J.J. Abrams

Bio:
J.J. Abrams (born Jeffrey Jacob Abrams on June 27, 1966 in New York City, New York) is an American director, producer, writer and composer. J.J. was raised in Los Angeles, the son of television producer Gerald W. Abrams and producer Carol Ann Abrams. When J.J. was 16, he wrote the music for the low-budget science fiction film, Nightbeast. During his senior year in college, he wrote and sold a film treatment for Taking Care of Business, starring Charles Grodin and Jim Belushi. He followed that with Regarding Henry, providing J.J. the first chance his work would involve Harrison Ford. J.J. hit the big time in 1998, writing the screenplay for the Michael Bay film, Armageddon. His first foray into television was 1998’s Felicity. In 2001, J.J. executive produced and created Alias. He also executive-produced Lost. His work on that series earned him seven Emmy Award nominations, and he won twice. In 2006, he made his directorial debut in 2006 with Mission: Impossible III. In 2009, he was named as the director of the Star Trek revival movie. After producing the science-fiction series Fringe, J.J. returned to films with Super 8 and Star Trek Into Darkness. In 2013, J.J. was named the director of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Best Known For:
J.J. Abrams is best known as the creator of shows like Felicity, Alias and Lost, and the director of movies like Mission: Impossible III, Cloverfield and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Personal Life:
J.J.’s sister is screenwriter Tracy Rosen. He is married to public relations executive Katie McGrath. Together, the couple has three sons. J.J. often incorporates the number 47 into his stories/plots, and is best friends with actor Greg Grunberg.