English director Stephen Daldry was BOTD in 1960. Born in Dorset, he was raised in Somerset, winning a scholarship to study at University of Sheffield. After studying theatre at East 15 Acting School, he worked as an apprentice director at the Sheffield Crucible Theatre. In 1992, he was appointed artistic director of London’s Royal Court Theatre, having huge success with a radical restaging of J. B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls. The production transferred to Broadway in 1994, winning him a Tony Award for his direction. He made a spectacular entry into filmmaking with 2000’s Billy Elliot, a compelling drama about a boy in 1980s Yorkshire who dreams of becoming a ballet dancer. A critical and commercial success, it launched the career of Jamie Bell, who referred to Daldry as a surrogate father. Daldry later directed a musical version, with music and lyrics by Elton John, winning his second Tony for its Broadway transfer. His films The Hours and The Reader earned him Oscar nominations for Best Director and won Oscars for his stars Nicole Kidman and Kate Winslet. In 2012, he co-directed the London Olympics Opening Ceremony, and had successes in the West End and Broadway with the plays Skylight and The Audience. In 2016, he began an eight-year stint as co-director and producer of the stratospherically popular TV series The Crown, chronicling the reign of Queen Elizabeth. In 2019, he directed Matthew Lopez’s seven-hour gay-themed play The Inheritance, winning him Olivier and Tony awards for direction. Daldrey married Lucy Sexton in 2001, with whom he has a daughter, while still identifying as gay, and was in a 13-year relationship with set designer Ian MacNeil.