Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American filmmaker and actor. Cited by various publications as one of the most important filmmakers of the late 20th century, his work explores issues including race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary life, urban crime and poverty. Lee has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and four Emmy Awards, as well as nominations for three Golden Globe Awards and a Grammy Award. Lee studied filmmaking at Morehouse College and New York University Tisch School of the Arts, where he directed the student film Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983), which won a Student Academy Award. Under his production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, he has produced more than 35 films. Lee made his directorial debut with the comedy She's Gotta Have It (1986) before making his seminal film Do the Right Thing (1989), earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He has since directed the historical epic Malcolm X (1992), and the crime dramedy BlacKkKlansman (2018), the later of which earned him the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Lee has also written and directed films such as School Daze (1988), Mo' Better Blues (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), Crooklyn (1994), Clockers (1995), Bamboozled (2000), 25th Hour (2002), Inside Man (2006), Chi-Raq (2015), Da 5 Bloods (2020), and Highest 2 Lowest (2025). He has also acted in eleven of his feature films and directed documentary projects including 4 Little Girls (1997), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film. He directed the HBO series When the Levees Broke (2006), which won two Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise (2010) and the David Byrne concert film American Utopia (2020). Lee's honors include the Honorary BAFTA Award in 2002, an Honorary César in 2003, the Academy Honorary Award in 2015, and the National Medal of Arts in 2023. Five of his films have been selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". He received a Gala Tribute from the Film Society of Lincoln Center, three Peabody Awards, and the Gish Prize. His films have featured breakthrough performances from actors such as Denzel Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Samuel L. Jackson, Giancarlo Esposito, Rosie Perez, Delroy Lindo, John Turturro, and John David Washington.