Steven Spielberg

Steven Allan Spielberg KBE (born December 18, 1946) is an American film director and producer. Spielberg is a three-time Academy Award winner and is the highest grossing filmmaker of all time, with an estimated net worth of $3 billion. As of 2006, Premiere listed him as the most powerful and influential figure in the motion picture industry. TIME named him in the '100 Greatest People of the Century'. At the end of the 20th century LIFE named him the most influential person of his generation.

In a career that spans almost four decades, Spielberg's films have touched many themes and genres. During the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, three of his films, Jaws, E.T. and Jurassic Park became the highest grossing films for their time. During his early years as a director, his sci-fi and adventure films were often seen as the archetype of modern Hollywood blockbuster film-making. In recent years, he has tackled emotionally powerful issues such as the Holocaust, slavery, war, and terrorism.