Lee Daniels

Producer, writer, and director Lee Daniels was born on December 24, 1959, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Clara-Mae and William Daniels. He graduated from Radnor High School in 1978 and attended Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri.

In 1980, Daniels moved to Los Angeles, California, where he worked as a receptionist and later as a manager at a nursing staffing agency. He subsequently founded his own nursing staffing agency, which grew to employ more than five hundred nurses. After selling his agency in 1983, he entered the entertainment industry, starting as a production assistant on the films Purple Rain (1984) and Under the Cherry Moon (1986), both starring Prince. Daniels then worked as a casting director and talent manager, where he represented actors like Wes Bentley and Michael Shannon, before founding his own production company, Lee Daniels Entertainment. In 2001, the company produced its first feature film, Monster’s Ball, which starred Halle Berry, Billy Bob Thornton, and Heath Ledger, and earned Halle Berry an Academy Award for “Best Actress,” making her the first Black female to win an Academy Award in this category. Daniels then made his directorial debut with the dramatic film Shadowboxer in 2005, which starred Cuba Gooding Jr., Helen Mirren, and Mo’Nique.

Daniels continued to produce films independently, and in 2009, he directed and produced Precious, adapted from Sapphire’s novel Push, starring Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique, Paula Patton, Lenny Kravitz, and Mariah Carey. The film received six Academy Award nominations, including “Best Picture” and “Best Director,” making Daniels only the second African American director in history to earn that distinction. Daniels also earned the NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture.” Daniels went on to direct and co-produce the 2013 film The Butler, based on the life of longtime White House butler Eugene Allen. The film, which starred Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Lenny Kravitz, and Jane Fonda, grossed more than $175 million worldwide and won two NAACP Image Awards. In 2015, Daniels and Danny Strong co-created and co-wrote the hit television series Empire, starring Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard. Subsequently, he produced the companion series Star (2016–2019), starring Queen Latifah and Benjamin Bratt. After the series concluded, Daniels continued to produce, write, and direct various award-winning or nominated film and television projects, including the 2021 Hulu drama The United States vs. Billie Holiday, starring Andra Day, whose performance earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, and the 2024 horror film Deliverance, which featured Andra Day, Glenn Close, Mo’Nique, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.

Beyond his creative work, Daniels serves on the boards of the Ghetto Film School and the Public Theater, has co-chaired the Directors Guild of America’s Eastern Diversity Steering Committee, and supports emerging filmmakers through initiatives such as the Lee Daniels Entertainment Creative Workshop. Honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2016 and the amfAR Award of Courage in 2018 for his HIV/AIDS advocacy, Daniels has received more than thirty awards for his artistic and humanitarian contributions and continues to be recognized for his work in film and social advocacy.

Daniels resides in Los Angeles, California. He has two children.

Lee Daniels was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on September 20, 2024.