Lee Daniels is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He made his directorial film debut with Shadowboxer (2005), followed by Precious (2009) which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Picture. He has since directed The Paperboy (2012, which he co-wrote), The Butler (2013), The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021), and The Deliverance (2024). He also produced the films Monster's Ball (2001), The Woodsman (2004), Tennessee (2008), Pimp (2018), and Concrete Cowboy (2020).
Daniels has co-created and co-executive produced the TV series Empire (2015–2020) and Star (2016–2019), both set in the music industry.