Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter of Italian ancestry. He was born on April 7, 1939, in Detroit Michigan. He is credited as one of the most prominent people in the development of the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking and has had a hugely successful career in the movie industry. Here are 12 facts you might not know about Francis Ford Coppola.
- He is the middle of three children born to Carmine and Italia Coppola. His older brother is called August and his younger sister is called Talia.
- His maternal grandfather is the Italian composer Francesco Pennino.
- Coppola caught polio as a child and spent time in quarantine. During this time, he would watch movies and practices puppetry.
- He went to Hofstra University to study for a drama degree and went on to get a Masters in Film Production at UCLA in 1967.
- He has many relatives who are successful in the film industry. These include Gia Coppola, Sofia Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Nicholas Cage.
- It is rumored that George Lucas used Francis Ford Coppola as inspiration to create the Star Wars character, Hans Solo.
- Coppola has a successful winery in Napa Valley, California, called Inglenook winery.
- For their performances as Vito Corleone, a character in a Coppola movie, both Robert De Niro and Marlon Brando won Oscars.
- Coppola has won five Academy Awards.
- Twelve actors who were directed by Coppola have won Oscars.
- He partnered with George Altamura, a real estate developer, along with several others to restore the Uptown Theater in Napa, California.
- He has been married to Eleanor Jessie Neil since 1963 and they have three children; Gian-Carlo, Roman, and Sofia.
Sources:
- Main Image: Flickr
