinese government's inaction over the genocide in Darfur (February 2008).
Is a fan of the works of Carl Barks, and cites them as a big inspiration on his storytelling.
Turned down the opportunity to direct Deep Impact (1998) and The Mask of Zorro (1998) to work on Saving Private Ryan (1998).
Served on the Board for the Institute for the Study of Women in Men in Society for USC. Hosted events for the intellectual society at his screening room and offices on the Universal lot in the late 1980s.
In the 5th edition of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (edited by Steven Jay Schneider), 8 of Spielberg's films are listed: Jaws (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), The Color Purple (1985), Jurassic Park (1993), Schindler's List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998).
When Spielberg accepted the Cecil B. DeMille award at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards he expressed his gratitude to DeMille for helping him come to love filmmaking in the first place, describing his earliest childhood memory of going to see DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) with his father. "I think my fate was probably sealed that day in 1952", he said, recalling how the train wreck scene in that film inspired first a keen interest in electric train sets and eventually his passion for film.
Is an excellent shot with a shotgun. Actor Shia LaBeouf once said about his shooting, "He's an Olympic shot. The hand-eye co-ordination of that man is unlike anything I've ever seen. If he weren't a great director, he could be one of our greatest snipers".
Worked with both father and son Brolin actors. He worked with James Brolin in Catch Me If You Can (2002), and Josh Brolin in The Goonies (1985) and Into the West (2005).
Is one of 9 directors to win the Golden Globe, Director's Guild, BAFTA, and Oscar for the same movie, winning for Schindler's List (1993). The other directors to achieve this are Mike Nichols for The Graduate (1967), Milos Forman for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), Richard Attenborough for Gandhi (1982), Oliver Stone for Platoon (1986), Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain (2005), Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire (2008), Alfonso Cuarón for Gravity (2013), and Alejandro González Iñárritu for The Revenant (2015).
He directed six of the American Film Institute's 100 Most Heart-Pounding Movies: Jaws (1975) at #2, Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) at #10, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) at #31, Jurassic Park (1993) at #35, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) at #44 and Saving Private Ryan (1998) at #45.
Lives in Los Angeles, Malibu, California and East Hampton, New York.
His publicist is Marvin Levy.
In 1985, Spielberg purchased a Pacific Palisades hilltop estate from singer Bobby Vinton, a palatial residence that, over the years, had been home to producer David O. Selznick, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., spouses Cary Grant and Barbara Hutton, etc.
Ex son-in-law of Jules Irving.
His favourite directors are David Lean, Preston Sturges, Frank Capra, Francois Truffut', Ingmar Bergman, Akira Kurosawa, Stanley Kubrick, Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford.
Will receive the 2012 David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Motion Pictures from the Producers Guild Of America (PGA) on January 21, 2012 in Los Angeles [September 21, 2011].
Belgium: (22 October 2011) honored as Commander in the Order of the Crown by outgoing Finance Minister Didier Reynders at the Hotel Amigo in Brussels ahead of the world premiere of Spielberg's new film - "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn."
Favorite indoor relaxation pursuits are watching golf on TV and playing his computer game "Assassin's Creed".
Has made two films that, between them, feature four former U.S. Presidents. He has hired a British actor to play the President each time: Nigel Hawthorne as Martin Van Buren and Anthony Hopkins as John Quincy Adams in Amistad (1997), and Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln and Jared Harris as Ulysses S. Grant in Lincoln (2012).
Confessed to host James Lipton that he has a phobia about "furniture with feet" (Inside the Actors Studio: Episode #5.9 (1999)).
Attended the first AFI "Life Achievement Award" as a guest of his The Sugarland Express (1974) and Jaws (1975) producer Richard D. Zanuck where Spielberg's lifelong hero John Ford was the honored recipient (Los Angeles / March 31 1973).
Father Arnold Spielberg was an innovator who worked on the first computer that was ever sold commercially back in 1950.
Claims his family name "Spielberg" has Austrian origins meaning "Play Mountain" when translated into English.
A lifelong fan of the 007 movies, Spielberg has never directed a feature in the successful franchise, though he did the next best thing directing his share of notable 007 series alumni such as:

Sean Connery: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) (Dr. No (1962) (original + 6))

Robert Shaw: Jaws (1975) (From Russia with Love (1963))

Burt Kwouk: Empire of the Sun (1987) (Goldfinger (1964), Casino Royale (1967), You Only Live Twice (1967))

Bruce Glover: The Psychiatrist: Par for the Course (1971) (Diamonds Are Forever (1971))

Christopher Lee: 1941 (1979) (The Man with the Golden Gun (1974))

Frank McRae: 1941 (1979) (Licence to Kill (1989))

Michael Lonsdale: Munich (2005) (Moonraker (1979))

Julian Glover: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) (For Your Eyes Only (1981))

John Rhys-Davies: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) (The Living Daylights (1987))

Alison Doody: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) (A View to a Kill (1985))

Christopher Walken: Catch Me If You Can (2002) (A View to a Kill (1985))

David Harbour: War of the Worlds (2005) (Quantum of Solace (2008))

Daniel Craig: Munich (2005), The Adventures of Tintin (2011) (Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012)),etc.

