Soderbergh, Steven (Steven Andrew Soderbergh), 1963–, American film director, b. Atlanta, Ga. After making short films and documentaries, he scored a commercial success with sex, lies, and videotape (1989; Palme d'Or), about a troubled man who interviews women about their sexual experiences. Subsequent films include Gray's Anatomy (1996), a Spalding Gray monologue; Out of Sight (1998), from the Elmore Leonard novel; Erin Brockovich (2000), based on a toxic-waste whistleblower's story; and Traffic (2000; Academy Award, best director), about the drug trade. His Ocean's Eleven (2002), a slick remake of a 1960 Vegas heist film, was highly successful commercially and led to two similarly named sequels (2004, 2007). Magic Mike (2012) is a good-humored look at male stripping; Behind the Candelabra (2013; Emmy Award, directing) is a television film about the entertainer Liberace. In the caper movie Logan Lucky (2017), a pair of brothers decide to rob a NASCAR racetrack. Soderbergh also has worked as a screenwriter and producer for films by other directors.
See his memoir (1999).
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