DIRECTOR · BORN 1937
Ridley Scott
- Born
- 30 November 1937, South Shields, County Durham, England, UK
- Known for
- The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004), Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner (2007), James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction (2018), Keepers of the Covenant: Making 'Exodus: Gods and Kings' (2015)
82 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
20 Facts About Ridley Scott's Life and Family
- #004
Since Gladiator (2000), he has given a role to his life partner Giannina Facio in nearly all of his films. They finally married in June 2015.
- #006
He has dedicated several of his films to the memory of his family: Blade Runner (1982) to his brother Frank, Black Hawk Down (2001) to his mother, and The Counselor (2013) and Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) to his brother Tony. Ridley also paid tribute to his late brother Tony after The Martian (2015) won Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the 2016 Golden Globes.
- #011
Together with his brother Tony Scott, he bought Shepperton Studios for £12 million in 1995.
- #012
On 17 May 2017 he received the TCL Chinese Theatre handprint ceremony. His hands and feet were set in cement in front of the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California. He had first stepped onto the famous pavement in 1960, when he had no intention of going into the film business. He was 22, recently graduated from university, and had saved enough money after working nine months in New York to travel to Los Angeles by Greyhound bus. "One of the big deals for me was to come to Hollywood," Scott recalled. "I stayed in a nearby boarding house and walked to Hollywood Boulevard. I remember standing outside looking at the footprints. I never, ever thought this would happen." [Various 2017].
- #014
He was initially set to direct Dune (1984) but left the production after his elder brother died suddenly. Scott wanted to start working as soon as possible, but Dune would take too long to reach production. Scott decided to leave the project in favour of Blade Runner (1982), which was ready to go into production immediately.
- #018
He was reportedly preparing to direct The Hunger (1983), but decided to accept it upon hearing that David Bowie was involved in the deal. It became his brother Tony Scott's directorial debut.
- #023
One of Ridley Scott's favorite films is Muriel's Wedding (1994): "I've seen it 6 times, it's really fantastic." [Hollywood Reporter, Roundtable 2015].
- #030
Ridley Scott's education: West Hartlepool College of Art (1954-1958: Diploma in Design 1958, with distinction); Royal College of Art (1958 to autumn 1961: Master's in Graphic Design 1961). This was followed by two postgraduate courses at the RCA. He then received a travel scholarship and went to New York, where he gained experience in editing at Leacock/Pennebaker. A year later he returned to England and worked as an art director at the BBC. His skill at designing sets for television eventually led to designing sets for commercials. After taking the BBC's director training course, he left television. He decided to focus almost entirely on commercials and in 1965 founded his own commercial production company, Ridley Scott Associates.
- #031
Ridley Scott is the father of Jake Scott and Luke Scott with Felicity Heywood.
- #032
Like his brother Tony Scott, Ridley Scott is a passionate smoker of Montecristo Cuban cigars.
- #041
While at the Royal College of Art, Scott contributed to the college magazine ARK. He also helped establish the school's film studies department.
- #047
On 3 July 2015, Scott was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Royal College of Art at a ceremony held at the Royal Albert Hall in London. He recounted how he still keeps on his office wall the school report that placed him 31st out of 31 in his class, and how his teacher encouraged him to pursue what became his passion at art school.
- #052
Family: Scott is the brother of director Tony Scott; the father of music video director Jake Scott; the son of Elizabeth Jean Scott; and, with Sandy Watson, the father of actress Jordan Scott.
- #055
While working as a set designer at the BBC, Scott was assigned to design the Daleks for the new BBC TV science fiction series Doctor Who (1963). Because Scott could not attend the shoot at Ealing, he handed the work over to his colleague Raymond Cusick.
- #058
After his family moved from Tyneside to Hartburn in Stockton, his father became a pilot on the River Tees. Ridley spent three years at Grangefield Grammar School in Stockton, Teesside. He was a mediocre student but an excellent artist. After leaving school, he went to Hartlepool College of Art in 1954.
- #060
His development and production company was named Percy Main Productions, after the place his father came from.
- #064
Ridley Scott and his brother Tony control Shepperton Studios, the film production company Scott Free, and RSA (Ridley Scott Associates), a highly successful commercials company in both the UK and the US.
- #075
Ridley Scott and his brother control Shepperton Studios, the film production company Scott Free, and RSA (Ridley Scott Associates), a highly successful commercials company both in the UK and in America.
- #076
Ridley Scott and his brother Tony were born at 192 Harton House Road, South Shields.
- #080
Ridley Scott is divorced and the father of three children.
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