Spike Lee Quick Info | |
---|---|
Height | 5 ft 5 in |
Weight | 68 kg |
Date of Birth | March 20, 1957 |
Zodiac Sign | Pisces |
Spouse | Tonya Lewis |
Spike Lee is a successful American Filmmaker who is known for directing She’s Gotta Have It, Do the Right Thing, Mo’ Better Blues, Malcolm X, He Got Game, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, Chi-Raq, and BlacKkKlansman. He has a Master of Fine Arts degree from the New York University‘s Tisch School of the Arts. Spike has more than a million followers on Facebook and more than 1 million followers on Instagram.
Born Name
Shelton Jackson Lee
Nick Name
Spike
Sun Sign
Pisces
Born Place
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Residence
New York City, New York, United States
Nationality
Education
Spike Lee studied at John Dewey High School in Brooklyn’s Gravesend neighborhood. Later, he joined the Morehouse College in Atlanta and obtained his B.A. in Mass Communication.
He also studied film at Clark Atlanta University. He went on to earn Master of Fine Arts in Film & Television from the New York University‘s Tisch School of the Arts.
Occupation
Filmmaker, Professor, Actor
Family
- Father – William James Edward Lee III (Jazz Musician and Composer)
- Mother – Jacqueline Carroll (Teacher of Arts and Black Literature)
- Siblings – Joie Lee (Younger Sister) (Screenwriter, Producer, Actress), Cinqué Lee (Younger Brother) (Actor, Filmmaker), David Lee (Younger Brother) (Still Photographer)
- Others – Consuela Lee Morehead (Uncle), Malcolm D. Lee (Cousin) (Film Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Actor), Arnold Wadsworth Lee (Paternal Grandfather), Alberta Grace Edwards (Paternal Grandmother), Richard J. Shelton (Maternal Grandfather), Zimmie Retha Jackson (Maternal Grandmother)
Manager
Spike Lee is managed by –
- 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, Inc., Production Company, Brooklyn, New York, United States
- ICM Partners, Talent and Literary Agency, Los Angeles, California, United States
Build
Slim
Height
5 ft 5 in or 165 cm
Weight
68 kg or 150 lbs
Girlfriend / Spouse
Spike Lee has dated –
- Veronica Webb (1990-1991) – From August 1990 to December 1991, Spike was in a relationship with model Veronica Webb.
- Tonya Lewis (1992-Present) – In 1992, Spike began a relationship with an attorney and Producer, Tonya Lewis. The couple tied the knot in New York in 1993. They are blessed with 2 children – a daughter named Satchel Lee (b. 1994) and a son named Jackson Lee (b. 1997).
Race / Ethnicity
Multiracial (Black and White)
He is of African-American (including Cameroonian and Nigerien) and distant English descent.
Hair Color
Black
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
- Keeps French beard
- Often wears thick-rimmed glasses
- Usually wears a cap
Brand Endorsements
Spike Lee has endorsed and appeared in commercials for brands like –
- Mazda Demio (Japan) (2000)
- Nike’s Air Jordan tennis shoes as Mars Blackmon
- “Orange” UK phone company
Religion
He stated in an interview on BBC that he believed in God.
Best Known For
Creating and projecting black community themes, urban crime, and politics related films like Do the Right Thing (1989), Malcolm X (1992), The Original Kings of Comedy (2000), 25th Hour (2002), Inside Man (2006), Chi-Raq (2015), and BlacKkKlansman (2018)
First Film
In 1986, he made his theatrical film debut in the romantic-comedy film She’s Gotta Have It as Mars Blackmon.
First TV Show
In 1986, he made his first TV show appearance on the comedy based talk show Nightlife.
In 2001, he made his debut as a voice actor by lending his voice in the family series Just for Me Stories.
Spike Lee Favorite Things
- Film – The Deer Hunter (1978)
- Michael Moore’s Films – Bowling for Columbine (2002)
- Place To Lunch – Fred’s at Barneys
- Coffee Shop – Viand
Source – IMDb, Grub Street
Spike Lee Facts
- His family relocated to Brooklyn, New York when he was small.
- His mother used to call him “Spike” when he was little.
- He frequently casts himself in his films.
- He often uses a technique where in order to achieve floating imagery of the subject, it is placed with the camera on a dolly and pushed through the scene.
- As a huge New York Knicks fan, he often wears the Knicks apparel from head to toe, even when he is working.
- He has courtside seats for all New York Knicks games.
- Spike also supports the baseball team, the New York Yankees.
- In 1978, he founded the production company called 40 Acres and A Mule Filmworks in New York City, New York. The name “40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks” was inspired from an unfulfilled promise made to freed slaves by politicians after the end of Civil War.
- His first full-length film, She’s Gotta Have It (1986) was completed with funding from his grandmother, Zimmie Shelton.
- He does not drive an automobile.
- He has frequently collaborated with producer/director Monty Ross who was also his classmate from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
- In the early 1990s, he worked as a Visiting Lecturer in Afro-American Studies and Visual and Environmental Studies at the Harvard University.
- In 2002, he also held the rank of an Artistic Director of the Kanbar Institute of Film and Television at New York University‘s Tisch School of the Arts.
- He is a massive fan of Michael Moore’s films.
- In the past, Entertainment Weekly voted him as the 48th greatest director of all time.
- He is also a football fan and supports English team Arsenal citing Thierry Henry as his personal friend.
- Notable Taiwanese director Ang Lee and Spike were classmates at New York University‘s Tisch School of the Arts.
- In 2004, he acted as one of the jury members at the Venice Film Festival.
- He loves Hollywood’s golden age musicals.
- He got the inspiration to become a director after watching the film The Deer Hunter (1978).
- In the 2016 Presidential Election of the United States, he extended his support for candidate Bernie Sanders.
- He has been involved as a writer and producer in several films including BlacKkKlansman (2018), Chi-Raq (2015), Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (2014), Red Hook Summer (2012), She Hate Me (2004), Bamboozled (2000), Summer of Sam (1999), and many others.
- Some of the musicians that he often listens to are Stevie Wonder, Prince, Bob Marley, Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway, John Coltrane, and Ella Fitzgerald.
- Spike is left-handed.
- During the 2023 TIFF Tribute Gala & Awards, Spike received the “Ebert Director Award”.
Featured Image by Peabody Awards / Flickr / CC BY-2.0