Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg
Spielberg at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival
Born	Steven Allan Spielberg December 18, 1946 (age 69)[1] Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Residence	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Education	Saratoga (CA) High School
Alma mater	California State University, Long Beach
Occupation	Filmmaker
Years active	1963–present
Net worth	US$3.6 billion (2015)[2]
Religion	Judaism
Spouse(s)	Amy Irving (m. 1985–89) Kate Capshaw (m. 1991)[3]
Children	6
Relatives	Anne Spielberg (sister)

Steven Allan Spielberg KBE OMRI (born December 18, 1946)^[4] is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Spielberg is considered as one of the founding pioneers of the New Hollywood era, as well as being viewed as one of the most popular directors and producers in film history.^[5] He is one of the co-founders ofDreamWorks Studios.

In a career spanning more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as archetypes of modern Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking. In later years, his films began addressinghumanistic issues such as the Holocaust (in Schindler's List), thetransatlantic slave trade (in Amistad), war (in Empire of the Sun,Saving Private Ryan, War Horse and Bridge of Spies) and terrorism (in Munich). His other films include Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the Indiana Jones film series, and A.I. Artificial Intelligence.

Spielberg won the Academy Award for Best Director for Schindler's List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998).^[6] Three of Spielberg's films—Jaws (1975), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and Jurassic Park (1993)—achieved box office records, originated and came to epitomize the blockbuster film. The unadjusted gross of all Spielberg-directed films exceeds $9 billion worldwide, making him the highest-grossing director in history. His personal net worth is estimated to be more than $3 billion.^[2] He has been associated with composer John Williams since 1974, who composed music for all save five of Spielberg's feature films.

Early life

Spielberg was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to an Orthodox Jewish family.^[7] His mother, Leah (Adler) Posner (born 1920),^[8] was a restaurateur and concert pianist, and his father, Arnold Spielberg (born 1917), was an electrical engineer involved in the development of computers.^[9] His paternal grandparents were immigrants from Ukrainewho settled in Cincinnati in the first decade of the 1900s.^[10][11] In 1950, his family moved to Haddon Township,New Jersey when his father took a job with RCA. Three years later, the family moved to Phoenix, Arizona.^[12]:548Spielberg attended Hebrew school from 1953 to 1957, in classes taught by Rabbi Albert L. Lewis.