Ralph Fiennes:Schindler's List (1993) (Skyfall (2012)), etc.

Toby Stephens, who played the villain in Die Another Day (2002), and played Bond himself on BBC Radio, is the son of Sir Robert Stephens (Empire of the Sun (1987)) and Dame Maggie Smith (Hook (1991)).


Formed his production company "Amblin Entertainment" with longtime friend and production associate Kathleen Kennedy in 1981.
Is at his most productive and creative when working on more than one project at a time, be it as producer and/or director: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) + Poltergeist (1982) / Schindler's List (1993) + Jurassic Park (1993) / War Horse (2011) + The Adventures of Tintin (2011), etc.
Steven Spielberg was the first living person to have a playable Lego mini-figure modelled after him. It was sold with several sets as part of the Lego Studios product range in the early 2000s.
He lost the Best Director Oscar to Ang Lee both in 2006 and 2013.
A lifelong fan of the 007 movies, he named Honor Blackman as his favorite Bond girl.
Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. [January 2003]
He struggled with dyslexia his whole life but was not diagnosed until very recently (approx. 2007).
The film The Goonies (1985) was based on his group of childhood friends, which he referred to as the "goon squad.".
President of the jury at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
He presented the Oscar for Best Director at the 57th Academy Awards in 1985. The winner was Milos Forman for Amadeus (1984). During the presentation, Spielberg paid tribute to his friend François Truffaut who had recently died.
Steven and his wife Kate Capshaw are very close friends with Michelle Pfeiffer and her husband David E. Kelley. They often vacation together and went to the White House Correspondents' Dinner together.
Has several career parallels to Oliver Stone. Both frequently direct historical dramas, many times about U.S. Presidents. For Spielberg, they were John Quincy Adams and Abraham Lincoln. For Stone, they were John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon and George W. Bush. Both have cast Anthony Hopkins as one of those Presidents, and in both cases, Hopkins was nominated for an Oscar. Hopkins (as Nixon) and Daniel Day-Lewis are also one of a pair of actors to be nominated for playing that same President. (The others were Frank Langella and Raymond Massey). They both frequently use John Williams to score their films. They have also used several of the same cast members: Wayne Knight, David Paymer, Bob Hoskins, Tommy Lee Jones, Hal Holbrook, James Spader, Colin Farrell, Martin Sheen, Tom Cruise, Kevin Costner, Elizabeth Banks, John Candy, Shia LaBeouf, Richard Dreyfuss and Bruce McGill. Stone also cast Josh Brolin and Colin Hanks in W. (2008), while Spielberg used both of their fathers in Catch Me If You Can (2002). Toby Jones appeared in The Adventures of Tintin (2011) and W. (2008). Spielberg also cast Kiefer Sutherland on an episode of Amazing Stories, while Donald Sutherland appeared in JFK (1991).
Was at one point considering directing a Harry Potter film. Although he never directed one of the films, he has directed several cast members in his films: -Maggie Smith appeared in Hook (1991). -Ralph Fiennes appeared in Schindler's List (1993). -Julian Glover appeared in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). -Brendan Gleeson appeared in A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001). -Ciarán Hinds appeared in Munich (2005). -John Hurt and Jim Broadbent appeared in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). -George Harris appeared in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). -Toby Jones was in The Adventures of Tintin (2011). -David Thewlis and Peter Mullan appeared in War Horse (2011). It also featured Benedict Cumberbatch, who voiced Severus Snape on an episode of The Simpsons. Richard Harris's son, Jared Harris, appeared in Lincoln (2012).
Has worked with several actors from the Star Wars films. -Harrison Ford and William Hootkins appeared in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan also wrote two Star Wars films. -Julian Glover and Michael Sheard appeared in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). -Samuel L. Jackson and Laura Dern appeared in Jurassic Park (1993). -Liam Neeson appeared in Schindler's List (1993). -Ian Abercrombie (voice of Palpatine/Darth Sidious on the Clone Wars cartoon) appeared in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). -Christopher Lee appeared in 1941 (1979). -Max von Sydow appeared in Minority Report (2002). -Adam Driver appeared in Lincoln (2012). A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) featured Rena Owen and Brendan Gleeson, whose son Domhnall Gleeson appears in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). '_E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)_ was written by Harrison Ford's then-girlfriend Melissa Mathison, and Eve Mavrakis, wife of Ewan McGregor, worked on Empire of the Sun (1987).
When promoting A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), which he wrote, he was asked why he had not written a film in the 19 years since Poltergeist (1982). He replied that the gap was not that long because he actually does rewrites on many of the scripts that he directs.
