Andrew Upton was born in Sydney in 1966, the youngest of three children to John, a former navigator in Mosquitoes with the RAF during WWII and later a G.P., and Patty, an Australian-born woman of Irish descent. He has written a couple of plays (Hanging Man and Riflemind) and many adaptations of the classics (Hedda Gabler, Cyrano De Bergerac, Uncle Vanya, The Cherry Orchard, The Three Sisters and The Seagull amongst them) He was Co-Artistic Director of the Sydney Theatre Company for eight years with his wife Cate Blanchett. They currently live in the UK with their four children, three dogs, two cats, endless chickens and occasional pigs.