Spike Lee
Spike Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American filmmaker and actor. He was born Shelton Lee in Atlanta, Georgia. At a very young age, he moved from pre-civil rights Georgia, to Brooklyn, New York. His father was a jazz musician, and his mother, a school teacher. His mother dubbed him Spike, due to his tough nature. He attended school in Morehouse College in Atlanta and developed his film making skills at Clark Atlanta University. After graduating, he went to the Tisch School of Arts graduate film program. He made a controversial short, The Answer (1980), a reworking of D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915) -- a ten-minute film. Lee went on to produce a 45-minute film Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983), which won a student academy award. Lee's next film, "The Messenger," in 1984, was somewhat biographical. In 1986, Spike Lee made the film, She's Gotta Have It (1986), a comedy about sexual relationships. The movie was made for 175,000 dollars, and made seven million. Since then, Lee has become a well-known, intelligent, and talented film maker. His next movie was School Daze (1988), which was set in a historically black school and focused mostly on the conflict between the school and the Fraternities, of which he was a strong critic, portraying them as materialistic, irresponsible, and uncaring. Lee went on to do his landmark film, Do the Right Thing (1989), a movie specifically about his own town in Brooklyn, New York. The movie garnered an Oscar nomination, for Danny Aiello, for supporting actor. It also sparked a debate on racial relations. Lee went on to produce the jazz biopic Mo' Better Blues (1990) which showed his talent for directing and acting, and was the first of many Spike Lee films to feature Denzel Washington. His next film, Jungle Fever (1991), was about interracial dating. Lee's handling of the subject proved yet again highly controversial. Lee's next film was the self-titled biography of Malcolm X (1992), which had Denzel Washington portraying the civil rights leader. The movie was a success, and resulted in an Oscar nomination for Washington. His next films were the comparatively light, Crooklyn (1994), and the intense crime drama, Clockers (1995). In 1996, Lee directed two movies: the badly received comedy, Girl 6 (1996), and the politically pointed, Get on the Bus (1996), about a group of men going to the Million Man March. His next film, He Got Game (1998), proved to be another excursion into the collegiate world as he shows the darker side of recruiting college athletes. The movie, in limited release, yet again featured Denzel Washington. In 2000 came Bamboozled which made a mockery out of television and the way African-Americans are perceived by white America and the way African-Americans perceive themselves. The movie, however, was a resounding critical success. Lee also has produced films like New Jersey Drive (1995), Tales from the Hood (1995), and Drop Squad (1994). He also has produced and or directed movies about Huey P. Newton, Jim Brown, and has commented in many documentaries about varied subjects. Lee is an obsessive New York Knicks fan. He and his wife, Tonya Lewis Lee, have two children.
Known for
DirectingBirthday
March 20, 1957Gender
MaleKnown Movie Credits
190Place of birth
Atlanta, Georgia, USAAlso known as
Спайк Ли, سبايك لي, 스파이크 리, スパイク・リー, สไปค์ ลี, 史派克·李, Σπάικ ΛιCast credits
Do the Right Thing
MookieJungle Fever
CyrusMalcolm X
ShortyWhen We Were Kings
SelfLonely in America
HimselfCrooklyn
SnuffyShe's Gotta Have It
Mars BlackmonStreet Fight
SelfMo' Better Blues
GiantGirl 6
JimmyBrooklyn Boheme
HimselfBad 25
SelfFrench Cinema Mon Amour
SelfHow to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It)
Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks
HimselfGuest
SelfBy Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'
SelfClockers
ChuckySchool Daze
Darrell 'Half-Pint' DunlapThe Last Party
SelfChamps
SelfCrew credits
Inside Man
DirectorDo the Right Thing
Screenplay, Producer, Director25th Hour
Producer, DirectorJungle Fever
Producer, Director, WriterMalcolm X
Director, Screenplay, ProducerSummer of Sam
Director, Producer, WriterClockers
Director, Screenplay, ProducerShe Hate Me
Director, Screenplay, ProducerKobe Doin' Work
Director, ProducerHIStory on Film, Volume II
DirectorThe Original Kings of Comedy
Director, ProducerTen Minutes Older: The Trumpet
Director, ProducerPassing Strange
DirectorAll the Invisible Children
Director, ProducerA Huey P. Newton Story
DirectorBamboozled
Director, Screenplay, ProducerMiracle at St. Anna
Director, ProducerHe Got Game
Screenplay, Producer, DirectorJim Brown: All-American
Director, Producer4 Little Girls
Director, Producer, WriterCrooklyn
Director, Screenplay, Producer