Robert Zemeckis Biography

Director, producer, writer. Born Robert Lee Zemeckis on May 14, 1952 in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Art, where his film A Field of Honor won a Student Academy Award®. His breakthrough film was the popular Michael Douglas adventure comedy Romancing the Stone. He followed with the hugely successful Back to the Future trilogy starring Michael J. Fox.

Known for his innovative use of special effects, Zemeckis has never been afraid to experiment in his films, as seen in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump and the CGI-animated The Polar Express. He won an Academy Award® for Best Director for Forrest Gump in 1994. He re-teamed with Tom Hanks for the 2000 blockbuster Cast Away.

Zemeckis also helmed the popular if macabre HBO series Tales From the Crypt from 1989 to 1996. In 1999, he founded the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts at USC.

Zemeckis and ex-wife Mary Ellen Trainor have a son, Alexander. Zemeckis is currently married to actress Leslie Harter Zemeckis.

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