E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Spielberg was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. After directing several episodes for television including Night Gallery and Columbo, he directed the television film Duel (1971) which gained him acclaim from critics and audiences. He then made his directorial film debut with The Sugarland Express (1974). The following year he became a household name directing 1975’s summer blockbuster Jaws. He then directed box office successes Close Encounters of The Third Kind (1977), E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and the Indiana Jones series. Spielberg later explored drama in The Color Purple (1985) and Empire Of The Sun (1987).

After a brief hiatus, he directed two films back to back with the science fiction action, Jurassic Park, and the holocaust drama, Schindler’s List (both 1993). In 1998, he directed the World War II epic Saving Private Ryan. Spielberg continued in the 2000s with science fiction, including A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), Minority Report (2002), and War Of The Worlds (2005). He also directed the children’s adventure films The Adventures Of Tintin (2011), and Ready Player One (2018), as well as the historical dramas Amistad (1997), Munich (2005), War Horse (2011), Lincoln (2012), Bridge Of Spies (2015), The Post (2017), and the musical West Side Story (2021).