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Legendary filmmaker Spike Lee turns 66 years old today. We are looking back on his dynamic life in film.

Photo By (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images for Jaeger-LeCoultre)

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She’s Gotta Have It (1986) - A young Spike Lee ushered in the new era of independent Black filmmaking with "She’s Gotta Have It," a film he shot on a budget of $175,000, which went on to make $7 million. About a urban professional Black woman and her three lovers, the film—eschewing the pimp-ho-criminal-brute focus of many Hollywood Black movies—was not only a breath of fresh air, but a game changer, paving the way for a Black cinema resurgence in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. In 2017, "She's Gotta Have It" became a series on Netflix for two seasons. (Photo: 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks)

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School Daze (1988) - Now armed with a studio budget, Lee turned his cinematic gaze toward social life at a fictitious HBCU and the student alliances formed along lines of skin shade. It’s the light-skinned, clannish “Wannabes” vs’ the political-minded, earthy, dark-skinned “Jiggaboos” (complete with a dueling musical number). (Photo: 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks)

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Do the Right Thing (1989) - During NYC’s racially hot summer of 1989, Lee—known for tackling tough issues on film—captured the racial tension that existed in the seemingly liberal Big Apple. Lee received an Oscar nomination for the screenplay. (Photo: 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks)

Photo By Courtesy 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

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Malcolm X (1992) - Lee directed, co-wrote and co-starred in this biopic about Malcolm X. With Denzel Washington as the lead, Lee takes moviegoers on the icon’s journey from Harlem street criminal to globally-recognized Black leader. Denzel earned an Oscar nod for Best Actor. (Photo: 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks)

Photo By Photo: 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks/Photo: 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks)

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Get On the Bus (1996) - Premiering one year after the historic Million Man March, Lee directed this film about a group of African-American men who are taking a cross-country bus trip to participate in the monumental march. Along the way enemies become friends, differences are eased, and lives are changed forever. Although Lee doesn’t appear in the film—like most of his work, up to this point—there is a character, Xavier (Hill Harper), who the others characters dismiss as a “Spike Lee, Jr.” (Photo: 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks)

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4 Little Girls (1997) - For his first documentary, Lee examined the 1963 murder of four African-American girls during the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary.(Photo: 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks)

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Bamboozled (2000) - Lee wrote and directed this satirical film about a modern televised minstrel show, featuring Black actors donning blackface makeup, and the violent fall-out from the show's success. The cast included Damon Wayans and Jada Pinkett Smith.(Photo: New Line Cinema)

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Inside Man (2006) - For his fourth film starring Denzel Washington, Lee directed this big Hollywood crime drama about a cop (Washington) who has to negotiate with a bank robber after the criminal's perfect heist spirals into a hostage situation. The film also starred Jodie Foster and Clive Owen.(Photo: Universal Pictures)

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When the Levees Broke (2006) - Airing on HBO, this documentary was about the devastation New Orleans experienced due to the failure of the levees during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Four years later, Lee followed up with "If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise," which chronicled how New Orleans and the Gulf Coast area have fared in the years following the hurricane.(Photo: HBO)

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Red Hook Summer (2012) - For his next major film, Lee wrote and directed this story about a boy from Atlanta who moves to Brooklyn to spend the summer with his grandfather, who he's never seen before. The film starred Limary Agosto, Keke Palmer, Daniel Breaker and Clarke Peters.(Photo: 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks)

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In 2018, Spike Lee released "BlacKkKlansman," which starred John David Washington. The film followed a Black cop who infiltrates the KKK. earned Spike Lee an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.

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In 2020, Lee dropped "Da 5 Bloods," a story about four Vietnam vets. The film earned Terence Blanchard an Oscar nomination for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures.

Photo By (Photo: Netflix)

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In 2021, Spike Lee's "NYC Epicenters 9/11-2021½" was released on HBO Max, which followed how the COVID pandemic ravaged New York City. The four-part series aired and received an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Documentary (Television or Motion Picture).

Photo By (Photo: HBO)