Paul Thomas Anderson is born in Studio City, Los Angeles, California, to Edwina Gough and actor/announcer Ernie Anderson (known as the horror host Ghoulardi).
Paul Thomas Anderson in 2025
He grows up in the San Fernando Valley in a Catholic family, attends several private schools, and becomes interested in filmmaking early; he later names his production company after his father’s Ghoulardi persona.
Anderson makes his first film, marking the beginning of a long-term commitment to directing.
His father buys him a Betamax video camera, which he uses to make films and learn production through experimentation.
As a teenager he writes and experiments with a Bolex 16 mm camera, gradually shifting from “standard fare” to more ambitious work.
As a senior at Montclair College Preparatory School, he makes the 30-minute mockumentary The Dirk Diggler Story, a key precursor to Boogie Nights.
He attends Santa Monica College, spends two semesters at Emerson College (where he is taught by David Foster Wallace), and briefly attends NYU before turning to hands-on work as a production assistant.
On a $10,000 budget, Anderson makes the short film Cigarettes & Coffee, which screens at the 1993 Sundance Festival Shorts Program and helps open doors for his feature career.
Invited to the Sundance Feature Film Program, he develops his first feature with mentorship from director Michael Caton-Jones.
His debut feature—made as Sydney and retitled Hard Eight—screens at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section, helping launch his career despite studio re-editing conflicts.
Boogie Nights is released to critical and commercial success, reviving Burt Reynolds’ career and giving breakout roles to Mark Wahlberg and Julianne Moore.
At the 70th Academy Awards, Boogie Nights receives three nominations, including Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Original Screenplay.
Anderson releases the ensemble drama Magnolia, inspired by the music of Aimee Mann and set in the San Fernando Valley.
He writes and directs the “SNL FANatic” segment for Saturday Night Live, based on MTV’s series FANatic.
Punch-Drunk Love is released, featuring Adam Sandler in a widely praised dramatic role.
At the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, Anderson wins the Best Director Award for Punch-Drunk Love and is also nominated for the Palme d’Or.
Adam Sandler, Anderson, Emily Watson, and Philip Seymour Hoffman at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival
Anderson dates singer-songwriter Fiona Apple, a relationship noted in accounts of his personal life.
He serves as a standby director during the filming of Robert Altman’s A Prairie Home Companion for insurance purposes.
There Will Be Blood is released; loosely based on Upton Sinclair’s novel Oil!, it becomes one of Anderson’s most acclaimed works.
Anderson with Daniel Day-Lewis in 2007.
There Will Be Blood earns eight Academy Award nominations (including for Anderson as producer/director/screenwriter); the film wins for Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Best Cinematography (Robert Elswit).
Anderson co-writes and directs a 70-minute play at the Largo Theatre composed of vignettes starring Maya Rudolph and Fred Armisen, with a live score by Jon Brion.
He begins work on a new project set in the 1950s about a “charismatic intellectual” starting a new religion—what becomes The Master.
The Master is released in North America to critical acclaim; it is widely assumed to be inspired by Scientology, though the film makes no explicit reference.
The Master receives three Academy Award nominations at the 85th Academy Awards, including acting nominations for Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams.
Production takes place on Inherent Vice, Anderson’s adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s novel—reportedly the first time Pynchon permitted a screen adaptation of his work.
Inherent Vice is released and later earns two Academy Award nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Costume Design.
Junun premieres at the 2015 New York Film Festival and receives generally favorable reviews.
Anderson releases Phantom Thread, set in the London fashion industry and starring Daniel Day-Lewis, with distribution by Focus Features (U.S.) and Universal internationally.
Phantom Thread receives six Academy Award nominations at the 90th Academy Awards and wins Best Costume Design.
Cinematographer Robert Elswit publicly says he will not work with Anderson on his next films, marking a notable change in a long-running collaboration.
Anderson’s short music film Anima screens in select IMAX theaters (June 26) and is released on Netflix (June 27), starring Thom Yorke.
Anima is nominated for Best Music Film at the 2020 Grammy Awards.
Anderson’s ninth feature, Licorice Pizza, is released, returning to the San Fernando Valley for a coming-of-age romantic story.
Licorice Pizza receives Academy Award nominations (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay) at the 94th Academy Awards.
Anderson rewrites portions of Ridley Scott’s film Napoleon after lead actor Joaquin Phoenix threatens to leave the project.
He collaborates again with Yorke and Jonny Greenwood on music videos for the Smile’s songs “Wall of Eyes” and “Friend of a Friend.”
Anderson announces his upcoming film One Battle After Another, a loose adaptation of Pynchon’s Vineland, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Regina Hall, and Sean Penn cast.
Production begins in California on One Battle After Another with a reported $100 million budget.
Alana Haim and Teyana Taylor join the cast of One Battle After Another.
One Battle After Another is released to critical acclaim and becomes Anderson’s highest-grossing film, reaching a reported $200 million total gross.
One Battle After Another earns Anderson Oscars for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture at the 98th Academy Awards.
Anderson enters a long-term relationship with Maya Rudolph; they have four children, and although not legally married, Rudolph refers to him as her husband.
He is noted for collaborations with figures such as cinematographer Robert Elswit, costume designer Mark Bridges, composers Jon Brion and Jonny Greenwood, and actors including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Joaquin Phoenix.
Philip Seymour Hoffman appeared in five of Anderson's films.