Quentin Jerome Tarantino born March 27 1963 is an American film director screenwriter producer cinematographer and actor In the early 1990s he was an independent filmmaker whose films used nonlinear storylines and aestheticization of violence His films have earned him a variety of Academy Award Golden Globe BAFTA and Palme dOr Awards and he has been nominated for Emmy and Grammy Awards In 2007 Total Film named him the 12thgreatest director of all time Tarantino was born in Knoxville Tennessee the son of Connie McHugh Tarantino Zastoupil a health care executive and nurse born in Knoxville and Tony Tarantino an actor and amateur musician born in Queens New York Tarantinos mother allowed him to quit school at age 17 to attend an acting class full time Tarantino gave up acting while attending the acting school saying that he admired directors more than actors Tarantino also worked in a video rental store before becoming a filmmaker paid close attention to the types of films people liked to rent and has cited that experience as inspiration for his directorial career Description above from the Wikipedia article Quentin Tarantino licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia