Lee Daniels

Lee Daniels (born December 24, 1959) is an American film and television producer, director and screenwriter.

Daniels was born on December 24, 1959, in West Philadelphia, the eldest son of Clara May (Watson) and William Louis Daniels.

Daniels has four siblings: Cheryl, Lydia (aka Girlie), Maynard and Leah.

His younger sister, Leah Daniels-Butler, is a television and film casting director credited with casting many of his projects.

When Daniels was a teenager, his mother arranged for a neighbor's family who was a butler for the owner of the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team to use that owner's address in Radnor so that Lee could attend the public Radnor High School.

In 1975, when Daniels was 15 years old, his father, who was a police officer, was killed in the line of duty.

He graduated from Radnor High School in 1978.

After graduating from Radnor, Daniels attended Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri.

However, he soon realized the liberal arts school was not for him, and he moved to Hollywood, Los Angeles, eventually working as a receptionist in a nursing agency.

Before long, Daniels started his own nursing agency, specializing in HIV/AIDS treatment.

Eventually, he sold his nursing agency and segued into casting.

He began his career in entertainment as a casting director and manager after a chance meeting with a Hollywood producer, working on such projects as Purple Rain and Under the Cherry Moon.

He continued managing talent.

The documentary My Big Break features Daniels early in his career when he was managing actor Wes Bentley, who starred as Ricky Fitts in American Beauty.

In the documentary, Daniels comments on Bentley's reluctance to capitalize on his newfound celebrity status.

Monster's Ball, the debut production of Lee Daniels Entertainment, was a critical and box office success.

Halle Berry won the Oscar for Best Actress; the film was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay.

His first producer credit was Monster's Ball (2001), for which Halle Berry won the Academy Award for Best Actress, making Daniels the first African-American film producer to solely produce an Oscar-winning film.

Other films he has produced include The Woodsman (2004), Tennessee (2008), Pimp (2018) and Concrete Cowboy (2020).

His 2004 production The Woodsman, starring Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, and Mos Def, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

The campaign was launched in March 2004 and featured Grammy winners LL Cool J and Alicia Keys.

He made his directorial debut with Shadowboxer in 2005 and has since then directed the films Precious (2009), The Paperboy (2012, which he co-wrote), The Butler (2013) and The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021).

Of these, Precious was the most critically acclaimed, and was nominated for six Academy Awards, including two nominations for Daniels, for Best Director and Best Picture.

It went on to garner three nominations at the 2005 Independent Spirit Awards, the CICAE Arthouse Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, the Jury Prize at the Deauville International Film Festival, and a "Special Mention for Excellence in Filmmaking" award from the National Board of Review.

Former president Bill Clinton persuaded Daniels to produce public service announcements to encourage young people of color to vote.

His first directorial effort, 2006's Shadowboxer, debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival.

It starred Helen Mirren, Cuba Gooding Jr.., Stephen Dorff, Vanessa Ferlito, Mo'Nique, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Macy Gray.

It was nominated for Best New Director at the San Sebastian Film Festival.

His 2008 production Tennessee was written by Russell Schaumberg and directed by Aaron Woodley (Rhinoceros Eyes); the film is about two brothers, played by Adam Rothenberg and Ethan Peck, who travel from New Mexico to Tennessee to search for their estranged father.

Along the way they meet Krystal (Mariah Carey), an aspiring singer who flees her controlling husband (Lance Reddick) to join them on their journey.

His 2009 film Precious told the story of an obese, illiterate, 16-year-old girl (Gabourey Sidibe) who lives in a Section 8 tenement in Harlem.

She has been impregnated twice by her father, Carl, and suffers long-term physical, sexual, and emotional abuse from her unemployed mother, Mary (Mo'Nique).

Carey appeared as a social worker.

The film screened at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and went on to garner widespread acclaim.

Mo'Nique won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, Daniels was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and the film received a Best Picture nomination.

It was a financial success grossing $63 million worldwide against a budget of $10 million.

Daniels directed The Paperboy (2012), based on the 1995 novel by Pete Dexter who penned the original script which was further developed by Daniels; it starred Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, John Cusack, and Nicole Kidman.

The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

Daniels has co-created and co-executive produced the TV series Empire (2015–2020) and Star (2016–2019), both set in the music industry.

Daniels said he did not attend the Oscars when the film won, citing his challenges with addiction and his struggle over whether he "deserved" to attend, according to an emotional interview on MSNBC in 2019.