Chris Renaud is an American filmmaker who primarily directs and writes animated films. He is best known for directing the Despicable Me movies. Renaud is also a voice over artist and graphic designer.
Early LifeBorn in December 1966, in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, Chris Renaud and his family moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA, when he was 15 years old. He studied at Parkland High School, Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he was the artist for the high school yearbook. Renaud loved art and had dreams of creating comic books when he grew up. After graduating from school in 1985, he went to the Baum School of Art, followed by receiving an illustration degree from Syracuse University, in 1989.
Once he graduated, Chris Renaud began working as a graphic designer in the sports industry, designing logos and creating mascots' characters for NFL teams, the NBA, and Foot Locker. He then achieved his dream and started writing comic books for Marvel and DC Comics.
Personal LifeChris Renaud stays with his wife Lauren in Paris. The couple got married in 2012 and has a son named John and a daughter named Kiely.
Movie CareerChris Renaud got his big break as a production designer on the Disney Channel's The Book of Pooh, a hit American children's TV series. He then went on to work on children's shows like Bear in the Big Blue House and LazyTown and It's a Big Big World.
Renaud then joined Blue Sky Studios as a story artist on movies like Robots, Ice Age: The Meltdown, and Horton Hears A Who!. After writing and directing the Oscar-nominated animated short film No Time for Nuts, Renaud moved to Paris to work at Illumination Entertainment. While co-directing the 2010 movie Despicable Me, along with Pierre Coffin, Renaud and his team created the iconic Minions- small, yellow, goofy mole-like henchmen. Despicable Me went on to be a mega-hit, grossing over 500 million USD worldwide and establishing Chris Renaud as a heavyweight in the animation film world. After directing Dr. Seuss' The Lorax in 2012, the filmmaker directed Despicable Me 2, which made nearly a billion USD worldwide. Renaud even voiced some of the Minions in both the Despicable Me movies.
The year 2015 saw the filmmaker take a backseat on the Despicable Me franchise spin-off movie Minions, serving as an executive producer on the film. The following year, Chris Renaud and Yarrow Cheney co-directed The Secret Life of Pets, a movie that revolves around two dogs who have to team up against an evil rabbit.