Baz Luhrmann

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Lore & Background

Mark Anthony Luhrmann was born in Sydney, New South Wales, on 17 September 1962. His mother, Barbara Carmel (née Brennan), was a ballroom dance teacher and dress shop owner, and his father, Leonard Luhrmann, ran a petrol station and a cinema. He was raised in Herons Creek, a tiny rural settlement in mid-northern New South Wales. He attended St Joseph's Hastings Regional School, Port Macquarie (1975–1978); St Paul's Catholic College, performing in the school's version of Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1; and Narrabeen Sports High School, where he met his future collaborator Craig Pearce. Luhrmann received the nickname "Baz" at school, given to him because of his hairstyle, the name coming from the puppet character Basil Brush. While still in high school, Luhrmann changed his name by deed poll to Bazmark, joining his nickname and birth name together. In 1980 Luhrmann graduated from high school, and in the same year was cast opposite Judy Davis in the Australian film Winter of Our Dreams. In 1982, using the money he had earned from film and television work, he co-founded, with Nell Schofield, Gabrielle Mason, and Julia Little, their own theatre company, The Bond Theatre Company. In March the company performed American Days at the pavilion at Sydney's Bondi Beach. At the same time, he conceived and appeared in a controversial television documentary, Kids of the Cross, where Luhrmann, embedded as a character, lived with a group of street kids. In 1983 he enrolled in an acting course at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. He graduated in 1985 alongside Sonia Todd, Catherine McClements and Justin Monjo. On 26 January 1997 he married Catherine Martin, a production designer, costume designer and film producer; the couple have two children.

Reader's Guide

Baz Luhrmann's significance lies in his distinctive auteur style and his role as Australia's most commercially successful native director. His Red Curtain Trilogy—Strictly Ballroom (1992), William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996), and Moulin Rouge! (2001)—established his reputation for blending theatricality, modern music, and visual spectacle. Romeo + Juliet defeated Titanic at the BAFTAs for best direction, music and screenplay, and was celebrated at the Berlin Film Festival with the Golden Bear award for direction and Silver Bear for DiCaprio's performance. Luhrmann also produced both volumes of the soundtrack album, which went triple-platinum. Moulin Rouge! won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture, Best Actress and Best Original Score at the 59th Annual Golden Globes, and its soundtrack sold more than seven million copies, going double-platinum, led by the Grammy-winning number one hit single "Lady Marmalade". His 2008 historical epic Australia is the second-highest grossing Australian film of all time, next to Crocodile Dundee and ahead of Happy Feet. The Great Gatsby (2013) grossed over $353 million worldwide, making it Luhrmann's highest-grossing film to date, and won Academy Awards for Best Production Design and Best Costume Design at the 86th Academy Awards. Elvis (2022) debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2022, became a box office hit, and received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Austin Butler. In September 2024 it was reported that Luhrmann's next narrative feature film will be an adaptation of the life of Joan of Arc, titled Jehanne d'Arc. His latest film, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, a documentary and concert film featuring long-lost footage from his Las Vegas residency, premiered on 6 September 2025 at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Did You Know?

• Luhrmann changed his name by deed poll to Bazmark while still in high school, joining his nickname 'Baz' and his birth name together.
• He co-founded The Bond Theatre Company in 1982 with Nell Schofield, Gabrielle Mason, and Julia Little after they were turned down by NIDA.
• Romeo + Juliet defeated Titanic at the BAFTAs for best direction, music and screenplay.
• Moulin Rouge! was named the top film of the 2000s decade in a UK poll of 150,000 respondents in 2010.
• Luhrmann's documentary EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September 2025.