Where was American filmmaker Steven Spielberg born?

Spielberg was born on December 18, 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio. His family was Orthodox Jewish. Spielberg's paternal grandparents were Jewish Ukrainian immigrants who settled in Cincinnati in the 1900s; his grandmother was from Sudylkiv, while his grandfather was from Kamianets-Podilskyi.

As a child, Spielberg faced difficulty reconciling being an Orthodox Jew with the perception of him by other children he played with. Spielberg also said he suffered from acts of anti-Semitic prejudice and bullying: "In high school, I got smacked and kicked around. Two bloody noses. It was horrible."

At age 12, he made his first home movie: a train wreck involving his toy Lionel trains. Throughout his early teens, and after entering high school, Spielberg continued to make amateur 8 mm "adventure" films.

While still a student, he was offered a small unpaid intern job at Universal Studios with the editing department. He was later given the opportunity to make a short film for theatrical release, the 26-minute, 35 mm, Amblin', which he wrote and directed.

Studio vice president Sidney Sheinberg was impressed by the film, which had won a number of awards, and offered Spielberg a seven-year directing contract. It made him the youngest director ever to be signed for a long-term deal with a movie contract.