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Darren Aronofsky

(1969 - )

Darren Aronofsky is a Jewish American film director, film producer and screenwriter.

Aronofsky was born February 12, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Abraham and Charlotte Aronofsky, both school teachers. He graduated from Edward R. Murrow High School and entered Harvard University in 1987, where he studied anthropology, live action film and animation. His senior thesis film, Supermarket Sweep, was a finalist in the 1991 Student Academy Awards. He received his M.F.A. degree in directing from AFI Conservatory and won the institute's Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal.

In 1998, Aronofsky made his directorial debut with Pi, a black-and-white psychological thriller, for which he won the Directing Award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and the Gotham Open Palm Award. Aronofsky's next film was the 2000 drama Requiem for a Dream, which was based on the novel of the same name written by Hubert Selby, Jr., with whom Aronofsky wrote the screenplay. The film depicts characters facing different forms of addiction, which leads to them being imprisoned in a world of tormented delusion and reckless desperation.

In 2006, Aronofsky directed The Fountain which comprises three storylines in settings separated by 500 years: a present-day scientist and his cancer-stricken wife; a conquistador and his queen; and a space traveler who meditates on his past love. His next film was The Wrestler, in 2008, for which he was awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and Micky Rourke was nominated for an Academy Award for best actor for his starring role.

In September 2010, he released Black Swan, a psychological thriller starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, which premiered as the opening film at the 67th Venice International Film Festival.

Aronofsky began dating English actress Rachel Weisz in 2001. They became engaged in 2005 and their son, Henry Chance, was born on May 31, 2006, in New York City, however they separated in 2010.


Sources: Wikipedia