Ethan Coen was born September 21, 1957, nearly three years after his brother Joel. The boys began simulating their future careers when they were young, filming movies in their backyard with neighborhood kids. Ethan and Joel both attended Simon Rock’s Early College, an accredited school for bright young people who wanted to begin their college career before the age of eighteen. After graduating from Simon Rock’s, Ethan attended Princeton University and graduated with an undergraduate degree in philosophy in 1979.

Ethan and Joel, on their way to becoming The Coen Brothers, made their first film in 1984. Blood Simple is credited to Joel as director and to Ethan and Joel as writers. In retrospect, many critics believe that the future of the Coen Brothers was foreshadowed in this dark film with wicked wit and strange deaths, not to mention their apparent obsession with blood and vomit.

Already recipients and nominees of various film awards, Ethan and Joel snagged their first Oscar at the 1997 Academy Awards for Fargo, starring William H Macy. In 2000, the making of O Brother, Where Art Thou? earned Ethan another two Oscar nominations. The film starring George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Nelson was based on Homer’s The Odyssey. With an award-winning soundtrack, the film has become an instant classic that cannot be categorized by genre or explained by viewers.

In addition to writing and producing films, Ethan Coen has written a book of poetry titled The Drunken Driver Has the Right of Way, published by Crown in 2001. He also previously wrote a collection of short stories titled Gates of Eden, published by Dell Books in 1999, which contains original stories that closely resemble many of his black-humor movie titles.

Ethan Coen is married to film editor Tricia Cooke, who has worked on many films with him including The Big Lebowski and O Brother, Where Art Thou?. Ethan is presently filming the latest Coen Brother film, No Country for Old Men (2007) and has announced three more upcoming films.

YUDDY