Photo: Mein, Simon © Fine Line Features

Born in Salford, Greater Manchester, England; trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, London, Camberwell Art School, London, London International School of Film Technique and Central School of Arts and Crafts, London. Stage, TV and film director whose film style -- in which the commonplace is often tinged with the extraordinary -- has been dubbed "social surrealism," or as Leigh prefers to call it, "heightened realism." A creative force in London's experimental fringe theater since the 1960s, Leigh earned critical acclaim for his numerous TV films investigating the vicissitudes of life among the "proles," notably the 1977 drama, ABIGAIL'S PARTY. After making his feature debut with BLEAK MOMENTS (1972), Leigh took a 17-year hiatus from theatrical films, working exclusively for British stage and TV. He returned to films, winning international attention with HIGH HOPES (1988), a grim portrait of Thatcherite London. Leigh's low-key style and his knack for offbeat characterization and warm humor all enrich his surprisingly life-affirming 1991 comedy LIFE IS SWEET, about a dysfunctional working class family. His next effort, NAKED (1993), was a stark portrait of one man's (David Thewlis) journey into the bowels of his soul. Critically acclaimed in the US and at the Cannes Film Festival (where he was named Best Director and Thewlis Best Actor), the film was largely panned in England, with most reviewers citing what they saw as the story's misogynistic aspects. CAREER GIRLS was released in 1997. Leigh works closely with his movie casts, sometimes for months, guiding them as they individually research their roles and interact with the other characters in the film. This improvisational approach to script writing is often mistaken by those who don't understand it. The story and script do evolve from improvisation. However, once the scenes are perfected, the actors work from a shooting script as they would in any ordinary film. This approach proved very effective in Leigh's best-known features, SECRETS & LIES (1996) and TOPSY-TURVY (1999). In 2002, Leigh released ALL OR NOTHING, a film that Roger Ebert said "looks behind three doors in a South London public housing estate and finds loneliness, desperation and a stubborn streak of spunky humor. His characters try to remember a time when they were light-hearted and had hope. But there is little to cheer them now, except for food and sleep, the telly, the pub on Saturday night and, for the young, thoughtless sex to hurry them along into raising thankless kids of their own... These people are real as few movie characters ever are. At the end, it looks as if they will be able to admit a little sunshine into their lives and talk to each other a little more. We are relieved." He wrote and directed VERA DRAKE, which was released in 2004, and 2008's HAPPY-GO-LUCKY. Leigh is chairman of The London Film School, and he was awarded the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) in 1993 by Queen Elizabeth II. He was married to actress Alison Steadman (b. 1946) from 1973 to 2001; they have 2 children.  Nominated for Achievement in Directing 1996: SECRETS & LIES  Nominated for Achievement in Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen) 1996: SECRETS & LIES  Nominated for Achievement in Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen) 1999: TOPSY-TURVY  Nominated for Achievement in Directing 2004: VERA DRAKE  Nominated for Achievement in Writing (Original Screenplay) 2004: VERA DRAKE  Nominated for Achievement in Writing: Original Screenplay 2008: HAPPY-GO-LUCKY 6 nominations