Born June 20, 1941, in Leicester, England, director Stephen Frears developed an interest in theater while studying law at Cambridge, and instead of donning a barrister's wig upon graduation, he joined London's Royal Court Theatre, where he worked as an assistant to director Lindsay Anderson.

Making his feature film directorial debut with 1971's Gumshoe, Frears went on to establish himself as a small-screen director before returning to the big screen in 1985 with My Beautiful Laundrette, a film detailing the relationship between a young Pakistani and a London street punk.

Over the years, Frears has continued to receive both critical acclaim and box office success for films such as Dangerous Liaisons, The Grifters (for which he received an Oscar nod) and High Fidelity. In 2006, he achieved a career high with The Queen (which earned both he and its star, Helen Mirren, Oscar nods).