Childhood & Early Life
Dan Fogelman was born on February 19, 1976, in River Vale, New Jersey, to Marty and Joyce. His family is of Jewish origin. He has a sister. Fogelman maintains close ties with his family, and calls it as an “endearingly dysfunctional Jewish family.” Fogelman created several of his onscreen characters based on his family.
He attended the ‘Pascack Valley High School’ for his early education. There is no public information about his higher education.
Continue Reading Below
Career
Dan Fogelman started his career in Hollywood by writing celebrity bios for the ‘TV Guide’ channel. In 2003, he worked as the creator, writer, and executive producer of the TV series ‘Like Family.’ It was aired on ‘The WB’ channel. The series told the story of an African-American family and a Caucasian family living together under one roof. It was cancelled after one season.
In 2006, Fogelman wrote the screenplay for the animation movie ‘Cars.’ It was a computer-animated road comedy produced by ‘Walt Disney Pictures.’ The movie was set in a fictional world where anthropomorphic talking cars compete for the first position in a car racing championship. It was a world-wide success. The movie was nominated for an ‘Academy Award’ for ‘Best Animated Feature.’
In 2006, Fogelman wrote and executive produced the TV movie ‘The 12th Man.’ In 2007, he created the pilot episode of the comedy series ‘Lipshitz Saves the World,’ but after the pilot, the show was not aired further. In the same year, Fogelman worked as the writer of the movie ‘Fred Claus.’ It was a fantasy comedy based on the legend of Santa Claus. The movie told the story of ‘Nicholas,’ a modern-day Santa Claus. It was not well-received by viewers.
In 2008, Dan Fogelman wrote the screenplay for the animation movie ‘Bolt.’ It was produced by ‘Walt Disney Animation Studios,’ and released by ‘Walt Disney Pictures.’ The movie told the story of a dog named ‘Bolt,’ who thought that he had super powers. When his owner was kidnapped, ‘Bolt’ took it upon himself to rescue her. In the movie, Fogelman lent his voice to the character ‘Billy.’ Though the movie received a mediocre response at the box office, it was nominated for several awards, including the ‘Academy Award’ and the ‘Golden Globe.’
In 2010, Fogelman wrote the screenplay for the ‘Walt Disney Pictures’ animation movie ‘Tangled.’ The movie was loosely based on the German fairy tale of ‘Rapunzel,’ which tells the story of a princess with long hair, who is forced to live in seclusion. It was one of the most expensive animation movies ever made. The movie was a huge success, and was nominated for several awards.
In 2011, Fogelman wrote the screenplay for the romantic comedy movie, ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love.’ It was the story of a divorced man who looked to renew his relations with women. The movie was a box office success. In 2012, Fogelman worked as the creator, executive producer, and writer of the science fiction series ‘The Neighbors.’ It was aired on the ‘ABC’ network. The series told the story of a family of humans, living in a neighborhood inhabited by extra-terrestrials. It went off air in 2014.
In 2012, Dan Fogelman wrote the screenplay for the road comedy movie ‘The Guilt Trip.’ It was the story of a mother-son duo going on a cross-country road trip. Fogelman wrote the story based on his personal experiences, when he took a road trip with his mother. In 2013, he wrote the screenplay for the comedy movie ‘Last Vegas.’
In 2015, Dan Fogelman made his directorial debut with the movie ‘Danny Collins.’ It was a biographical movie based on the life of the folk singer Steve Tilston. Al Pacino played the lead role in the movie. For his performance in the movie, Al Pacino was nominated for the ‘Golden Globe Award.’ From 2015 to 2016, Fogelman acted as the creator and writer of TV series such as ‘Galavant,’ Grandfathered,’ and ‘Pitch.’
In 2016, Fogelman created the comedy drama series ‘This Is Us.’ It is aired on the ‘NBC’ network. The series tells the story of two parents and their children, over different time frames. It is a highly popular series, and has received several nominations and won prestigious awards, including the ‘Primetime Emmy,’ and the ‘Golden Globe.’
In 2018, Fogelman directed his second movie, ‘Life Itself.’ He was the writer of the movie, too. It told the story of several couples and their connections to a single event. The movie was not well received by critics. Fogelman has signed the contract to write the screenplay for the upcoming movie ‘Indiana Jones 5.’
