Twin brothers Albert and Allen Hughes sold their first screenplay by the time they turned 19. They co-directed a studio-backed feature film, presented it at Cannes, and founded their own production and record company by age 21. Yet, more than simply wunderkinds, they follow in the tradition of their idols -- Sergio Leone, Martin Scorsese, and Brian De Palma -- by creating stylized genre flicks that are characterized by both startling violence and incisive social commentary.
The fraternal twins were born on April 1, 1972, in Detroit, MI, to an African-American father and an Armenian mother. Albert is nine minutes older than Allen. Their parents divorced when they were two, and they were raised by their mother, Aida Hughes. In 1981, she moved the family west to Pomona, CA, a suburb that is about an hour's drive from Hollywood. She worked at an In-N-Out Burger while taking care of the twins and putting herself through school. Three years later, she opened her own business, a vocational rehabilitation center for workers hurt on the job, and went on to become president of Pomona's chapter of the National Organization for Women.
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