Woody Allen Bio
WOODY ALLEN
Date of Birth: December 1, 1935
Born Allen Stewart Konigsberg in Brooklyn, New York, this multi-talented actor, director, writer, and musician began his career as a comedian and playwright. He was a television gag writer before writing and starring in his first feature film, What's New, Pussycat?. Take the Money and Run marked Allen's directorial debut in a hilarious parody of crime films and documentaries.
Allen's films are characterized by their neurotic, urban-Jewish shtick and can be dated by the female lead—who is generally his current lover of choice. Past femmes include Louise Lasser, Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow.
Reclusive and anti-Hollywood, Allen's critical moment in the spotlight was not for his work as a filmmaker, but for his affair with Farrow's (college-age) adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn. In 1992, Allen filed for custody of their three children and later made shocking headlines when Farrow accused him of molesting their adopted daughter Dylan. While experts found no evidence to substantiate these allegations, Allen's reputation had already been trashed in the tabloids. After a lengthy and very public court battle, Allen lost custody of the three children. He married Soon-Yi in December 1997 and the two now have two children together.
"If you're an entertainer," Allen says, "your private life is public, that's what happens. Over the years, I've got used to that. Sometimes they write wonderful things, sometimes they write what a fool you are. That's part of what it is to be in the public eye."
Over the years, Allen has won an astounding number of awards, including three Academy Awards and two Golden Globes. His most recent Golden Globe was for his Midnight in Paris screenplay. He's also received two Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director for his work on the film. Allen followed up Midnight in Paris with To Rome With Love (2012), which follows the intersecting stories of both foreigners and Italians in Rome.
His latest directorial films are Blue Jasmine (2013), starring Alec Baldwin and Cate Blanchett, Magic in the Moonlight (2014) starring Colin Firth and Emma Stone, Irrational Man (2015) starring Joaquin Phoenix, and Café Society starring Steve Carell and Jesse Eisenberg.
Filmography (Director):
Untitled Woody Allen Project (2017)Café Society (2016)
Irrational Man (2015)
Magic in the Moonlight (2014)
Blue Jasmine (2013)
To Rome with Love (2012)
Midnight in Paris (2011)
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010)
Whatever Works (2009)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Cassandra's Dream (2007)
Scoop (2006)
Match Point (2005)
Melinda and Melinda (2004)
Anything Else (2003)
Hollywood Ending (2002)
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)
Small Time Crooks (2000)
Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
Celebrity (1998)
Deconstructing Harry (1997)
Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
Husbands and Wives (1992)
Shadows and Fog (1991)
Alice (1990)
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
New York Stories (1989)
Another Woman (1988)
September (1987)
Radio Days (1987)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Broadway Danny Rose (1984)
Zelig (1983)
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982)
Stardust Memories (1980)
Manhattan (1979)
Interiors (1978)
Annie Hall (1977)
Love and Death (1975)
Sleeper (1973)
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972)
Bananas (1971)
Take the Money and Run (1969)
What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966)