Matthew Vaughn

Matthew Vaughn
Matthew Vaughn with wife Claudia Schiffer, March 2010
Born	(1971-03-07) 7 March 1971 London, England
Nationality	British
Occupation(s)	Film producer Film Director
Years active	1995–present
Spouse	Claudia Schiffer ​ (m. 2002)​
Children	Caspar (b. 2003) Clementine (b. 2004) Cosima Violet (b. 2010)

Matthew Vaughn (born 7 March 1971) is an English film producer and director known for producing such films as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch and directing the films Layer Cake, Stardust, and Kick-Ass.

Early life and ancestry

Vaughn was born in London, England. He was brought up to believe that his biological father was the actor Robert Vaughn, who played Napoleon Solo in the television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. Matthew's mother, the actress Kathy Ceaton, had been in a relationship with Robert Vaughn at the time of Matthew's conception and birth, but the relationship was at its breaking point and Robert Vaughn had always denied that he was Matthew's father. The paternity of Matthew Vaughn was resolved in the 1980s both scientifically and legally, in the Superior Court of Los Angeles. Matthew's biological father is in fact George Albert Harley Drummond (also known as George de Vere Drummond) a minor British aristocrat whose Godfather was the late King George VI. Following the resolution, Matthew adopted (for private use) the name Matthew de Vere Drummond.

At the time of their marriage, there was some confusion in the press about the possibility of Vaughn's wife eventually becoming the Countess of Oxford, because her father in-law was in line of succession to the Earldom of Oxford and Mortimer. In fact, however, George Drummond is descended from the Edward Harley, 3rd Earl of Oxford and Mortimer through his son Thomas Harley (1730–1804) whose daughter Martha Harley (1760–1788) married one George Drummond (1758–1789) in 1779. Matthew's illegitimacy would bar him from succession. George Harley Drummond himself would not be in line for succession as he is not descended from the male line and furthermore the Harley family are no longer holders of the Earldom of Oxford and Mortimer. The male line ended with the death of Alfred Harley, 6th Earl of Oxford and Mortimer in 1853 and the title became extinct. A similarly named earldom, that of Oxford and Asquith, is now held by family of Herbert Asquith under the creation of 1925. George Albert Harley Drummond adopted the name 'de Vere' because that is the surname of the famous earls of Oxford who held the title (with interruptions) from 1135 to 1702, and he is a descendant of the 20th and last De Vere Earl of Oxford through his daughter Lady Diana de Vere, wife of Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans.

Film career

Early career

Vaughn was educated at Stowe School in Buckingham, England. Taking a gap year between Stowe and university, he travelled the world on a Hard Rock Café tour and landed in Los Angeles, U.S., where he began working as an assistant to a director. He returned to London, attending University College London where he studied anthropology and ancient history. But the film bug had taken hold, he dropped out of university after a few weeks and returned to Los Angeles to start his career. He quickly realised, however, that everyone in town was trying to do the same thing, so he crossed back over the Atlantic to make a name for himself in England, where at 25 he produced a little-seen thriller, The Innocent Sleep (1995), starring Annabella Sciorra and Michael Gambon.

Producer and director

Vaughn continued as a producer on close friend Guy Ritchie's film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. The film was a success in all aspects; earning Vaughn and Ritchie £9 million each. Vaughn would go on to produce Ritchie's equally acclaimed Snatch and the critically mauled Swept Away.

Vaughn made his directorial debut in 2004 with Layer Cake. The film was well received and its success led to Vaughn being tapped to direct X-Men: The Last Stand but he later dropped out only two weeks before filming began. Vaughn later heavily responded with negative feedback to Brett Ratner's direction of X-Men 3.

Vaughn next directed Stardust and a movie adaption of Mark Millar's Kick-Ass. He was also in talks to direct an adaptation of Thor, but left that project.

In May 2010, 20th Century Fox confirmed that Vaughn will direct X-Men: First Class and announced the film will be released on June 3, 2011.

Personal life

Vaughn's wife is German supermodel Claudia Schiffer, whom he married in Suffolk, in 2002. The couple have three children, son Caspar Matthew (born 30 January 2003), daughter Clementine de Vere Drummond (born 11 November 2004) and a second daughter Cosima Violet (born 14 May 2010). They have homes in Suffolk and Notting Hill.

He has hired ex-Gurkha soldiers for security for him and his wife following reports of stalkers apparently intruding their house.

Filmography

Directing credits

• Layer Cake (2004)
• Stardust (2007)
• Kick-Ass (2010)
• X-Men: First Class (2011)
• Kick-Ass 2: Balls to the Wall (2012)

Producing credits

• Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
• Snatch (2000)
• Mean Machine (2001)
• Swept Away (2002)
• Layer Cake (2004)
• Stardust (2007)
• Harry Brown (2009)
• Kick-Ass (2010)
• The Debt (2010)

External links

• Marv Films at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with "Superherohype.com" (August 2007)