Photo: Kevin Paul / CC BY 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Gregg Araki is one of those filmmakers who feels like he was beamed in from a parallel universe where queer punk kids got to tell their own stories before anyone gave them permission. Coming out of USC and the early-90s New Queer Cinema wave, he made his Teenage Apocalypse trilogy — Totally F***ed Up, The Doom Generation, Nowhere — on shoestring budgets with a raw, neon-drenched style that felt like no one else working at the time. I love that he never cleaned himself up for mainstream respectability; even when he pivoted to something more polished like Mysterious Skin, the emotional gut-punch was still completely his. Winning the inaugural Queer Palm at Cannes for Kaboom in 2010 felt like a perfect full-circle moment. He's a singular voice, full stop.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Gregg Araki
- Name (Japanese)
- グレッグ・アラキ
- Reading
- ぐれっぐ・あらき
- Born
- December 17, 1959 (age 66)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Sagittarius / Boar
- Origin
- Los Angeles, California, United States
- Occupation
- film director / screenwriter / film editor / cinematographer / film producer
2. Background
- University
- University of Southern California
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Gregg Araki born?
Born December 17, 1959 (age 66).
Where is Gregg Araki from?
Gregg Araki is from Los Angeles, California, United States.
What does Gregg Araki do?
Gregg Araki works as film director, screenwriter, film editor, cinematographer, film producer.
Film director — see all → · Screenwriter — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.