Is Alexander Payne married or dating? Regarding his marital status, Payne is a married man. He has already been married twice. His first wife name is Sandra Oh (born on July 20, 1971). They tied their knot on January 1, 2003, after dating for three years. The couple also worked together in some movies like Sideways.
One of the popular publicists announced the separation of Payne and Oh on March 12, 2005. On December 22, 2006, their divorce was officially finalized ending their long-time relationship permanently. However, they took an additional couple of year to settle down their financial aspects.
Payne remained single for a long time and finally found his new love in Greek philologist, Maria Kontos. The couple met at Aigio region of Greece for the first time. They decided to celebrate their wedding in the year 2015. At the age of 56, Payne turned as a father of a baby for the first time in 2017. Let’s explore in detail about Payne’s wiki including so/me interesting personal facts and biography:
Who is Alexander Payne?
Born as Constantine Alexander Payne, he landed the planet on February 10, 1961, which makes his age be 58 years old as of 2019. By profession, he is an American film director, producer and a screenwriter as well. He is most noted for being the mastermind behind the creation of movies like The Descendants (2011), Nebraska (2013), About Schmidt (2002), Sideways (2004), Election (1999) and Downsizing (2017).
Most of his movies belong to satirical depictions of contemporary American society and dark humor. From his successful professional life, he has garnered three-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director as well as the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Early Life and Education
Payne was born in 1961 and his place of birth is in Omaha, Nebraska. Talking about his family background, he was born to the parents named Peggy (née Constantine) Payne (mother) and George Payne (father). Both of his parents were restaurant owners. He is also blessed with other two elder brothers with whom he has experienced memorable childhood days.
Regarding his ancestral background, Payne holds Greek and German descent from his father’s side whereas of Greek ancestry from his mother’s side.
His grandfather was also involved in the restaurant field where he became the founder of The Virginia Café. As a child, Payne used to visit the restaurant which his parents were operating. Unfortunately, the restaurant caught the fire in 1969 and now the location is occupied by the W. Dale Clark Library.
Talking about his education and academic achievements, Payne was enrolled at Brownell-Talbot School, Lewis and Clark Junior High and Dundee Elementary School. In 1979, he completed his graduation from Creighton Prep where he was the editor of the high school yearbook.
For his higher education, he went to Stanford University majoring in both History and Spanish language. He also spent his time in Medellin, Colombia where he published an article that provides the overview of social changes in the first three decades of the twentieth century. In 1990, he received his MFA degree from the UCLA Film School.
Career and Professional Life
Alexander Payne received a Super 8mm projector from his father who gets it from Kraft Foods as a loyalty reward in the 1960s. This increased his interest in film and camera. He was offered to contract a writing/directing deal with Universal Pictures after his successful thesis film, The Passion of Martin.
He made a big breakthrough from his contribution to the movie called Citizen Ruth which was released in 1996. His second movie was named Election released in 1999 starring artists like Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick. For this successful movie, he was able to earn the Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay’s nomination.
Payne received a Golden Globe for his screenplay for About Schmidt in 2002. He made a giant successful performance from 2004’s Sideways for which he received both the Academy Award and Golden Globe in the following year. In 2011, Payne served as a director for The Descendants for which he also co-wrote the screenplay.
In 2013, he directed black and white comedy-drama road film Nebraska starring actor Bruce Dern and SNL comedian Will Forte. He also directed 2017 American science fiction comedy film Downsizing starring Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Kristen Wiig and Hong Chau.
In addition to writing and directing Hollywood films, Payne has also executive produced the short film named Run Fast which was partially funded by a Kickstarter campaign. He has also contributed as an executive producer for the films like The Savages, King of California and Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter.
Personal Life
Alexander Payne has been married twice. He was first married to American-Canadian actress Sandra Oh who is ten years younger to Payne. Their conjugal life officially ended on December 22, 2006. After her, Payne married Maria Kontos in the year 2016. The couple has extended their family by welcoming a baby in 2017.
Body Measurements
Moving towards body measurement, Alexander Payne stands at a perfect height of 5 feet and 10 inches. He weighs about 74 kg or 163 pounds making him possess a well-maintained body structure. His eye is of Hazel color and his hair is of salt and pepper color. Payne’s thick wavy hair, sharply pointed nose and slender figure are his major distinctive features.
Salary and Net worth
American film director, Alexander Payne has an estimated net worth of 25 million USD which he has amassed from his decades of contribution to the entertainment industry. Payne is also the recipient of multiple prestigious awards and nominations.
Wiki and Facts
The biography of Alexander Payne is prepared by various wiki sites including IMDb and Wikipedia. He is not so active on social media platforms where his official Instagram and Twitter profile is still missing.