Birth Name:
  • Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan
Birthplace:
  • Mahé, Pondicherry, India
Quote:
  • "My biggest fear in life is to be average." -- Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine, March 8, 1999
Education:
  • Episcopal Academy, Lower Merion, PA, 1988
  • Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, New York City; B.F.A., film, 1993
Factoids:
  • Last name is pronounced SHAH-ma-lawn
  • As a child, he moved with family from India to Penn Valley, Pennsylvania
  • Middle name, "Night", made up during college
  • Aside from Wide Awake (1998), Shyamalan has a credited appearance in each of the feature films he has directed.
Significant Other:
  • Wife: Bhavna Vaswani; married 1993
Family:
  • Shyamalan's parents, wife and 9 other family members are MDs and/or PhDs.
  • Father: Nelliate Shyamalan, cardiologist
  • Mother: Jayalakshmi Shyamalan, obstetrician
  • Daughter: Saleka Shyamalan; b. 1996
  • Daughter: b. November 1999
Feature Film
Credits:
  • The Happening (2008 - writer, producer & director)
    Lady in the Water (2006 - writer, producer & director)
    The Village (2004 - writer, producer & director)
    Signs (2002 - writer, producer & director)
    Unbreakable (2000 - writer, producer & director)
    The Sixth Sense (1999 - writer & director)
    Stuart Little (1999 - screenplay)
    Wide Awake (1998 - writer & director)
    Praying With Anger (1992 - writer, producer & director)
Academy Awards®: