On This Day

Birthday of Spike Lee

March 20th 1957

11:42 20 March 2024

American film director, producer and screenwriter Spike Lee was born on this day in 1957. Lee made his feature-length directorial debut with 'She's Gotta Have It' (1986) which he also wrote, produced, edited and starred in and shot in two weeks on a budget of just $175,000. The movie was a hit with critics and audiences alike, grossing more than $7 million at the U.S. box office.

The 1980s also saw Lee direct what is probably his most seminal film 'Do the Right Thing' (1986), which focussed on the simmering racial tension on a hot summers day in Brooklyn. The movie was a major turning point for American independent cinema and African-American filmmakers and earned Lee his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Other notable credits include 'Mo' Better Blues' (1990), 'Jungle Fever' (1991), 'Malcolm X' (1992), 'Clockers' (1995), 'Girl 6' (1996), 'Get on the Bus' (1996), 'He Got Game' (1998), 'Summer of Sam' (1999), '25th Hour' (2002), 'Inside Man' (2006), 'Oldboy' (2013), 'BlacKkKlansman' (2018), 'Da 5 Bloods' (2020) and most recently the Talking Heads documentary ‘American Utopia’ (2020).

In a career spanning five decades, Spike Lee has remained one of the most inspirational filmmakers of his generation with his films often tackling important social and political issues. Happy Birthday Spike.