Rajmund Roman Liebling, known popularly as Roman Polanski, was born August 18, 1933, in Paris, France. His parents were Ryszard Liebling and Bula Liebling, Jewish and Catholic respectively, although both considered themselves agnostic. The family relocated to Poland in 1937, but the horrors of World War II found the family in the Kraków Ghetto by 1939. Polanski’s father quite nearly died in Mauthausen-Gusen, while his mother tragically perished in Auschwitz. Polanski himself escaped the ghetto and survived by the kindness and protection of a local Catholic farmer.
Polanski went on to attend film school in Poland, graduating in 1950. His directorial debut was in 1955 with the short Rower, in which he also acted. 1962 brought Polanski into the international film scene with his work Knife in the Water. Earning an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, Polanski’s unique vision and talent began to expand beyond the borders of Poland.
He began making films in England and therefore earning much more critical attention. His first English attempt to really turn heads was the 1965 horror thriller Repulsion, starring a young Catherine Deneuve. He followed this with the Donald Pleasence and Jacqeline Bisset comedy drama Cul-de-sac.
Polanski’s next film was the horror spoof The Fearless Vampire Killers, which is of note mainly because it was on set he met upcoming star Sharon Tate. Everything was looking up as the two became romantically involved and Polanski began working the Hollywood circuit to further his career. In 1968 he directed the film that truly launched his career—Rosemary’s Baby, starring Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, and Ruth Gordon. Polanski walked away with another Oscar nomination.
The success of his film only heightened the happiness he found with Tate. The two married in early 1968. Polanski later described their ultimately brief time together as the happiest in his life. But tragedy struck August 9, 1969. Members of Charles Manson’s "family" savagely murdered Tate and four other people in Polanski’s Hollywood Hills home. Tate was eight months pregnant. A satisfactory explanation as to motive was never discovered. Polanski was devastated beyond consolation. He sold all his belongings, which only reminded him of Tate, and moved back to Europe.
Through the tragedy, Polanski continued to work. His most notable project in the 70s was Oscar darling Chinatown, starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, and Diane Ladd. Trouble, however, seemed to meet Polanski at every turn. In 1977, Polanski admitted to having sexual intercourse with a thirteen-year-old minor. There were additional accusations involving illegal drugs and the consensual nature of the act. Retaining French citizenship, Polanski fled to France on February 1, 1978, to avoid a jail sentence.
Unable to return to the United States for fear of jail, Polanski continued his work abroad. His work slowed considerably, but he did manage to create several films, the most commercial of which was The Ninth Gate, starring Johnny Depp and Lena Olin. 2002 marked a huge comeback for Polanski when his film The Pianist exploded onto the scene. Adrien Brody secured an Oscar, and after many nominations so too did Polanski.
He is currently in pre-production for the film Pompeii.
Previous to Tate, Polanski married Barbara Lass in 1959, and they divorced in 1962. In 1989, he remarried to Emmanuelle Seigner. They are currently still together and have two children.
YUDDY
