Michael Bay

Michael Bay graduated from Wesleyan University and spent his twenties creating advertisements and music videos. After film school he directed music videos for Tina Turner, Meat Loaf, Lionel Richie, Wilson Phillips, Donny Osmond and Divinyls, earning MTV award nominations. He also shot commercials for Nike, Reebok, Coca‑Cola, Budweiser and Miller Lite, winning the Grand Prix Clio for Commercial of the Year for his “Got Milk/Aaron Burr” spot. At Cannes he received a Gold Lion for the Best Beer campaign for Miller Lite and a Silver Lion for “Got Milk.” In 1995 the Directors Guild of America named him Commercial Director of the Year; that same year he directed his first feature film, *Bad Boys*, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, which grossed more than $160 million worldwide. His next film, *The Rock* (1996), starred Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage and was also a major commercial success, establishing Bay as a prominent director.