Adam Shankman Biography (2)

Adam Shankman made his feature film directorial debut with the hit romantic comedy The Wedding Planner, starring Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey. He went on to direct the feature A Walk to Remember starring Shane West and Mandy Moore.

Prior to directing features, he was one of the entertainment world's premier dance and physical comedy choreographers, putting his creative stamp on many well-known comedies, dramas, thrillers and animated films. Among his projects were The Addams Family Values, Casper, Inspector Gadget, Anastasia, George of the Jungle, Boogie Nights, Miami Rhapsody and The Flintstones, for which he was nominated for a Bob Fosse Award. Shankman won the Bob Fosse Award for his commercial work with Simon West.

A native of Los Angeles, Shankman developed a love for theater at an early age. After high school, he moved to New York and attended Juilliard in the dance program for two years. After five years of work as an actor and dancer in New York and regional theater, he returned to Los Angeles and begun dancing in music videos, including videos for Paula Abdul and Janet Jackson, and performed at the 1989 Academy Awards.

At 24, Shankman teamed with influential video director Julian Temple as a music video choreographer. One of his first projects was Whitney Houston's I'm You're Baby Tonight He also choreographed videos for the B-52's, Barry White, Aaron Neville, Chic, and Stevie Wonder.

Shankman directed the well-received short film Cosmo's Tale, which was an official entry at the Sundance Film Festival in 1997.

Buy more detailed movie star biographies in the Movie Star Bookstore.