Woody Allen

For the jam band bass guitarist, see Allen Woody.

Woody Allen
Allen with his hands at his sides
Allen in 2016
Born
Allan Stewart Konigsberg

(1935-11-30) November 30, 1935 (age 88)[a]
New York City, U.S.
Occupations
  • Filmmaker
  • writer
  • actor
  • comedian
  • musician
Years active1956–present
WorksFull list
Spouses
  • Harlene Susan Rosen
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1956; div. 1962)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1966; div. 1970)​
  • ​
    (m. 1997)​
Partners
Children5, including Ronan Farrow and Moses Farrow
RelativesLetty Aronson (sister)
AwardsFull list
Websitewww.woodyallen.com Edit this at Wikidata

Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935)[a] is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many accolades, including the most nominations (16) for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He has won four Academy Awards, ten BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Grammy Award, as well as nominations for a Emmy Award and a Tony Award.[14] Allen was awarded an Honorary Golden Lion in 1995, the BAFTA Fellowship in 1997, an Honorary Palme d'Or in 2002, and the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2014. Two of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

Allen began his career writing material for television in the 1950s, alongside Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Larry Gelbart, and Neil Simon. He also published several books of short stories and wrote humor pieces for The New Yorker. In the early 1960s, he performed as a stand-up comedian in Greenwich Village, where he developed a monologue style (rather than traditional jokes) and the persona of an insecure, intellectual, fretful nebbish.[15] During this time, he released three comedy albums, earning a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album nomination for the self-titled Woody Allen (1964).[16]

After writing, directing, and starring in a string of slapstick comedies, such as Take the Money and Run (1969), Bananas (1971), Sleeper (1973), and Love and Death (1975), he directed Annie Hall (1977), a romantic comedy-drama featuring Allen and his frequent collaborator Diane Keaton. The film won four Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actress for Keaton.[17] Allen has directed many films set in New York City, including Manhattan (1979), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989).

Allen continued to garner acclaim, making a film almost every year, and is often identified as part of the New Hollywood wave of auteur filmmakers whose work has been influenced by European art cinema.[18] His films include Interiors (1978), Stardust Memories (1980), Zelig (1983), Broadway Danny Rose (1984), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Radio Days (1987), Husbands and Wives (1992), Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Deconstructing Harry (1997), Match Point (2005), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), Midnight in Paris (2011), and Blue Jasmine (2013).[19]

In 1980, Allen began a professional and personal relationship with actress Mia Farrow. Over a decade-long period, they collaborated on 13 films. The couple separated after Allen began a relationship in 1991 with Mia's and Andre Previn's 21-year-old adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn. Allen married Previn in 1997. They have two adopted daughters.[20] In 1992, Farrow publicly accused Allen of sexually abusing their adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow.[21][22] The allegation gained substantial media attention, but two judicial investigations and a custody trial did not find it credible. Allen was never charged or prosecuted, and has vehemently denied the allegation.


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  1. ^ Allen 2020, p. 11.
  2. ^ Evanier 2015, p. 66.
  3. ^ Horgan, Richard (December 14, 2015). "Woody Allen's Bronx Bump". Adweek. "Woody's birthday is not really December 1; it is November 30."
  4. ^ "Revisiting Woody Allen’s Highs, Lows On His 80th Birthday". MetroFocus. December 1, 2015. "Today on Dec. 1, film legend Woody Allen celebrates his 80th birthday. However, it's not his real birthday. He was born on Nov. 30 but chose the first of December as his birthday so he could be no. 1."
  5. ^ Evanier, David (November 9, 2015). "How Woody Allen Got His Nickname". Time.
  6. ^ "Woody Allen | Biography, Movies, & Facts". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  7. ^ Leonte, Tudor (November 28, 2022). "Celebrity Actor & Director Birthdays This Week: Woody Allen Turns 87". Y! Entertainment.
  8. ^ "Woody Allen". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on September 3, 2023.
  9. ^ "Woody Allen - Social Networks and Archival Context". snaccooperative.org. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  10. ^ "Woody Allen". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  11. ^ "Woody Allen (Actor, Screenwriter and Director)". OnThisDay.com.
  12. ^ "Woody Allen". Almanac.com. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  13. ^ "Woody Allen - Turner Classic Movies". Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  14. ^ "Woody Allen Will Be a No Show, Per Tradition". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  15. ^ Gross 2012, p. [page needed].
  16. ^ "Woody Allen – Artist". The Recording Academy. November 19, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  17. ^ ""Annie Hall" beats out "Star Wars" for Best Picture". History Channel. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  18. ^ Newton, Michael (January 13, 2012). "Woody Allen: cinema's great experimentalist". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on January 19, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2012. In the 1970s, Allen looked irreverent, hip, a part of the New Hollywood generation. In an age of 'auteurs', he was the auteur personified, the writer, director and star of his films, active in the editing, choosing the soundtrack, initiating the projects
  19. ^ "Midnight in Paris Is Woody Allen's Biggest Hit, Passes 1986's Hannah and Her Sisters $40 Million". IndieWire. July 19, 2011. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  20. ^ "Soon Yi- Previn on Mia Farrow and Woody Allen". Vulture. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  21. ^ Deb, Sopan; Leiderman, Deborah; Bahr, Sarah (February 22, 2021). "Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Soon-Yi Previn, Dylan Farrow: A Timeline". The New York Times.
  22. ^ Flanagan, Caitlin (June 8, 2021). "What Mia Farrow Knew". The Atlantic. Retrieved June 21, 2021.