American composer and lyricist Marc Shaiman was BOTD in 1959. Born in Newark, New Jersey, he left school at 16 to pursue a career in theatre. He became a writer for Saturday Night Live and worked with singer Bette Midler, arranging and co-producing her mega hits Wind Beneath My Wings and From a Distance and working on her short-lived sitcom Bette. He is best known as the co-writer and composer of Broadway musical Hairspray, based on John Waters’ cult film, which won eight Tonys including Best Musical. He has also worked extensively in film soundtracks, earning Oscar nominations for his compositions for Sleepless in Seattle,  The American President, The First Wives Club, Patch Adams, South Park and Mary Poppins Returns. Openly gay since forever, he was heavily involved in 2008 protests to defeat Californian state anti-gay legislation Proposition 8, writing a three-minute parody Prop 8 – The Musical in support of the campaign. He married long-term partner Louis Mirabal in 2016.