Sam Taylor-Johnson

• Name — Sam Taylor-Johnson • Birth Name — Samantha Louise Taylor-Wood • Born — 4 March 1967 • Birthplace — London, England • Education — Beacon Community College Goldsmiths, University of London • Occupation — Filmmaker • Years Active — 1993–present • Children — 4

Samantha Taylor-Wood was born in Croydon, London. Her father, David, left the family when she was nine. Her mother, Geraldine, is a yoga teacher and astrologist. She has a younger sister, Ashley, and a maternal half-brother, Kristian. Taylor-Wood grew up near Streatham Common in south London until her parents' divorce. The family then moved into an old schoolhouse in Jarvis Brook in East Sussex, and Samantha went to Beacon Community College. She later attended Goldsmiths, University of London.

Taylor-Johnson began exhibiting fine-art photography in the early 1990s. One collaboration with Henry Bond, titled 26 October 1993, featured Bond and Taylor-Johnson reprising the roles of Yoko Ono and John Lennon in a pastiche of the photo-portrait made by photographer Annie Leibovitz—a few hours before Lennon was assassinated, in 1980. In 1994, she exhibited a multi-screen video work titled Killing Time, in which four people mimed to an opera score. From that point multi-screen video works became the main focus of her work. Beginning with the video works Travesty of a Mockery and Pent-Up in 1996. One of Taylor-Johnson's first United Kingdom solo shows was held at the Chisenhale Gallery, east London, in September–October 1996. She was nominated for the annual Turner Prize in 1998. She won the Illy Café Prize for Most Promising Young Artist at the 1997 Venice Biennale. In 2000, she created a wraparound photomural around scaffolding of the London department store Selfridges while it was being restored; the mural featured 21 cultural icons including Elton John, musician Alex James, and actors Richard E. Grant and Ray Winstone. The poses of the figures referenced famous works of art from the past and recent movies. The following year, she photographed the cover and sleeve for John's 2001 album Songs From the West Coast. In 2002, Taylor-Johnson was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery to make David, a video portrait of David Beckham—whom she depicted sleeping. She is perhaps best known for her work entitled 'Crying Men' which features many of Hollywood's glitterati crying, including Robin Williams, Sean Penn, Laurence Fishburne and Paul Newman. In 2006, she had a survey exhibition at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, England. 2014 saw a new photographic exhibition by Taylor-Johnson, of the private apartment of Mademoiselle Chanel at The Saatchi Gallery. Entitled ‘Second Floor,' the series of 34 photographs captured the private rooms of Coco Chanel at 31 Rue Cambon in Paris.

In August 2008, she was chosen to direct Nowhere Boy, a biopic about the childhood of John Lennon. Speaking about her experience directing the film, in September 2010. The 53rd annual London Film Festival screened the film as its closing presentation on 29 October 2009. The film was released in the UK on Boxing Day in 2009 to positive reviews. She was nominated for a BAFTA award on 21 January 2010.

Taylor-Johnson has had cancer twice. In December 1997, at age 30, she was treated for colon cancer. In 2000, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Taylor-Johnson practices yoga and Transcendental Meditation, of which she says, "I wouldn't be able to survive everything without the meditation that I do. It's what I think has made me able to cope with the madness". Taylor-Johnson was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours for services to the arts.

She married art dealer and gallerist Jay Jopling in 1997; they have two daughters together, born in April 1997 and September 2006. In September 2008, the couple announced that they were separating amicably after 11 years of marriage. She began a relationship with actor Aaron Johnson soon after filming wrapped on the 2009 set of Nowhere Boy. They met when Johnson auditioned for the role of John Lennon in Nowhere Boy in late 2008, when he was 18 and she was a 41 year old mother of two. The couple announced their engagement at the film's premiere in October 2009. They married at Babington House, Somerset, on 21 June 2012 and both took the surname Taylor-Johnson. They have two daughters together, born on 7 July 2010 and on 18 January 2012. They split time between Los Angeles, California, United States, and a farm near Bruton in Somerset.

Short film • Year — Title — Notes • 2006 — Death Valley — Segment of Destricted (Also writer) • 2008 — Love You More — Also producer • 2011 — James Bond Supports International Women's Day Feature film • Year — Title — Director — Producer — Writer • 2009 — Nowhere Boy • 2015 — Fifty Shades of Grey • 2018 — A Million Little Pieces • 2024 — Back to Black — Executive Television • Year — Title — Director — Executive Producer — Notes • 2017 — Gypsy — 2 episodes • 2021 — Solos — 2 episodes • 2023 — Hunters — 1 episode

The following is established of the heading itself. Institutional cataloguing adds that sam Taylor-Johnson is recorded as United Kingdom.