| Full Name | Samuel Alexander Mendes |
| Date of Birth | August 1, 1965 |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) according to IMDb; other publications list approximately 5 ft 10 in. |
| Age | 61 years old in 2026 |
| Birth Place | Reading, Berkshire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Profession | Film director, theatre director, producer and screenwriter |
| Nickname | “Midas Mendes” |
| Parents | James Peter Mendes, a university lecturer, and Valerie Helene Mendes, an author and children’s writer |
| Siblings | None — Sam Mendes is an only child |
| Grandfather | Alfred Mendes, a Trinidadian writer whose First World War experiences later helped inspire 1917 |
| Education | Magdalen College School, Oxford; Peterhouse, University of Cambridge |
| University Degree | English; graduated with first-class honours |
| Career Began | 1987, following his graduation from Cambridge |
| Years Active | 1987–present |
| Famous For | American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Skyfall, Spectre and 1917 |
| Film Directing Debut | American Beauty (1999) |
| Breakthrough Film | American Beauty (1999) |
| Academy Award | Best Director for American Beauty |
| Major Bond Films | Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015) |
| 1917 | Directed, co-wrote and produced the 2019 First World War film |
| Other Major Films | Road to Perdition, Jarhead, Revolutionary Road, Away We Go and Empire of Light |
| Major Theatre Work | Cabaret, Oliver!, Company, Gypsy, The Ferryman and The Lehman Trilogy |
| Donmar Warehouse | Served as artistic director, helping establish it as a major London theatre |
| Tony Awards | Two Tony Awards for Best Direction of a Play, including The Ferryman and The Lehman Trilogy |
| Other Awards | Academy Award, BAFTAs, Golden Globe, Olivier Awards and Tony Awards |
| Honours | CBE in 2000; knighted in 2020 for services to drama |
| Hobbies / Interests | Cricket is his best-documented personal sporting interest; he played competitively during his youth and at Cambridge |
| Hair Color | Dark brown/grey; exact current shade is not formally documented |
| Eye Color | Not reliably documented in authoritative biographical sources |
| Weight | Not reliably documented |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Current Wife | Alison Balsom, British classical trumpeter |
| Marriage to Alison Balsom | 2017–present |
| Previous Wife | Kate Winslet, whom he married in 2003 and divorced in 2010 |
| Children | Two |
| Son | Joe, from his marriage to Kate Winslet |
| Daughter | Phoebe, with Alison Balsom |
| Family Background | His father was from Trinidad and Tobago, while his mother was British Jewish |
| Instagram | No clearly verified personal Instagram account |
| Net Worth | Estimated around $30 million; published estimates vary, so this should be treated as an estimate rather than a confirmed financial figure. |
| Main Sources of Wealth | Film directing, producing, screenwriting, theatre directing, Broadway and West End productions |
| Notable Career Milestone | Became one of the few directors to win Best Director at the Oscars for a feature-film debut |
| Professional Style | Known for visually sophisticated, character-driven storytelling across film and theatre |
| Current Career Status | Active filmmaker and theatre director |
