Biography

Paul Joseph Schrader (born 22 July 1946) is a 77 years old Dutch-American screenwriter, film director, and critic.

The veteran actor is widely recognized for his creative works, such as Martin Scorsese‘s Raging Bull (1980) and The Last Temptation of Christ (1988).

He has also been involved in directing films starting from his debut, the crime drama, Blue Collar (co-written with his brother), down to the dramatic thriller, First Reformed (2017), which earned him his first Academy Award nomination.

Paul Schrader
Paul Schrader: History, Bio, Photo
Wiki Facts & About Data
Full Name:	Paul Joseph Schrader
Stage Name:	Paul Schrader
Born:	22 July 1946 (age 77 years old)
Place of Birth:	Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States
Nationality:	American, Dutch
Parents:	Charles A. Schrader, Joan Fisher
Children:	Molly Johanna Schrader, Sam Schrader
Height:	1.73 m
Siblings:	Leonard Schrader
Spouse(s) • Wife:	Mary Beth Hurt (m. 1983), Jeannine Oppewall (m. 1969–1976)
Occupation:	Screenwriter • Film Director
Net Worth:	$30 million

Early Life & Education

Paul Schrader was born on 22 July 1946 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

He was born to parents Charles A. Schrader and Joan Fisher.

Paul Schrader is of mixed ancestry as his mother was of Dutch descent, and his paternal grandfather was from a German family that migrated to the United States through Canada.

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He was born into a highly religious family with strict parental guides and rules. They attended the Calvinist Christian Reformed Church.

His strict parental upbringing deprived him of seeing movies until he was 17, when he could sneak out from the home to see movies.

He attributed his intellectual prowess in movie making to the absence of movie memories during his adolescent years.

Schrader earned his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Calvin College. And then, he went on to earn an M.A in film studies at the UCLA Film School. 

Following his career as a film critic inspired by his mentor Pauline Kael, Paul Schrader began writing for the Los Angeles free press and publishing film criticism content. He carved a niche for himself in the movie industry as his comments have become a much-cited source in the Literature of films.

His comments often shared on Facebook have been met with rather unpleasant replies as they appear provocative.

Career

Paul Schrader‘s screenwriting career started in 1974 following the writing of The Yakuza, which he did with his brother Leonard Schrader. The film was set in the Japanese crime world due to Leonard Schrader‘s wealth of experience, living amongst the famous Yakuza Gang in Japan. Although the film wasn’t a commercial hit, it brought Paul Schrader to the limelight.

Paul Schrader continued to write and direct films throughout the 1970s into the 2000 era. All through these stages, his work earned him prestigious awards, nominations, and recognition, not forgetting the series of disapproval and dissatisfaction they also brought. However, he received his first Academy Award nomination for the category of Best Original Screenplay for his dramatic thriller First Reformed which was premiered at the 2017 Venice Film Festival.

On writing about his theatre career, Paul Schrader wrote two stage plays, Berlinale and Cleopatra Nightclub. The second one was premiered in 1995 at the Powerhouse Theater in Poughkeepsie, New York.

Personal Life

Paul Schrader was married to Art director, Jeanine Oppewall, but the marriage failed due to his cocaine addiction.

In an effort to get back his life together, he moved from Los Angeles to Japan, during which he met his second wife, actress Mary Beth Hurt after he finally quit drugs around 1990.

His wife has also been featured in smaller roles in different films by him.

On his religious lifestyle, Paul Schrader was raised as a Calvinist but turned Anglican after the birth of his children. He often added religious themes and ideas in most of his works.

Net Worth

Paul Schrader‘s net worth stands at an estimated $30 million. He is unarguably one of the best movie producers and playwrights the industry has seen so far and therefore has made quite a fortune from his projects.

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This includes the charges for movie and TV appearances and also the sale of written movie scripts, not skipping the money made after the success of a movie or TV series.

Social Media

The veteran actor Paul Schrader has a not so strong social media presence, as he has only two confirmed accounts on

• Facebook @Paul Schrader

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