David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American director and producer of films, television, and music videos. His work has received multiple nominations in the Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards. Born in Denver, Colorado, Fincher developed a passion for filmmaking at an early age. He first gained recognition from directing numerous music videos. He then made his directorial debut with the feature film Alien 3 (1992), which garnered mixed reviews, followed by the thriller Seven (1995), which was better received. Fincher found lukewarm success with The Game (1997) and Fight Club (1999), with the latter eventually becoming a cult classic. In 2002, he returned with a critical and box office success, Panic Room (2002).
Fincher also directed Zodiac (2007), the biographical drama The Social Network (2010) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011). For The Social Network, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director and BAFTA Award for Best Direction. His greatest commercial successes have been The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) and Gone Girl (2014), both grossing more than $300 million worldwide, and the former earning thirteen nominations at the Academy Awards, and eleven at the British Academy Film Awards. He also served as an executive producer and director for the acclaimed Netflix series House of Cards (2013–2018) and Mindhunter (2017–2019), winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for the pilot episode of House of Cards. Fincher was the co-founder of Propaganda Films, a production company of film and music videos.