Roman Polanski

Known for: Chinatown (1974), The Pianist (2002)

Roman Polanski survived the Kraków ghetto as a child and directed his first feature in Poland before moving to Britain and then Hollywood, where Rosemary's Baby (1968) and Chinatown (1974) established him as a major commercial and artistic figure. He fled the United States in 1978 after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and has directed from European exile since. The Pianist (2002) won him the Academy Award for Best Director in absentia.