A controversial artist and a wizard at self-promotion, Spike Lee became America's best known African-American filmmaker in the 1980s. By the end of the 1990s, Lee became widely recognized in critical circles as one of the top five most important filmmakers in America. With a string of provocative films dealing as never before with the complexity of contemporary African-American urban life, Lee helped energize the spirit of independent filmmaking in the United States. Over time, Spike Lee managed to become one of the most highly visible celebrities in America through his entrepreneurial ventures, his controversial statements in the media, and his daring artistic achievements in film.

The filmmaker was born Shelton Jackson Lee on March 20, 1957 in Atlanta. His parents relocated to Brooklyn, New York, in 1959. During his early childhood in the 1960s, Lee spent many of his summers visiting relatives in the South, where...