Roman Polanski

Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, screenwriter, and actor born in Paris in 1933.

Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, screenwriter, and actor born in Paris in 1933. He is known for films such as *Knife in the Water*, *Rosemary's Baby (film)*, *Chinatown*, and *The Pianist*, and for a long career marked by major awards and significant legal controversy.

Early life

Polanski was born in Paris on August 18, 1933, and is described as French-Polish. He spent part of his childhood in Poland, and sources note that he survived a traumatic wartime childhood under the Nazis.

Film career

Polanski built an international career directing in Poland, Britain, the United States, France, and Italy. He first gained international attention with *Knife in the Water* (1962). His films are often described as intense, controlled, and centered on isolation, desire, and violence.

Major films and awards

Among his best-known works are *Knife in the Water*, *Rosemary's Baby (film)*, *Chinatown*, and *The Pianist*. *The Pianist* earned him the Academy Award for Best Director in 2003, after the film's 2002 release, and also major festival recognition.

Legal controversy

In 1977, Polanski was arrested in the United States and later pleaded guilty to statutory rape. He fled to France before sentencing and remained the subject of legal and extradition disputes in later years. Sources describe him as still alive as of the latest available biographical entries.