Woody Allen

Woody Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and comedian whose career spans over seven decades. Recognized as a prominent director of the New Hollywood era of auteur filmmakers, he has written for film, television, and theater. Allen holds the record for the most wins and nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Over his career, he has earned four Academy Awards, ten BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globes, and a Grammy Award, in addition to receiving the BAFTA Fellowship, an Honorary Palme d'Or, and the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award.

Allen was born at Mount Eden Hospital in the Bronx, New York City, to Nettie, a delicatessen bookkeeper, and Martin Konigsberg, a jewelry engraver and waiter. Raised in Brooklyn's Midwood neighborhood alongside his younger sister, film producer Letty Aronson, he attended Hebrew school, Public School 99, and Midwood High School. Allen began calling himself Woody in high school and started writing jokes at age 15, selling them to Broadway writers. He briefly studied communication and film at New York University and attended City College of New York before dropping out to pursue independent study.

In 1955, Allen joined the NBC Writer's Development Program and wrote for television programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, and Sid Caesar specials. During the 1960s, he performed stand-up comedy in Greenwich Village, developing a stage persona characterized as an insecure, fretful nebbish. He released three live comedy albums, earning a Grammy Award nomination for Woody Allen (1964). Allen also authored humor pieces for The New Yorker and published short story collections, including Getting Even (1971), Without Feathers (1975), and Side Effects (1980).

Allen transitioned to theater and cinema, writing Broadway plays such as Don't Drink the Water (1966) and Play It Again, Sam (1969). After writing his first screenplay for What's New Pussycat? (1965) and making his directorial debut with What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966), he wrote, directed, and starred in slapstick comedies including Take the Money and Run (1969), Bananas (1971), Sleeper (1973), and Love and Death (1975). He achieved critical breakthrough with Annie Hall (1977), a romantic comedy-drama co-starring Diane Keaton that won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.

Since the 1970s, Allen has maintained a prolific output, releasing a film almost every year. His notable films include Manhattan (1979), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Husbands and Wives (1992), Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Match Point (2005), Midnight in Paris (2011), and Blue Jasmine (2013). Two of his films are preserved in the National Film Registry. Allen later adapted Bullets Over Broadway into a 2014 stage musical, created the 2016 television series Crisis in Six Scenes, and published the memoir Apropos of Nothing in 2020.

From 1980 to 1992, Allen was in a personal and professional partnership with actress Mia Farrow, collaborating on 13 films. The couple separated after Allen began a relationship with Farrow's adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn; Allen and Previn married in 1997 and adopted two children. In 1992, Farrow publicly accused Allen of sexually abusing their adopted daughter Dylan. Allen denied the allegation and was never charged with a crime.