The only child to Jewish parents in Miami, FL, Brett Ratner was accepted to N.Y.U. at the age of 16. Attending the Tisch School for the Arts, he received funding from Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment for his senior project Whatever Happened to Mason Reese?, a documentary about a child star.

After forming a friendship with Def Jam producer Russell Simmons, Ratner began directing music videos for stars such as Jay-Z, Mariah Carey, and Madonna. It was Simmons who helped him get his first big break, directing Money Talks with Chris Tucker and Charlie Sheen. Ratner worked with Tucker again for his sophomore effort, Rush Hour, a Jackie Chan comedy that broke box-office records for New Line Cinema. A brief departure into romantic comedy with The Family Man was not very well received, but the wild success of Rush Hour 2 brought him back into the limelight, and he soon landed the director's chair for The Silence of the Lambs prequel Red Dragon.

Credit: entertainment.msn.com