James Cameron was born in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada, on August 16, 1954. He moved to the USA in 1971. The son of an engineer, he majored in physics at California State University but, after graduating, drove a truck to support his screen-writing ambition. He landed his first professional film job as art director, miniature-set builder, and process-projection supervisor on Roger Corman's Battle Beyond the Stars and debuted as a director with Piranha Part Two: The Spawning the following year.

In 1984, he wrote and directed The Terminator, a futuristic action-thriller starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton. It was a huge success. After this came a string of successful science-fiction action films such as Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Cameron is now one of the most sought-after directors in Hollywood. He was formerly married to producer Gale Anne Hurd, who produced several of his films. He married Kathryn Bigelow in 1989.


Titanic (1997): $115,000,000 ($600k for screenplay + $8m salary + backend participation)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991): $6,000,000

Daughter, with Hamilton, Josephine Archer Cameron born. [15 February 1993] According to Cameron, he got his big break while doing pick-up shots for Galaxy of Terror (1981) as 2nd unit director. He was shooting scenes of a dismembered arm teeming with maggots (actually mealworms). In order to make them move, he hooked up an AC power cord to the arm, and an unseen assistant would plug it in when the film was rolling. Two producers were strolling through, and when Cameron yelled "Action!" the worms began to writhe on cue. When he yelled "Cut!" the worms stopped. The producers were so amazed at his directing prowess that they began talking with him about bigger projects. One of the founders of visual effects company 'Digital Domain'. Jokingly refers to Titanic (1997) as his 190 Million Dollar "Chick Flick". Cameron is in talks with RKK Energia and MirCorp to pay his way on board the Mir space station (or the ISS, should Mir be deorbited). He has been given the medical green light, and has already ridden aboard the Ilushin-76 jet used to train cosmonauts for space missions. [September 2000] Has a stepson named Jasper, from Suzy Amis' marriage to Sam Robards. Went to elementary school in Chippawa, Ontario. The eldest of five children. He and Suzy Amis are owners of Childspot!, an early childhood center in Wichita, Kansas which is operated by Suzy's sister, Rebecca Amis. Married one of his producers and two of his actresses. He is a huge Japanese anime fan, and the releasing studios often uses his opinion about the film on the DVD and VHS covers. The mandibles of the Predator from Predator (1987) were his idea. Co-created the newly high-definition video system with cinematographer Vince Pace that was recently used to film Ghosts of the Abyss (2003). When he wrote an early script treatment for Spider-Man (2002), he had the idea of organic web-shooters. This was later included in Sam Raimi's film. The titles of his two current theatrical documentaries contain the titles of two of his previous films; the title of his documentary "Ghosts of the Abyss" contains the title of his previous film "The Abyss", and the title of his other documentary "Aliens of the Deep" contains the title of another one of his previous films, "Aliens". The October 1987 draft of the screenplay for Alien Nation (1988) credits a rewrite to James Cameron. He is not credited in the final film. Was interested in remaking Planet of the Apes (1968), but his script was turned down. Another script was then developed and eventually made by Tim Burton in 2001. Considered directing "Solaris" (2002) but opted to produce instead. Job went to Steven Soderbergh. After seeing Star Wars (1977), Cameron quit his job as a truck driver to enter the film industry. Has a daughter with Linda Hamilton named Josephine Archer Cameron born 15 February 1993. Apart from The Terminator (1984), all of his films have been nominated for or won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. States that The Wizard of Oz (1939) is his favorite movie. In 2010, his movie Avatar (2009) became the highest grossing movie of all time, not adjusted for inflation. It is also the first movie to gross the 2 billion dollar mark at the box office. Until Avatar (2009), Cameron's previous movie Titanic (1997) was the highest grossing movie of all time for 12 years (also not adjusted for inflation). Lives in Malibu and Calabasas, California.