J.J. Abrams biography

Synopsis

Early Career

Jeffrey Jacobs Abrams was born in New York City on June 27, 1966, later moving to Los Angeles. He developed an early interest in filmmaking and, during his final year as an undergraduate at Sarah Lawrence College in New York, co-wrote the screenplay with Jill Mazursky that would be developed into the comedy Taking Care of Business (1990), starring John Belushi.

Abrams did some acting and continued his screenwriting work with films like Regarding Henry (1991), in which he had an on-screen role, Forever Young (1992), Gone Fishin' (1997) and Armageddon (1998). By the mid-1990s, Abrams had started to venture into film production work as well.

TV Hits: 'Felicity,' 'Alias' and 'Lost'

In 1998, Abrams created and wrote the WB network TV show Felicity, starring Keri Russell as the college-bound title character. It debuted in 1998 and ran for four seasons. Wanting to create something more action-packed and full of thrills, Abrams would go on to serve as creator, producer, director and screenwriter for Alias. The multiple-season hit series debuted in 2001 and featured Jennifer Garner in a slew of guises as spy Sydney Bristow. Abrams started to become known for the intricacy and plot twists of his storytelling.

In 2004, he once again struck TV gold with the creation of the ABC series Lost, which featured a group of castaways stranded on a mysterious, mystical island. Abrams earned two 2005 Emmys for his work—one for direction and the other for Outstanding Drama Series—and received multiple nominations for the series over the years.

Directing 'Star Trek'

Abrams continued his TV production and screenwriting work with projects like What About Brian, Fringe and Undercovers. By the mid-2000s, Abrams was once again in the world of cinema and made his movie-directing debut with 2006's Mission Impossible III. Abrams then directed a 2009 revamping of a beloved sci-fi TV and film series, Star Trek. Abrams' version went on to become a global hit, earning more than $385 million and much media talk around the new direction of the characters. His next directorial outing on the big screen came in 2011 in the form of Super 8, a sci-fi mystery/thriller set in the '70s.

In early 2013, it was announced that Abrams would direct another installment in another famous sci-fi film franchise—Star Wars, originally directed by George Lucas. The Abrams-helmed Star Wars: Episode VII is slated for a 2015 release. His next film featuring the crew of the Enterprise, Star Trek Into Darkness, is slated to be released in May 2013.

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