| A political science major from the University of Southern California, Taylor Hackford began his career making documentaries for KCET public television in Los Angeles where he received two Emmy Awards for investigative reporting.
After a 1979 Academy Award for his live action short film Teenage Father, he turned his attention to the big screen and has become a major Hollywood player directing such hits as Against All Odds, Delores Clairborne, Everybody's All American, and White Nights in which his future wife starred as Russian ballerina Galina Ivanova.
Hackford has stated that he prefers to make "middle-class" films about real people dealing with real problems. He is particularly interested in making films with an underlying moral message, as in the Devil's Advocate.
Hackford's efforts have resulted in numerous awards including a 1983 ShoWest Convention award for Director of the Year. He received a nomination from the Directors' Guild of America and in 1993 he was named Best Director at the Tokyo Film Festival for Blood In, Blood Out (Bound By Honour).
While working as a Peace Corps member in the 1960's, Taylor developed a fascination with the Latino culture and in 1987 he developed and produced the sleeper hit La Bamba. Since then, he's helped bring Defenseless, The Long Walk Home, and Queen's Logic to the screen. His recent film The Devil's Advocate with Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves was a commercial success, and his latest film Proof of Life is soon to be released. Taylor Hackford was born December 31, 1944 and has two sons.
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