Matthew Vaughn

Born: March 7 1971
Where: Beverly Hills, California, USA

The producer-turned-director first made his name with Guy Ritchie's British gangster caper Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

However, he attracted attention for his directorial debut Layer Cake, starring Daniel Craig as a slick cocaine dealer pushed out of his depth.

For many years he was under the impression he was the son of the actor Robert Vaughn but it turns out his father was English aristrocat George de vere Drummond.

He first got the producer bug while travelling around during his gap year, working in Hard Rock Cafes, when he arrived in Los Angeles.

Vaughn began his career in 1996 when he produced the thriller The Innocent Sleep with Michael Gambon and Rupert Graves.

But it wasn't until he teamed up to form Ska Films with director Guy Ritchie (he was best man for the wedding to Madonna) in 1997 that he tasted success with Lock, Stock.

The movie, which took in excess of £11m in the UK alone, was followed by Snatch, starring Brad Pitt and Benicio Del Toro.

In 2002, Vaughn produced Mean Machine, a remake of the 1974 Burt Reynolds classic starring Vinnie Jones, and Ritchie's straight-to-video Swept Away with Madonna.

Vaughn got the idea for making Layer Cake after meeting author JJ Connolly on a train in Belgium while travelling to an England football match.

He is married to the supermodel Claudia Schiffer and they have two children.