- Source of Wealth: Screenwriting, Producing, Directing
- Birth Place: St. Louis Park, Minnesota, U.S.A.
- Height: Ethan 5′ 8″ (1.72 m), Joel 6′ 0″(1.83 m)
- Weight: Ethan 136.69 lbs (62 kg), Joel 149.91 lbs (68 kg)
- Marital Status: Ethan – Married (Tricia Cooke), Joel – Married (Frances McDormand)
- Full Name: Ethan and Joel Coen
- Nationality: American
- Date of Birth: Ethan – 21 September 1957, Joel – 29 November 1954
- Ethnicity: American
- Occupation: Screenwriter, Director, Producer
- Education: Ethan – BA Philosophy (Princeton University), Joel – BA Film (New York University)
- Children: Ethan – 2 (Buster and Dusty), Joel – 1 (Pedro)
People collectively refer to Joel David Coen and Ethan Jesse Coen as the Coen brothers with a net worth of $120 million. These American filmmakers have films that span many genres and styles that they frequently subvert or parody. Their best-reviewed works are Fargo (1996), Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), A Serious Man (2009), The Big Lebowski (1998), and No Country for Old Men (2007).
The brothers jointly produce, direct and write their films. However, in the movie The Ladykillers (2004), Ethan was the producer and Joel got the sole credit for directing. They may alternate the top billing for their screenplays while they share the editing credits with the alias Roderick Jaynes.
The two were nominated for thirteen Academy Awards together, and individually for one award each. They won the Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for No Country for Old Men and Best Original Screenplay for Fargo. The duo got nominated for Fargo and won the Palme d’Or for Barton Fink (1991).
The Coen brothers wrote some of the films they did not direct. Some of them are Gambit (2012), The Naked Man (1998), the historical legal thriller Bridge of Spies (2015), the biographical war drama Unbroken (2014), and the lesser-known but commercially unsuccessful comedies like Crimewave (1985). Ethan also became a writer of poetry, short stories, and theater.
The brothers’ movies Inside Llewyn Davis, No Country for Old Men and A Serious Man are considered as some of the greatest motion pictures in the BBC’s 2016 poll.