Steve McQueen

Director & actor · born 9 October 1969 · London, England, UK

Sir Steve Rodney McQueen CBE (born 9 October 1969) is an English film director, film producer, screenwriter, and video artist. Known for directing films that deal with intense subject matter, he has received several awards, including an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and a Golden Globe Award. He was honoured with the BFI Fellowship in 2016 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2020 for services to art and film. In 2014, he was included in Time magazine's annual Time 100 list of the "most influential people in the world".

McQueen began his formal training studying painting at London's Chelsea College of Art and Design. He later pursued film at Goldsmiths College and briefly at New York University. Influenced by Jean Vigo, Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Ingmar Bergman, and Andy Warhol, McQueen started making short films. In 1999, McQueen was awarded the Turner Prize for the "range" and "emotional intensity" of his art.

Where to start: 12 Years a Slave (2013).