Lana Wachowski

LANA WACHOWSKI

Date of Birth: June 21, 1965

Lana Wachowski was born Larry Wachowski and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He and his brother Andy began creating comic books together at a young age. They dropped out of college to pursue careers in show business, and also at one time ran a carpentry business. They co-wrote the screenplay for the feature film Assassins (1995) starring Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas, and then went on to co-write, co-direct and executive produce Bound (1996), which debuted at the Toronto Film Festival. The film won awards from several festivals, including the Grand Jury Award - Honorable Mention at L.A. Outfest, a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film, and an International Fantasy Film Award at Fantasporto.

It was their next film, however, that propelled them to the Hollywood A-list. Again, they co-wrote, co-directed and executive produced The Matrix (1999), starring Keanu Reeves. The film won four Academy Awards for Editing, Sound Effects Editing, Visual Effects and Sound. The Wachowski brothers shared a Saturn Award for Best Director from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films that same year.

The public was clamoring for Matrix sequels, and fortunately, the Wachowskis had always envisioned The Matrix saga as a trilogy. The brothers co-wrote two sequels—The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions—and shot them back to back in Australia. Despite these high profile projects, the brothers like to preserve their privacy and do not release much information about their lives. They refused offers to promote their Matrix sequels, saying that they want the films to speak for themselves. The Wachowskis were also heavily involved in the making of The Animatrix, a series of short films that expand upon their Matrix Universe. They likewise wrote and filmed over an hour of exclusive footage for the Enter The Matrix video game, which is directly connected to the storyline of The Matrix Reloaded.

Larry divorced his wife, Thea Bloom, whom he left in 2002 to be with Karin Winslow, a professional dominatrix. In 1998, he began having hormone therapy and in 2008, had a sex-change to become Lana Wachowski.

Both Andy and Larry ranked #27 in Premiere's 2003 annual Power 100 List, after ranking #89 in 2002.

Filmography:

Cloud Atlas (2012)
Speed Racer (2008)
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
The Matrix (1999)
Bound (1996)