Born in Leicester in 1941, Stephen Frears worked in television and with Karel Reisz and Lindsay Anderson before directing films. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), written by Hanif Kureishi, was a lively portrait of a young Pakistani man in Thatcher's London. He then went to Hollywood for Dangerous Liaisons and The Grifters, and returned with a series of British films about real people: The Queen (2006), which won Helen Mirren an Oscar, and Philomena (2013). He is admired for his versatility and wit.
Filmography
- The Hit (1984)
- My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
- Prick Up Your Ears (1987)
- Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
- The Grifters (1990)
- High Fidelity (2000)
- Dirty Pretty Things (2002)
- The Queen (2006)
- Philomena (2013)
- Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)
- Victoria & Abdul (2017)