Harvey Weinstein

In 1979, Weinstein and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent films including Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989); The Crying Game (1992); Pulp Fiction (1994); Heavenly Creatures (1994); Flirting with Disaster (1996); and Shakespeare in Love (1998).^[5] Weinstein won an Academy Award for producing Shakespeare in Love and also won seven Tony Awards for plays and musicals including The Producers, Billy Elliot the Musical, and August: Osage County.^[6] After leaving Miramax, Weinstein and his brother Bob founded The Weinstein Company (TWC), a mini-major film studio. He was co-chairman, alongside Bob, from 2005 to 2017.


In October 2017, following sexual abuse allegations dating back to the late 1970s, Weinstein was dismissed from his company and expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. More than 80 women made allegations of sexual harassment or rape against Weinstein by October 31.^[7] The allegations sparked the #MeToo social media campaign and subsequent sexual abuse allegations against many powerful men around the world; this phenomenon is referred to as the "Weinstein effect".


In May 2018, Weinstein was arrested and charged with rape in New York and then in February 2020, he was found guilty of two of five felony counts.^[8] Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison,^[9] and began serving his sentence at Wende Correctional Facility. On July 20, 2021, he was extradited to Los Angeles to face further charges at a subsequent trial, where he was found guilty of three of seven charges on December 19, 2022.^[10] He was sentenced to 16 years in the Los Angeles trial, and his California prison term must be served separately from his New York sentence.^[11]

Early life

Weinstein was born on March 19, 1952, in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, New York City,^[12] to diamond cutter Max Weinstein (1924–1976)^[13] and his wife, Miriam (née Postel; 1926–2016).^[13][14] His family is Jewish,^[15] and his maternal grandparents immigrated to the United States from Poland.^[16] He grew up with his younger brother, Bob, in a housing co-op named Electchester in New York City. Weinstein graduated from John Bowne High School and attended the State University of New York at Buffalo.^[17] Weinstein, his brother Bob, and Corky Burger independently produced rock concerts as Harvey & Corky Productions in Buffalo through most of the 1970s.^[17][18] Harvey & Corky Productions brought top acts to Buffalo, including Frank Sinatra, The Who, Jackson Browne, and the Rolling Stones. Weinstein's longtime friend, Jonathan A. Dandes, followed him to Buffalo and has described Weinstein as "aggressive" and "consumed" in matters of business.^[19][20] Weinstein attended the University at Buffalo from 1969 to 1973 but ultimately did not graduate, choosing to concentrate on his business interests instead.^[21][22]