Stephen Gaghan

Born: 6 May 1965 Where: Louisville, Kentucky, USA

Stephen Gaghan won both a Golden Globe and Academy Award for his screenplay for the film Traffic.

The film grossed in excess of $100 million and garnered three additional Oscars.

While researching Traffic, he wrote the acclaimed film Rules of Engagement directed by William Friedkin, and his first screenplay, Havoc.

Gaghan has also scripted seven of the 21 episodes of the horror series American Gothic, a few of the first 13 episodes of David Kelly's award-winning drama The Practice and an episode of NYPD Blue that won him a 1997 Emmy for Best Dramatic Writing.

In addition, Gaghan earned the distinction of having a spot on the 10 Best Unproduced Screenplays list for having cowritten (with Michael Tolkin and Michael R. Perry) $20 Billion, a satiric comedy about Bill Gates and Microsoft for HBO, which is currently in development.