George Lucas

Described as

American filmmaker and philanthropist (born 1944)

Other names

Colin Jenkinson, George Walton Lucas Jr., George Walton Lucas

Born

May 14, 1944 · 12 references

Born in

Modesto · 1 reference

Name at birth

George Walton Lucas Jr.

Citizen of

United States

Occupation

film producer · 1 reference; film director · 1 reference; art collector; film editor; cinematographer; screenwriter · 1 reference; actor; writer

Education

University of Southern California (1967); Downey High School; USC School of Cinematic Arts; Thomas Downey High School · 1 reference; Modesto Junior College

Member of

American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Writers Guild of America West · 1 reference

Genre

speculative fiction film

Known for

American Graffiti; THX 1138; Star Wars

Awards

California Hall of Fame (2009); National Medal of Arts; Kennedy Center Honors; Disney Legends (2015) · 1 reference; AFI Life Achievement Award (2005); Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame (2006); Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Inkpot Award (1977) · 1 reference; Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (5 times) (1978, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1990) · 1 reference; Jane Fonda Humanitarian Award (2013) · 1 reference; Honorary Palme d'Or; Knight of the Legion of Honour (2026) · 1 reference

Spouse

Mellody Hobson (2013–); Marcia Lucas (1969–1983)

Children

Amanda Lucas · 1 reference; Katie Lucas · 1 reference

Lived in

Marin County

Height

1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)

Wikipedias with a page

134

Wikidata item Q38222 (wikidata.org/wiki/Q38222), public domain (CC0). Copied November 13, 2026.

George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He created the Star Wars franchise and its fictional universe, the Indiana Jones franchise, and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, and THX. Lucas also served as chairman of Lucasfilm before selling it to The Walt Disney Company in 2012. The recipient of two Emmy Awards and nominations for four Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards, he is considered to be one of the most significant figures of the 20th-century New Hollywood movement, and a pioneer of the modern blockbuster. Despite this, he has remained an independent filmmaker for most of his career.
After graduating from the University of Southern California in 1967, Lucas moved to San Francisco and co-founded American Zoetrope with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. He wrote and directed THX 1138 (1971), based on his student short Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB, which was a critical success but a financial failure. His next work as a writer-director was American Graffiti (1973), inspired by his youth in early 1960s Modesto, California, and produced through the newly founded Lucasfilm. The film was critically and commercially successful and received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Director and Best Picture. Lucas's next film, the epic space opera Star Wars (1977), later retitled A New Hope, had a troubled production but was a surprise hit, becoming the highest-grossing film at the time, winning six Academy Awards and sparking a cultural phenomenon. Lucas produced and co-wrote the sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). With director Steven Spielberg, he created, produced, and co-wrote Indiana Jones films Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Temple of Doom (1984), The Last Crusade (1989) and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), and served as an executive producer, with a cursory involvement in pre- and post-production, on The Dial of Destiny (2023).
In 1997, Lucas re-released the original Star Wars trilogy as part of a Special Edition featuring several modifications; home media versions with further changes were released in 2004 and 2011. He returned to directing with a Star Wars prequel trilogy comprising The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005). He last collaborated on the CGI-animated movie and television series of the same name, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008–2014, 2020), the war film Red Tails (2012) and the jukebox musical fantasy CGI-animated film Strange Magic (2015). Lucas is also known for his collaboration with composer John Williams, who was recommended to him by Spielberg, and with whom he has worked for all films in the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. He also produced and wrote a variety of films and television series through Lucasfilm between the 1970s and the 2010s.
Lucas is one of history's most financially successful filmmakers. He directed or wrote the story for ten of the 100 highest-grossing movies at the North American box office, adjusted for ticket-price inflation. Through his companies Industrial Light and Magic and Skywalker Sound, Lucas was involved in the production of, and financially benefited from, almost every big-budget film released in the U.S. from the late 1980s until selling to Disney in 2012. In addition to his career as a filmmaker, Lucas has founded and supported multiple philanthropic organizations and campaigns dedicated to education and the arts, including the George Lucas Educational Foundation, which has been noted as a key supporter in the creation of the federal E-Rate program to provide broadband funding to schools and libraries, and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, an art museum in Los Angeles developed with his wife, Mellody Hobson.

Born, in its opening lines

May 14, 1944

From the Wikipedia article “George Lucas” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lucas), by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Copied November 13, 2026; not changed.