Lee Daniels & Jahil Fisher

American film director, screenwriter, and producer, Lee Daniels, had his first film credit in the drama Monster’s Ball, for which he became the first African-American film producer to win an Oscar. His directorial debut, Shadowboxer, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Daniels went on to direct the two-time Academy Award-nominated film Precious in 2009. A year later, he was presented with the Pratt Institute’s Creative Spirit Award by Grace Hightower De Niro.

In 2012, Daniels directed a crime drama based on the 1995 novel of Pete Dexter, The Paperboy, which starred Hollywood actors Matthew McConaughey, John Cusack, Nicole Kidman, and Zac Efron. The movie competed for the Palme d’Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. Daniels has been with his life partner, Jahil Fisher, for more than a few years now, and their relationship has only gotten better over the years.