An award-winning play director whose venture into film and television proved equally successful, Roger Michell directed one of the highest grossing British films of all time, "Notting Hill."

Michell was born in South Africa but spent significant parts of his childhood in Beirut, Damascus and Prague since his father's job as a diplomat required the family to move often. While in England, he enrolled at Cambridge University and, by age 17, received considerable attention for his directing talents. The same year, he earned the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company Goodbody Award, named after the