Portrait of Philip Kaufman

Birthday profile

Philip Kaufman

Philip Kaufman, American director, producer, and screenwriter

Born
October 23, 1936
Age in 2026
90
Zodiac sign
Scorpio
Birth year
1936

About Philip Kaufman

Philip Kaufman (born October 23, 1936) is an American film director and screenwriter who has directed fifteen films over a career spanning nearly five decades. He has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award along with nominations for an Academy Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. He has been described as a "maverick" and an "iconoclast," notable for his versatility and independence, often directing eclectic and controversial films. He is considered an "auteur" whose films have always expressed his personal vision. Kaufman's works have included genres such as realism, horror, fantasy, erotica, western, and crime. Kaufman’s film The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) earned him the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He directed such films as The Wanderers (1979), Rising Sun (1993), the remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Henry & June (1990, the first film to be given an NC-17 rating), and Quills (2000). His film The Right Stuff (1983), received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. He also directed the HBO film Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012), for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special nomination. So I came back to Chicago in 1962 and set about trying to learn as much as I could, seeing every foreign movie I could." Goldstein (1964) Kaufman returned to Chicago, ready to make his first feature film. He is also known for directing the HBO film Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012), for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special nomination. During his travels he also met author Anaïs Nin, whose relationship with her lover, Henry Miller, later became the inspiration and subject for Kaufman's film Henry & June (1990).

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Philip Kaufman timeline

  1. So I came back to Chicago in 1962 and set about trying to learn as much as I could, seeing every foreign movie I could." Goldstein (1964) Kaufman returned to Chicago, ready to make his first feature film.
  2. During his travels he also met author Anaïs Nin, whose relationship with her lover, Henry Miller, later became the inspiration and subject for Kaufman's film Henry & June (1990).
  3. He is also known for directing the HBO film Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012), for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special nomination.

The world when Philip Kaufman was born

Philip Kaufman was born in 1936. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1936

  • #1 song"The Way You Look Tonight" – Fred Astaire
  • Top movieModern Times (Charlie Chaplin)
  • Top TV showBBC Television Service launches
  • Best-selling bookGone with the Wind – Margaret Mitchell

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentJesse Owens wins 4 gold medals at Berlin Olympics
  • Top headlineJesse Owens dominates the Berlin Olympics
  • Technology milestoneBBC launches the world's first regular television service
  • Defining fadSwing dancing
  • Notable inventionSun glasses (mass-produced)
  • World population2.26 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • U.S. population128.1M

1936 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Philip Kaufman's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19362026
Gas$0.19$3.45/gal
Average home$5,100$435,000
Average income$2,900$67,500
Minimum wage$0.25$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population128.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.