Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson is currently in a relationship with Lebanese writer, costume designer and voice actress Juman Malouf.

Wesley Wales Anderson was born on May 1, 1969, in Houston, Texas. His mother Ann was a realtor and archaeologist while his father Melver Leonard Anderson worked in advertising and public relations. Wes has two brothers.

His parents divorced when he was a young boy and this incident deeply affected him. He graduated from St. John's School in Houston in 1987. As a school student, he developed an interest in writing and movie-making, and made silent films on his father's Super 8 camera, starring his brothers and friends.

He went on to study at the University of Texas at Austin where he met Owen Wilson in a playwriting class. The two became friends and decided to work together in future. Anderson earned his B.A. in philosophy in 1991.

Anderson and Wilson wrote the script for a short film called ‘Bottle Rocket’ in 1994. The movie featured Wilson and his brother Luke. The movie caught the attention of director and producer James L. Brooks who helped the duo receive funding for making a full length feature film of the same name in 1996.

Once again collaborating with Wilson, Anderson made the film ‘Rushmore’ (1998), a comedy drama about an eccentric teenager named Max Fischer. The movie was reviewed very positively by critics, and helped to launch Anderson’s career.

In 2001, he directed the film ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ which he had co-written with Owen Wilson. The film was about the lives of three gifted siblings whose eccentric father abandons them in their adolescent years. The film was met with mostly positive reviews.

He collaborated with writer Noah Baumbach for the first time to co-produce the comedy drama ‘The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou’ in 2004. The film stars Bill Murray as the eponymous Zissou, an eccentric oceanographer whose life’s ambition is to seek the “jaguar shark” which is a fictional creature.

In 2005, he co-produced the movie ‘The Squid and the Whale’ with Peter Newman, Charlie Corwin, and Clara Markowicz. The plot revolves around two young boys who are dealing with their parents’ divorce. The film was exhibited at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival where it received several awards and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize.

’The Royal Tenenbaums’ was his first major hit which established him as a successful filmmaker. The screenplay was nominated for an Academy Award and the movie earned more than $50 million in domestic box office receipts.

One of his biggest successes so far is the comedy film ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ which was an American-German-British co-production. The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and several Academy Awards as well. Anderson's screenplay and direction received widespread critical acclaim.