Steven Spielberg

Steven Allan Spielberg is an American filmmaker recognized as a major figure of the New Hollywood era and a pioneer of the modern blockbuster. He is the highest-grossing film director of all time, with his films earning almost $11 billion worldwide. Among his accolades are three Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, four BAFTA Awards, twelve Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, a Grammy Award, the AFI Life Achievement Award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the National Medal of Arts. He is one of 22 people to achieve EGOT status and has a net worth of at least $5.3 billion according to Forbes.

Born on December 18, 1946, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Spielberg was the eldest child and only son of Leah Adler, a concert pianist and restaurant owner, and Arnold Spielberg, an electrical engineer. His family was Reform and Orthodox Jewish, with paternal grandparents from Ukraine. During his childhood in Ohio, New Jersey, and Arizona, his grandmother taught English to Holocaust survivors, one of whom taught Spielberg numbers using his forearm tattoo. Spielberg made his first home movie at age 12 by recreating a train crash with Lionel trains and later earned an Eagle Scout photography badge by making a nine-minute Western.

Spielberg attended Arcadia High School and later Saratoga High School after his family relocated to California. Aspiring to be a filmmaker, he applied to the film school at the University of Southern California but was rejected due to his grades. He subsequently enrolled at California State University, Long Beach. In 1968, he wrote and directed the 26-minute 35 mm short film Amblin', which led Universal Studio vice president Sidney Sheinberg to sign him to a seven-year directing contract. Spielberg dropped out of college a year later to direct television productions for Universal.

Spielberg made his professional debut directing Eyes, a 1969 segment of Night Gallery starring Joan Crawford. He went on to write and direct teleplays for series such as Columbo, Marcus Welby, M.D., and The Psychiatrist. His directorial debut film was Duel (1971), an adaptation of a Richard Matheson short story starring Dennis Weaver. Originally made for television, Duel received positive reviews and was subsequently expanded for theatrical release. He directed additional TV films, including Something Evil and Savage, before moving to feature films.

Spielberg made his theatrical feature debut with The Sugarland Express (1974), starring Goldie Hawn and William Atherton. The film won Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival and marked his first collaboration with composer John Williams. He achieved widespread recognition with Jaws (1975), followed by critical and commercial successes such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and the original Indiana Jones trilogy. He also explored dramatic themes with films like The Color Purple (1985) and Empire of the Sun (1987).

His career expanded with historical dramas and science fiction epics, including Schindler's List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998), both of which earned him the Academy Award for Best Director. His other directing credits include Jurassic Park (1993), Minority Report (2002), Lincoln (2012), West Side Story (2021), and The Fabelmans (2022). Beyond directing, Spielberg co-founded Amblin Entertainment and DreamWorks Pictures, serving as a producer on projects such as Back to the Future and Transformers. Seven of his films are inducted into the National Film Registry.