Barry Sonnenfeld was born in New York City, NY in 1953. He was introduced to the world of filmmaking through photography. And after realizing photography was too lonely of a profession for him, he attended New York University Tisch School of the Arts, where he discovered his talent for lighting and shooting films. He bought a 16-mm CP-reflex after he graduated from NYU and began to shoot industrial interviews and adult films. His cinematography career in narrative feature film began with his collaboration with then new directors Joel and Ethan Coen. He went on to shoot such films as Big, Misery, and When Harry Met Sally…, as a cinematographer. His first directorial credit came when he was approached by producer Scott Rudin to helm The Addams Family because of his distinct visual style.
Sonnenfeld’s filmography spans decades and genres including feature films The Addams Family (1991), For Love of Money (1993), Addams Family Values (1993), Get Shorty (1995), Men in Black (1997), Wild Wild West (1999), Big Trouble (2002), Men in Black II (2002), RV (2006), Men in Black 3 (2012), and Nine Lives (2016). He directed numerous television episodes including Maximum Bob, The Tick, Pushing Daisies, Notes from the Underbelly, Suburban Shootout, Funny in Farsi, Beverly Hills Cop, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Schmigadoon!.
Sonnenfeld has been nominated by the DGA for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs for A Series of Unfortunate Events. He also won a DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series for his work on Pushing Daisies.
Sonnenfeld served on the Eastern Directors Council from 2008-2014.
Sonnenfeld has been a member of the Directors Guild since 1989.