Steven Soderbergh
- Producer
- Director
- Cinematographer
Steven Andrew Soderbergh was born on January 14, 1963 in Atlanta, Georgia,
USA, the second of six children of Mary Ann (Bernard) and Peter Soderbergh. His father was of Swedish and Irish descent, and his mother was of Italian ancestry. While he was still at a very young age,
his family moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where his father was a professor and
the dean of the College of Education at Louisiana State University.
While still in high school, around the age of 15, Soderbergh enrolled
in the university's film animation class and began making short
16-millimeter films with second-hand equipment, one of which was the
short film "Janitor". After graduating high school, he went to
Hollywood, where he worked as a freelance editor. His time there was
brief and, shortly after, he returned home and continued making short
films and writing scripts.
His first major break was in 1986 when the rock group
Yes assigned him to shoot a full-length concert film
for the band, which eventually earned him a Grammy nomination for the
video,
Yes: 9012 Live (1985).
Following this achievement, Soderbergh filmed
Winston (1987), the short-subject film
that he would later expand into
Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989),
a film that earned him the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or Award, the
Independent Spirit Award for Best Director, and an Oscar nomination for
Best Original Screenplay. Over the next six years, he was married to
actress Betsy Brantley and had a daughter
named Sarah Soderbergh, who was born in 1990.
Also during this time, he made such films as
Kafka (1991),
King of the Hill (1993),
The Underneath (1995) and
Gray's Anatomy (1996), which many
believed to be disappointments. In 1998, Soderbergh made
Out of Sight (1998), his most
critically and commercially successful film since
Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989).
Then, in 2000, Soderbergh directed two major motion pictures that are
now his most successful films to date:
Erin Brockovich (2000) and
Traffic (2000). These films were both
nominated for Best Picture Oscars at the 2001 Academy Awards and gave
him the first twin director Oscar nomination in almost 60 years and the
first ever win. He won the Oscar for Best Director for
Traffic (2000) at the 2001 Oscars.
USA, the second of six children of Mary Ann (Bernard) and Peter Soderbergh. His father was of Swedish and Irish descent, and his mother was of Italian ancestry. While he was still at a very young age,
his family moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where his father was a professor and
the dean of the College of Education at Louisiana State University.
While still in high school, around the age of 15, Soderbergh enrolled
in the university's film animation class and began making short
16-millimeter films with second-hand equipment, one of which was the
short film "Janitor". After graduating high school, he went to
Hollywood, where he worked as a freelance editor. His time there was
brief and, shortly after, he returned home and continued making short
films and writing scripts.
His first major break was in 1986 when the rock group
Yes assigned him to shoot a full-length concert film
for the band, which eventually earned him a Grammy nomination for the
video,
Yes: 9012 Live (1985).
Following this achievement, Soderbergh filmed
Winston (1987), the short-subject film
that he would later expand into
Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989),
a film that earned him the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or Award, the
Independent Spirit Award for Best Director, and an Oscar nomination for
Best Original Screenplay. Over the next six years, he was married to
actress Betsy Brantley and had a daughter
named Sarah Soderbergh, who was born in 1990.
Also during this time, he made such films as
Kafka (1991),
King of the Hill (1993),
The Underneath (1995) and
Gray's Anatomy (1996), which many
believed to be disappointments. In 1998, Soderbergh made
Out of Sight (1998), his most
critically and commercially successful film since
Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989).
Then, in 2000, Soderbergh directed two major motion pictures that are
now his most successful films to date:
Erin Brockovich (2000) and
Traffic (2000). These films were both
nominated for Best Picture Oscars at the 2001 Academy Awards and gave
him the first twin director Oscar nomination in almost 60 years and the
first ever win. He won the Oscar for Best Director for
Traffic (2000) at the 2001 Oscars.