J.J. Abrams

He married Katie McGrath, a public relations executive in 1996 and has three children.

He has an active interest in politics and has contributed to the campaigns of Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Harry Reid, etc.

Abrams was born in New York in to television producer Gerald Abrams and his wife Carol Ann, also a television and film producer. He has one sister who is also a screenwriter. He is a Jew.

He went to Palisades High School and later attended Sarah Lawrence College.

Abrams along with Jill Mazursky co-wrote a film treatment that was eventually made into the comedy film ‘Taking Care of Business’ in 1990. The film flopped at the box office.

Undaunted by the failure, he wrote the screenplay for a drama film ‘Regarding Henry’ in 1991 which won many accolades.

In 1992, he wrote the screenplay for the science fiction-romance ‘Forever Young’ which starred Mel Gibson in the lead role. The film was well received by the audience.

He turned producer with the 1996 romantic comedy, ‘The Pallbearer’.

In 1997, he co-wrote the script for ‘Gone Fishin’ with Jill Mazursky. Both ‘The Pallbearer’ and ‘Gone Fishin’ were big box office disappointments.

Abrams’s first biggest success came when he co-created the television show ‘Felicity’ which ran for four seasons from 1998 to 2002. TIME magazine listed it as one of "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME" in 2007. This show was a big milestone in his career as a screenwriter.

He created the television action series ‘Alias’ which ran for five seasons from 2001 to 2006. The show was ranked among the American Film Institute’s top ten television programs in 2003. It was also listed in the list of the "50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time" in the British magazine ‘Empire’.

His most critically acclaimed television endeavor was the show ‘Lost’ which ran for six seasons form 2004 to 2010 on the ABC. The show has been described by some critics as being among the greatest television series of all time. ‘Lost’ won several nominations and awards, including the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award.

Abrams found his big breakthrough in films with ‘Mission: Impossible III’ (2006), an action spy film which he co-wrote and directed. The film received positive reviews and was a box office success.

He is also well known for his science fiction action film, ‘Star Trek’ which he directed and co-produced in 2009. It was a box office success and was nominated for several awards.