Adam M. Shankman (born November 27, 1964) is an American film director, dancer, actor, judge on So You Think You Can Dance (season 3), and choreographer. He directed A Walk to Remember, Bringing Down the House, The Pacifier, Cheaper by the Dozen 2 and Hairspray. He also danced in videos for Paula Abdul and Janet Jackson. Shankman also choreographed one of the Spice Girls' tours.
Shankman was born in Los Angeles, California to an upper middle class family. He had a "traditional Jewish upbringing" in Brentwood and attended The Juilliard School.
Shankman is openly gay. He officiated the wedding of Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar, with whom he worked while choreographing Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Prior to directing Hairspray, Shankman was known in Hollywood primarily as a fixer of lowbrow films—a director who could take charge of lackluster productions that were expected to flop and turn them into box-office hits. "I've done so many things I'm not super-proud of," he admitted in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. Having finally received a plum directing role in Hairspray, he added, "Now that I'm finally really proud of something, if [critics] say this one isn't good either, it will be kind of … taxing."
As of March 2008, Hairspray has become the third-largest grossing American movie musical within the last 30+ years.
While a guest on NPR's "Fresh Air With Terry Gross" in July 2007, Shankman revealed to Gross that he did not start dancing until he was 18, which is very late for someone who intends to become a professional dancer. Furthermore, once he decided to become a dancer, he auditioned for college dance programs all over the country, including NYU, North Carolina, and Julliard (the most prestigious and selective dance program in the United States), and he got into all of them without ever once having taken a dance class.
