Biography for
John Singleton (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

6 January 1968, Los Angeles, California, USA

Birth Name

John Daniel Singleton

Height

5' 6" (1.68 m)

Mini Biography

Son of mortgage broker Danny Singleton and pharmaceutical company sales executive Sheila Ward and raised in separate households by his unmarried parents, John Singleton attended the Filmic Writing Program at USC after graduating from high school in 1986. While studying there, he won three writing awards from the university, which lead to a contract with Creative Artists Agency during his sophomore year. Columbia Pictures bought his script for Boyz n the Hood (1991) and budgeted it at $7 million. Singleton notes that much of the story comes from his own experiences in South Central LA and credits his parents with keeping him off the street.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Tony Adam

Spouse

Akosua Busia

(12 October 1996 - 15 June 1997) (divorced) 1 child

Trade Mark

Frequently casts hip-hop musicians in his films (e.g. Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, Busta Rhymes)

Films often center around inner-city tension.

Frequently casts Tyrese Gibson.

Trivia

Graduated from USC School of Cinema-Television (1990).

Daughter, Hadar, (b. 4/3/1997). with Oxford trained Ghanian princess Akosua Busia.

Youngest person ever to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Director (at 24).

Loves to collect and read comic books.

Started Ice Cube's acting career; on the "Queen Latifah Show" (1999), Ice Cube stated that John Singleton screen-tested him to see if he could act.

Dated model Tyra Banks. They met when on his film Higher Learning (1995).

Sentenced to make a short film about domestic violence after pleading no contest to charges he assaulted the mother of his 6-year-old daughter Cleopatra. He was also placed on three years' probation, fined $300, and ordered to undergo a year of domestic violence counseling. (22 June 1999).

Has a daughter named Cleopatra who appeared in Baby Boy (2001).

A member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. Crossed Spring 1987 at Beta Omega Chapter (USC, Pepperdine, LMU).

His 1991 film, Boyz n the Hood (1991), made its way onto the prestigious National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.

Graduated from Blair High School in Pasadena, California, in 1986.

Met Laurence Fishburne when he was a PA on "Pee-wee's Playhouse" (1986). Lawrence played Cowboy Curtis.

Taught an Advanced Directing Class at USC. (Spring 1997)

Favorite films include Raging Bull (1980), Bicycle Thief, Jaws (1975), Les quatre cents coups (1959) (400 Blows), and A Clockwork Orange (1971).

Director of music videos, his most famous one was Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time" that included Magic Johnson and Eddie Murphy.

A huge fan of Westerns. In fact, many of the shots in his films are influenced by the genre.

Shares his birthday with Rowan Atkinson, Jenna Z. Wilson, and Gabrielle Reece.

Has family and friends in Switzerland.

While in high school, Singleton learned "that the film business was controlled by screenplays." After graduating from high school in 1986, Singleton was accepted to the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television's prestigious Film Writing Program. During his four-year studies there, he won three writing awards. These achievements in writing earned Singleton a contract with the powerful Creative Artists Agency during his sophomore year at USC. Columbia wanted to make the picture, but at first wanted someone else to direct it. Singleton believed only he could do it, and did.

Favorite directors are: Orson Welles, Francois Truffaut, Steven Spielberg, Akira Kurosawa, John Cassavetes, Martin Scorsese, and Francis Ford Coppola.

Where Are They Now

(September 2002) Begins shooting The Fast and The Furious 2

(January 2008) Currently in talks for producing an on-screen adaptation of "The A-Team".

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