Michael Bay Biography
Born: February 17, 1965
Birth Name: Michael Benjamin Bay
Date of Birth: February 17, 1965
"I yell a lot. I'm very vocal and demanding, but that's because I'm making massive, noisy movies and I need to keep control."
Born and adopted in the motion picture capital of Los Angeles, California, Bay took advantage of his natural surroundings and started his film career in the advertising industry, directing music videos and commercials. Fresh out of Wesleyan University film school at age 24, Bay first started in the music video biz. Working with such artists as Meatloaf, Tina Turner and Donny Osmond, his videos garnered him a number of MTV award nominations.
From music videos, he went on to commercial work which proved successful as he created some of the best known and professionally acclaimed advertisements in the world. Some of his clients included Nike, Coca Cola, Reebok and Isuzu. The advertisement industry showed their appreciation for his work by giving him a number of Clio awards, Best Campaign of the Year award and several Gold and Silver Lions at the Cannes competions. By the age of 30 he became the youngest recipient honored by the Directors Guild of America for Commercial Director of the Year.
In 1995 he took on the feature film industry and came out with Bad Boys. Starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, the film was a great success, grossing $160 million worldwide. He followed up this success with blockbusters such as Pearl Harbor (2001) and the sequel Bad Boys II (2003). His biggest success to date, however, was the blockbuster Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), which grossed over $400 million in the U.S. alone.
Following Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), Michael helmed Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), Pain & Gain (2013), Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), 13 Hours (2016), and most recently, Transformers: The Last Knight (2017).
Bay claimed in Movieline magazine that his bioligical father is director John Frankenheimer. However, Frankenheimer denies the claim, and a DNA test proved to be negative. However, Bay apparently still insists his father is Frankenheimer. A dog lover, Bay owns two mastiff hounds. He has previously dated Playboy centerfold Jamie Bergman.
Filmography:
Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
13 Hours (2016)
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
Pain & Gain (2013)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
Transformers (2007)
The Island (2005)
Bad Boys II (2003)
Pearl Harbor (2001)
Armageddon (1998)
The Rock (1996)
Bad Boys (1995)