For an AFI poll, Spielberg designated Lawrence of Arabia (1962) as his favourite film.
Five films he directed set the North American opening weekend record, more than any other director: Jaws (1975), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Jurassic Park (1993), and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). Additionally, two sequels to his films he declined to direct also set the opening weekend record: Jaws 2 (1978) and Jurassic World (2015).
The first major star he worked with was Joan Crawford, who appeared in the segment of the pilot episode for Rod Serling's Night Gallery (1969) which he directed. Crawford was initially skeptical about working with the then-inexperienced director, but her fears were soon allayed when she met with him and watched him at work. He, meanwhile, was surprised to find that Crawford was not demanding and made none of the outlandish requests which stars of her caliber were usually known to make. On the contrary, she was happy to give him advice about various aspects of film making which she had learned throughout her years in motion pictures, and gave him a lot of much needed encouragement. They quickly developed a strong working relationship, and as a result of her kindness became close friends, remaining so until her death.
Is best friends with George Lucas and Oprah Winfrey. He was also best friends with Robin Williams until he passed away.
He was a big fan of Twin Peaks (1990) and he was set to direct the first episode of the second season of the show before David Lynch decided to direct the episode himself.
According to friend and veteran film editor Michael Kahn, Spielberg will not watch a cut of his film without temp music (temporary score).
After having a great working relationship with Spielberg on Gremlins (1984), Spielberg produced the next two films Chris Columbus scripted, The Goonies (1985), based on an idea Spielberg had, and Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), which was Columbus's idea, which altogether was two years working on those three films. Spielberg then wanted Columbus to script Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), a big step for Columbus as a writer. He accepted and went to meet Spielberg and George Lucas, two men he was very intimidated by, even though he had worked with Spielberg three times, and they were two of his cinematic heroes. Columbus acted as Spielberg and Lucas's secretary on The Last Crusade for five days taking down all their ideas. Lucas dictated the screenplay to Columbus making him fearful of changing any of it, and that went against what Columbus had learned at film school. To him, the script seemed lifeless and without energy and there was nothing of Columbus in it. Columbus assumed Spielberg hired him for that last reason and when Columbus turned in the draft, he was fired from the picture for all the above flaws in the script. It was a defining moment in Columbus's career, to never again ignore his base instincts on a movie, or to be intimidated by the people he worked with.
Gremlins (1984), the Back to the Future trilogy and Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) were all produced by Spielberg and all have eccentric inventors who create madcap inventions with pet dogs, Barney, Einstein and Uncas.
In Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) and The Goonies (1985), Holmes and Data have much gadgetry on their person, like James Bond, and Spielberg and screenwriter Chris Columbus are huge Bond fans. Also, in the novelization for Holmes, it uses the words "a view to kill", and the Bond film A View to a Kill (1985) was made the same year.
In Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), that film mentions bats, snakes, spiders and rats; these would appear in all the Indiana Jones films, Arachnophobia (1990) and The Goonies (1985), films either produced or directed by Spielberg.
In the novelization for Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), there is the line "sixth sense"; Frank Marshall produced this and The Sixth Sense (1999) and Spielberg later directed Haley Joel Osment, the star of the latter film in A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001).
He has directed ten films that were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture: Jaws (1975), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), The Color Purple (1985), Schindler's List (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Munich (2005), War Horse (2011), Lincoln (2012) and Bridge of Spies (2015). Of these, Schindler's List (1993) is the only one to have won the award.
Spielberg had directed Columbo: Murder by the Book (1971), the very first episode of that famous series (not counting two pilot films). In the 3rd season episode Mind Over Mayhem (1974), screenwriters Steven Bochco and Dean Hargrove named the boy genius character Steve Spelberg. That episode was in production (airing in February) while Spielberg's breakthrough theatrical film The Sugarland Express (1974) was generating industry buzz prior to its April release.
Both detectives Eddie Valiant in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and Holmes in Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) use magnifying glasses, and both were Spielberg productions.