Roman Polanski

Roman Polanski (born Rajmund Roman Thierry Polanski August 18, 1933 in Paris) is a movie director, producer, writer and actor. He is known for his art-house style movies like Rosemary's Baby (1968) and Chinatown (1974). In 2003, he won the Academy Award for Best Director for his film, The Pianist.

Personal life

Polanski was born in Paris, France and grew up in Poland. His father was Jewish and his mother was Roman Catholic. The family was persecuted by the Nazis and forced to live in a ghetto. Polanksi's mother died at Auschwitz. He later went to film school and graduated in 1959. Polanski won many awards for his short movies and went on to make full-length movies in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Polanski's first marriage was to actress Barbara Lass; they divorced.

While filming the movie Fearless Vampire Killers he met an actress named Sharon Tate. Polanski married her in 1968. In August 1969, Polanski was in London, and Tate was pregnant. Tate and some their friends were murdered in Los Angeles, California, by people who followed Charles Manson.

Polanski's third and current wife is actress Emmanuelle Seigner, who is the mother of his daughter and son.

Arrest

In 1977, Polanski got in trouble when he was caught having sex with a 13-year-old girl at his friend, Jack Nicholson's house. Polanski went to France, where he remained until he was arrested in Switzerland in September 2009. He was arrested at the request of the United States, so Switzerland could extradite him to the United States. Extradition is a legal process when one country transfers a person into the custody of another country. On July 12, 2010, the Swiss freed Polanski, and decided not to extradite him to Los Angeles. The Swiss Justice Ministry did not believe the legal strength of the United States extradition request. Polanski is still a fugitive (wanted by the police) in America.