Garry Marshall

Born: 13th November 1934
Where: New York

The veteran director is best known for the smash hit romantic comedy Pretty Woman - 1990's biggest grossing film - starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts.

Subsequent career highlights have included The Runaway Bride (where he reunited Gere and Roberts) and The Princess Diaries.

Marshall began his career in New York as a sports reporter for the Daily News while also writing gags for stand-up performers.

He made his TV acting debut with a recurring role on the George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.

In 1962, Marshall headed to Hollywood to work, and began writing episodes, with Jerry Belson, for sitcoms like The Lucy Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show.

At the same time he was also landing small roles in movies, including an American gangster in the Bond film Goldfinger.

With Belson, he also dipped his toe into features for the first time, producing and scripting How Sweet it Is, starring James Garner and Debbie Reynolds.

Marshall developed the hit TV series, Happy Days, which soon became television's number one programme, then worked on Mork and Mindy, which made Robin Williams an overnight star.

He moved to feature film directing, debuting with Young Doctors in Love, then during the 80s, Garry directed some successful movies including the Goldie Hawn-Kurt Russell comedy Overboard, and the Bette Midler hit, Beaches.

But he hit box office glory with Pretty Woman, which not only revived Richard Gere's career, but also made Julia Roberts a star.

This was followed by another hit, with Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer as Frankie and Johnny.

With a love for theatre, Marshall made his first stab at playwriting, with Shelves, which was followed by the successful Wrong Turn at Lungfish, which played in LA, Chicago, and New York.

In 1997, he built and opened Burbank's 120-seat Falcon Theatre (named after a "gang" he used to hang with during his Bronx teenage days).

His younger sister Penny is also in the film industry, and has had her own fair share of success with Big, Awakenings, and more recently Riding In Cars With Boys.

Marshall reunited the Pretty Woman team with Roberts and Gere joining forces again for Runaway Bride in 1999.

At the same time he was also appearing in minor roles in movies including It's A Shame About Ray, The Majestic and Orange County.

In 2001, he scored a hit with the Disney hit The Princess Diaries although Raising Helen with Kate Hudson failed to repeat his earlier rom-com success.