An inventive screenwriter and producer who got his start in showbiz co-writing his first produced script while still in his early 20s, J.J. Abrams would go on to create memorable, star-making series with loyal followings ("Felicity"), cult appeal ("Alias") and massive ratings ("Lost") before debuting as a feature film director of big-budget action extravaganzas.

The son of prolific TV-movie producer Gerald Abrams, the New York-born and Los Angeles-bred Jeffrey dropped out of college to pursue screenwriting in the late 1980s. With Jill Mazursky, he wrote the screenplay for the comedy "Taking