Sydney Pollack was born on July 1, 1934, in Lafayette, Indiana, USA. His mother, named Rebecca Pollack, divorced from his father, named David Pollack, an alcoholic, who died at age 37, when Sydney Pollack was 16.

From 1952-1954 young Pollack studied acting with Sanford Meisner at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York. From 1954-1959 he taught acting at Neighbourghood Playhouse. In 1958, Pollack married his former student Claire Griswold. They had three children. Their son, Steven Pollack, died in a plane crash on November 26, 1993, in Santa Monica, California. Their daughter, Rebecca Pollack, served as vice president of film production at United Artists during the 1990s. Their youngest daughter, Rachel Pollack, was born in 1969.

Pollack began his acting career on stage, then made his name as television director in the early 1960s. He made his big screen acting debut in War Hunt, where he met fellow actor Robert Redford. He called on his good friend Redford to play opposite Natalie Wood in This Property Is Condemned. Pollack and Redford worked together on six more films over the years. His biggest success came with Out of Africa, starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep. For this film he won two Oscars: one for Best Direction and one for Best Picture. Pollack also made success in producing films such as The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Quiet American and Cold Mountain. Pollack returned to the director's chair in 2004, when he directed The Interpreter, the firs ever film shot on location at the United Nations Headquarters and within the General Assembley in New York City.


He brought a lawsuit against Danish TV after screening Three Days of the Condor (1975) in pan-and-scan in 1991. (April 1997) The court ruled that the pan scanning conducted by Danish television was a 'mutilation' of the film Three Days of the Condor (1975) and a violation of Pollacks 'Droit Moral', his legal right as an artist to maintain his reputation by protecting the integrity of his work. Nonetheless, the court ruled in favor of the defendant on a technicality. [20 January 1997] Winner of year 2000 John Huston Award, presented by Tom Cruise on behalf of Directors Guild of America, as a "defender of artists' rights...a warrior." Three children: a son, Steven Pollack, born in 1959 (died 1993); daughter, Rebecca Pollack, born in 1963; daughter, Rachel Pollack, born in 1969. Pollack's daughter, Rebecca Pollack, served as vice president of film production at United Artists during the late 1990s. President of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1986 Lifelong friends with Robert Redford, both men having made their feature film acting debuts in War Hunt (1962). Was first choice to direct The Saint (1997). Battled cancer for almost nine months at the time of his death. Kate Winslet dedicated her first Oscar win to Sydney Pollack and his partner in Mirage Enterprises, Anthony Minghella, following their deaths.