Steven Spielberg

Background

Spielberg was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to Leah Frances and Arnold Spielberg. He was raised in Phoenix, Arizona, and later relocated to California, where he attended college to study film. After directing various episodes of T.V. series such as “Night Gallery” and “Columbo,” he directed the T.V. movie “Duel” (1971), which won praise from reviewers and viewers. Then, in 1974, he made his feature film directing debut with “The Sugarland Express.” After directing the summer smash “Jaws” in 1975, he became well-known. Following that, he was the director of the commercially successful films “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977), “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (1982), and the “Indiana Jones” franchise. Later, in “The Color Purple” (1985) and “Empire of the Sun” (1987), Spielberg explored drama.

After a brief hiatus, he directed the Holocaust drama “Schindler’s List” and the science-fiction thriller “Jurassic Park” (both in 1993). The former became the highest-grossing movie ever at the time, and the latter has been hailed as one of the best movies ever produced. In 1998, he oversaw the production of the WWII epic “Saving Private Ryan.” In the 2000s, Spielberg continued to produce science fiction, including “War of the Worlds,” “Minority Report,” and “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” (2005). Along with the historical dramas “Amistad” (1997), “Munich” (2005), “War Horse” (2011), “Lincoln” (2012), “Bridge of Spies” (2015), “The Post” (2017), and the musical “West Side Story,” he also directed the children’s adventure movies “The Adventures of Tintin” (2011), “The B.F.G.” (2016), and “Ready Player One” (2018). He also co-founded DreamWorks and Amblin Entertainment and has produced several movies and television shows.

Several of Spielberg’s productions rank among the highest-grossing movies ever. The Library of Congress recognized nine of his films as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important” and added them to the National Film Registry. Between 1985 and 1989, Spielberg was married to actress Amy Irving, but they divorced. He later married actress Kate Capshaw on October 12, 1991. He has seven children.