Born on 22 October 1955 in New York City, William Condon was raised in an Irish Catholic family, and attended Regis High School and Columbia College Of Columbia University, where he studied philosophy.
His first work within the film industry was as a journalist, writing for film magazines such as American Film and Millimeter, shortly after graduating from higher education. It wasn’t long before he began to involve himself in the actual production of films, rather than simply reporting on them, writing the low-budget features Strange Behavior and Strange Invaders in the early Eighties. Directing came along soon after with Sister, Sister, a horror/mystery film starring Eric Stoltz and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Condon then worked in made-for-TV features, including 1991’s Murder 101, which starred Pierce Brosnan and for which he won an Edgar Award along his co-writer Roy Johansen. In 1995, he also wrote the sequel to the infamous Candyman, Candyman: Farewell To The Flesh, but his major breakthrough was with Gods And Monsters in 1998, for which he served as a writer and director, and for which he earned an Academy Award for the Best Adapted Screenplay.
Further involvement with genre entertainment came with an episode of The Others and he also won another Edgar Award for Chicago, for which he was also nominated for another Academy Award. One of his more famous efforts outside of Gods And Monsters was Dreamgirls, his second adapted musical, for which he received praise from the Directors Guild Of America and Broadcast Film Critics Association.
Recently, Condon has been announced as the director for Breaking Dawn, the last film in the massively successful Twilight Saga, adapted from the equally popular novels by Stephenie Meyer. He is also slated for attachment to Aaliyah, which has a projected 2011 release date.
