The son of a computer scientist and a gifted pianist, Spielberg spent his early childhood in New Jersey and, later, in Arizona. He was eleven when he first got his dad's camera and began shooting short films about flying saucers and World War Two battles.

At the age of 13 he won a contest with his 40-minute film Escape to Nowhere. At the age of 16 he produced the movie 'Firelight' and it was shown at the local cinema.

But a real success came in 1975, when Spielberg created 'Jaws'. That little fish tale became the biggest hit of its time. This movie opened up the doors for Spielberg to work on many more great projects. And he went on to shake Hollywood with 'Close Encounters', 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', 'ET', and 'Jurassic Park'.

Today, Spielberg is one of the most financially successful filmmakers ever. But his talents aren't limited to the movie set. Spielberg has also proved to be one of Hollywood's most nimble entrepreneurs. His business empire includes video games, toys and even restaurants.

But what is his source of inspiration? He draws it from his 7 children (two of them are adopted). Spielberg likes to spend time with his children. His house resembles a large playground — he keeps there 2 parrots, several snakes, and a fish tank. Ask him where he gets his ideas and he shrugs. "The process for me is mostly intuitive," he says. "There are movies I feel that I need to make, for a variety of reasons, for personal reasons, for reasons that I want to have fun, that the subject matter is cool, that I think my kids will like it."