Woody Allen

Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and comedian active for over seventy years. He has written for film, television, and theater. Allen holds the record for the most Academy Awards won (three) and nominations received (sixteen) in the Best Original Screenplay category. Beyond his four Oscars, his honors include ten BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globes, a Grammy, and nominations for an Emmy and a Tony. He was given 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 movies are preserved in the National Film Registry.

Allen started out writing comedy for several Sid Caesar specials, then contributed humor pieces to The New Yorker and wrote Broadway plays like *Don't Drink the Water* (1966) and *Play It Again, Sam* (1969). He moved into stand-up comedy in Greenwich Village, crafting a monologue style and a persona of an insecure, intellectual, fretful nebbish. He put out three comedy albums, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Comedy Album for *Woody Allen* (1964). He also published short story collections such as *Getting Even* (1971), *Without Feathers* (1975), and *Side Effects* (1980).

Allen became a major director in the New Hollywood era of auteur filmmakers. After writing, directing, and starring in slapstick comedies like *Take the Money and Run* (1969), *Bananas* (1971), *Sleeper* (1973), and *Love and Death* (1975), he made his landmark film *Annie Hall* (1977), a romantic comedy-drama with frequent collaborator Diane Keaton. It won four Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay for Allen, and Best Actress for Keaton. Since then, he has directed many New York–set films, including *Manhattan* (1979), *Hannah and Her Sisters* (1986), and *Crimes and Misdemeanors* (1989).

Since the 1970s, Allen has released roughly one film per year. Notable titles 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). In 2014, he returned to Broadway by adapting his 1994 film into the musical *Bullets Over Broadway*. He created and wrote the Amazon Prime series *Crisis in Six Scenes* (2016) and released a memoir, *Apropos of Nothing* (2020), and a novel, *What's With Baum?* (2025).

From 1980 to 1992, Allen had a professional and personal relationship with actress Mia Farrow, collaborating on thirteen films. The couple split after Allen began a relationship in 1991 with Soon-Yi Previn, Farrow's and Andre Previn's adopted daughter, then 21. In 1992, Farrow publicly accused Allen of sexually abusing their adopted daughter, Dylan. Allen denied the allegation and was never charged, but the accusation received substantial media attention. Allen married Previn in 1997, and they adopted two children.

**Early life and education**

Allen was born Allan Stewart Konigsberg at Mount Eden Hospital in the Bronx, New York City, on November 30, 1935. His mother, Nettie (née Cherry; 1906–2002), was a bookkeeper at her family's delicatessen; his father, Martin Konigsberg (1900–2001), was a jewelry engraver and waiter. His grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Austria and Panevėžys, Lithuania, speaking German, Hebrew, and Yiddish. He and his younger sister, film producer Letty Aronson, grew up in Brooklyn's Midwood neighborhood. Both parents were born and raised on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

Allen's parents had a strained relationship, and he was distant from his mother. He spoke German as a young child. He attended Hebrew school for eight years, Public School 99 (now the Isaac Asimov School for Science and Literature), and then Midwood High School, graduating in 1953. Unlike his comic persona, he preferred baseball to school and was often picked first for teams. He impressed classmates with his skill at cards and magic tricks.

Allen started calling himself Woody in high school. Some reports say he legally changed his name to Heywood Allen at 17. According to Allen, his first published joke was: "Woody Allen says he ate at a restaurant that had O.P.S. prices—over people's salaries." He soon earned more than both his parents combined. After high school, he attended New York University in 1953 to study communication and film, but dropped out after failing the course "Motion Picture Production." He briefly attended City College of New York in 1954, leaving during his first semester. He taught himself instead of learning in classrooms, later taught at The New School, and studied with writing teacher Lajos Egri.

**Career: 1950–1959: Comedy writing and television work**

Allen began writing short jokes at 15 and started selling them to Broadway writers the next year. One recipient, Abe Burrows, co-author of *Guys and Dolls*, wrote that Allen's material was "dazzling." Burrows gave Allen letters of introduction to Sid Caesar, Phil Silvers, and Peter Lind Hayes, who immediately sent Allen a check for the jokes Burrows had included as samples. Because of these jokes, Allen was invited at age 19 to join the NBC Writer's Development Program in 1955, followed by a job on *The NBC Comedy Hour* in Los Angeles, then a full-time writing position for humorist Herb Shriner, initially earning $25 a week. He began writing scripts for *The Ed Sullivan Show*.