Lee Daniels was born on December 24, 1959. He is an American movie and TV producer, director, and writer. His first big job was producing the movie “Monster’s Ball” in 2001, where Halle Berry won an Oscar for Best Actress. This made Daniels the first African-American film producer to solely produce an Oscar-winning film. He directed his first movie, “Shadowboxer,” in 2005 and later directed films like “Precious” (2009), “The Paperboy” (2012), “The Butler” (2013), and “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” (2021). “Precious” was very successful and was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Director and Best Picture for Daniels. He has also produced other movies like “The Woodsman” (2004), “Tennessee” (2008), “Pimp” (2018), and “Concrete Cowboy” (2020).
Daniels co-created and co-produced the TV shows “Empire” (2015–2020) and “Star” (2016–2019), both about the music industry.
Daniels was born in West Philadelphia and is the oldest son of Clara May and William Louis Daniels. He has four siblings. His sister, Leah Daniels-Butler, is a casting director who has worked on many of his projects. When he was a teenager, his mother arranged for him to use a different address so he could attend Radnor High School. His father, a police officer, was killed in the line of duty when Daniels was 15. He graduated from Radnor High School in 1978 and attended Lindenwood University but left and moved to Hollywood. He started working in a nursing agency, which he eventually owned and specialized in HIV/AIDS treatment before selling it and moving into casting and managing talent. He worked on projects like “Purple Rain” and “Under the Cherry Moon” and managed actor Wes Bentley early in his career.
Daniels’ production company debuted with “Monster’s Ball,” which was a critical and box office success. He did not attend the Oscars due to personal struggles. His 2004 production “The Woodsman” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won several awards. He produced public service announcements to encourage young people of color to vote, featuring LL Cool J and Alicia Keys.
His first directed film, “Shadowboxer” (2006), premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. His 2008 film “Tennessee” starred Mariah Carey. In 2009, “Precious” gained widespread acclaim, with Mo’Nique winning an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, and the film being nominated for Best Picture and Best Director for Daniels. “The Paperboy” (2012) competed for the Palme d’Or at Cannes, and “The Butler” (2013) was a financial success.
Daniels created the TV series “Empire,” which premiered in 2015. In 2021, his production company extended its deal with 20th Television. Netflix won a bidding war for his horror thriller film in 2022, and he is set to develop a series based on Sammy Davis Jr. for Hulu.
Daniels participated in a video tribute to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting in 2016.
Daniels has received several awards, including the Pratt Institute’s Creative Spirit Award in 2010, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2016, and the amfAR Award of Courage in 2018 for his work with HIV/AIDS patients.
In a 2015 interview, Daniels made comments about actor Terrence Howard’s history of domestic violence, which led to a defamation lawsuit from Sean Penn. Daniels apologized, and the lawsuit was dropped in 2016.
Daniels lives in Manhattan and is openly gay. He and his former partner, Billy Hopkins, adopted Daniels’ biological niece and nephew. Despite identifying as gay, Daniels has described himself as sexually fluid, occasionally attracted to women.