Birth Name

Spike Lee

Birth Date

03/20/1957

Birthplace

Atlanta, Georgia

Credits

33 Movies, 9 TV appearances, 13 awards
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Family

Brother: Chris Lee
Born c. 1958; in charge of merchandising movie memorabilia at Spike's Joint, Spike Lee's Brooklyn store

Brother: Cinque Lee
Born c. 1968; videotaped documentary on the making of "Do the Right Thing" (1989)

Brother: David Lee
Born c. 1960; served as still photographer on "She's Gotta Have It" (1986), "School Daze" (1988), "Do the Right Thing" (1989) and "Mo' Better Blues" (1990)

Cousin: Malcolm D Lee

Daughter: Satchel Lee
Born Dec. 2, 1994; mother, Tonya Linette Lewis

Father: Bill Lee
Born in 1928; scored Spike Lee's early films; nickname 'Bleek' was used as main character's name in "Mo' Better Blues" (1990); former accompanist to folksinger Leon Bibb in the 1960s; remarried to Susan Kaplan after Jacquelyn Lee's death; was arrested for possession of heroin in 1991

Half-Brother: Arnold Lee
Born c. 1985; mother, Susan Kaplan

Mother: Jacquelyn Lee
Taught art and black literature at St. Anne's, a private school in Brooklyn; died in 1977

Sister: Joie Lee
Born c. 1963; appeared in brother's "She's Gotta Have It" (1986), "School Daze" (1988), "Do the Right Thing" (1989) and "Mo' Better Blues" (1990)

Son: Jackson Lewis Lee
Born May 23, 1997; Tonya Linette Lewis

Notes

"His style is inseparable from his content: he's subverting the conventional ways Hollywood has programmed us to read movies. He doesn't give you good guys and bad guys; he doesn't provide role models and tidy resolutions; his movies don't fall into neat generic categories. In Lee's films, realism and cartoon brush wings, and the narrative flow will suddenly break for a dance, a comic riff, a rant directed straight at the camera. Propelled by music, his rough-edged, seam-showing movies have the urgency of rap, the rhythms of the inner city and the revelations that only an insider can convey." - David Ansen in Newsweek, Oct. 2, 1989
"I have the best of both worlds, because I'm an independent filmmaker but I don't have to scrape around for money. I go directly to Hollywood for my financing. It doesn't really mess with my creativity, because I have the final cut and the control over the film that I would have had if I'd raised the money all by myself. Even if I had, I'd still have to go to Hollywood for distribution anyway - there's just no way I'm going to reach the people I want to reach carrying a film can under my arm and going from theater to theater across the country - so why waste two or three years scraping for money? The studios want to make as much money off you as possible, basically just pimp you. Yet it is possible to keep your agenda and make films too." - Spike Lee to Premiere magazine, August 1989
"I'm a filmmaker. I feel that's what I was put on earth to do. But there are certain issues I have opinions about. Film's the most powerful medium in the world. I think I should have been shot if I didn't use this advantage to talk about things that affect us, being a black American today." - Spike Lee quoted in Newsweek, Oct. 2, 1989
A number of actors have appeared in multiple Spike Lee productions. Joie Lee (Spike's sister) and John Turturro lead the list, each having appeared in nine Spike Lee films.
In 1991, Lee was sued by Curtis Brown for money Brown alleged that Lee owed him from when the two men were partners in a production company called Fresh Films, Inc. (in 1984) and Lee was directing and Brown was executive producer of an unfinished film, "The Messenger."
Lee established two annual $5000 grants for second or third year black students at NYU's film school.
Lee has produced and directed music videos for Public Enemy, Miles Davis, Anita Baker, E.U., Tracy Chapman, Branford Marsalis, Steel Pulse and Phyllis Hyman.
Lee received an honorary degree from Emerson College in 1997.
Lee was interviewed by Anna Deavere Smith as part of "The Filmmaker Series" in Premiere (October, 1995) magazine.

SMITH: Do you think it's important that a black man seem fierce? What if your whole persona was completely different, like "Oh, sweet Spike" - would you still get power?

LEE: Well, I mean, there's two ways to get power. You can ha-ha and chee-chee and roll your eyes and do the bug dance. Or you can say, "Look, I'm not doing that shit." White America, they just want black men to always be smiling. So if you don't do that all the time, then they label you the Angry Black Man. As if we had nothing to be angry about, anyway! I mean, a lot of people's attitude is "Look, you're successful, you have money - what do you have to be angry about?"

SMITH: And your answer is?

LEE: "I was one of the lucky ones."
Named honorary co-chairman with New York Gov. Mario Cuomo of a plan to preserve the "Negro Burial Ground," a site utilized between 1710 and 1790 (16th Century) in downtown New York City.

Milestones

(2000) Again courted controversy with "Bamboozled," about a TV executive who creates a modern-day minstrel show that becomes a surprise hit TV series
(1980) Debuted thesis film, "Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads" at Lincoln Center's New Directors New Films Festival; the first student film to be showcased in the festival
(1992) Directed Denzel Washington as the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader in "Malcolm X"
(2008) Directed the WWII drama "Miracle at St. Anna" starring Derek Luke and Michael Ealy
(2002) Directed the crime drama "The 25th Hour"
(2002) Directed the documentary "Jim Brown: All American"; produced under the auspices of HBO sports (released theatrically in March)
Enrolled in New York University's Tisch School of the Arts
(1996) Filmed "Get on the Bus," about a group of African-American men taking a cross-country bus trip in order to participate in the Million Man March; released on the one year anniversary of the March
(1987) First book published She's Gotta Have It: Inside Guerilla Filmmaking
(1986) First feature film (directed, wrote, produced and starred), "She's Gotta Have It" (made for approximately $175,000 and shot in 12 days)
(1998) First number one hit with "He Got Game" starring Denzel Washington
(1992) Formed record label, Forty Acres and a Mule Music Works, a division of Sony; first artists signed: State of Arts, Youssou N'Dour and Lonette McKee
Founded the production company 40 Acres and A Mule Filmworks
(2006) Helmed the Hurricane Katrina documentary for HBO, "When the Levees Broke"; earned an Emmy nomination for Producing
(2000) Helmed the comedy film, "The Original Kings of Comedy" with Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, and Bernie Mac
(1999) Helmed the controversial "Summer of Sam"
(1989) Helmed the controversial drama, "Do the Right Thing"; earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay
(1997) Produced and directed the documentary "4 Little Girls"; earned Academy Award nomination
(1991) Produced first Off-Broadway play, "Folks Remembers a Missing Page"
(2006) Re-teamed with Denzel Washington to direct the hostage drama "Inside Man"
(1997) Signed three-year, first-look production deal with Columbia Pictures