---
name: "Hanif Kureishi"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/hanif-kureishi"
fi1m_id: "hanif-kureishi"
imdb_id: "nm0475659"
tmdb_id: 68720
wikidata_id: "Q325936"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "5 December 1954"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 77
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-10-07T11:54:25.135448+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Hanif Kureishi

## Identity

Hanif Kureishi

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/hanif-kureishi
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** hanif-kureishi
- **IMDb ID:** nm0475659
- **TMDB ID:** 68720
- **Wikidata ID:** Q325936
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanif_Kureishi, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q325936, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0475659/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/68720

Writer. Born 5 December 1954 in London, England, UK.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 5 December 1954, London, England, UK
- **Active:** 1985–2006
- **Frequently works with:** [Kevin Loader](https://film.one/person/kevin-loader.md), [Roger Michell](https://film.one/person/roger-michell.md), [Roshan Seth](https://film.one/person/roshan-seth.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Average Fi1m score:** 77, as writer, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 85 (1), 1990s 74 (1), 2000s 72 (1)
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Comedy 3, Drama 3, Romance 2
- **Screen time:** 3 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $2m across 1 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanif_Kureishi, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q325936, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0475659/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/68720

## Biography

Hanif Kureishi is a British playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He was born on 5 December 1954 in Bromley, Kent, and studied philosophy at King’s College London. He began his career writing plays for theatres including the Royal Court, Hampstead Theatre and the Soho Poly.

Kureishi’s breakthrough came with the screenplay for the 1985 film *My Beautiful Laundrette*, directed by Stephen Frears, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. He is also known for the novel *The Buddha of Suburbia* (1990), which won the Whitbread First Novel Award, and screenplays including *Venus* (2006) and *Le Week-End* (2013).

Kureishi was appointed CBE in 2008. In 2022 he suffered a spinal injury that left him paralysed; he later published the memoir *Shattered* (2024).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, theguardian.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Venus* (2006), Fi1m 72, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/venus.md)
- *The Buddha of Suburbia* (1993), Fi1m 74, Writer, Novel, Creator — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-buddha-of-suburbia.md)
- *My Beautiful Laundrette* (1985), Fi1m 85, Writer, Author — [page](https://film.one/film/my-beautiful-laundrette.md)

## Complete filmography (14)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *My Beautiful Laundrette* (2020), Writer
- *Hanif Kureishi Interview* (2015), Actor
- *Le Week-End* (2013), Writer
- *Weddings and Beheadings* (2007), Screenplay
- *Venus* (2006), Screenplay — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/venus.md)
- *Andrew and Jeremy Get Married* (2005), Actor
- *The Mother* (2003), Writer
- *Intimacy* (2001), Novel
- *The Escort* (1999), Screenplay
- *My Son the Fanatic* (1997), Writer, Story
- *The Buddha of Suburbia* (1993), series, Writer, Novel, Creator — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-buddha-of-suburbia.md)
- *London Kills Me* (1991), Director, Writer
- *Sammy and Rosie Get Laid* (1987), Screenplay
- *My Beautiful Laundrette* (1985), Author, Writer — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/my-beautiful-laundrette.md)

## Gallery

- ![Hanif Kureishi](https://film.one/media/person/118534/gallery-85a145db38a6.jpg) Hanif Kureishi — Nrbelex, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Hanif_Kureishi.jpg/1280px-Hanif_Kureishi.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![My Beautiful Laundrette 1985 A Landmark of British Cinema was filmed on this road. This plaque commemorates the site of 'Powders' laundrette. Directed by Stephe (2024)](https://film.one/media/person/118534/gallery-959dbf22b94c.jpg) My Beautiful Laundrette 1985 A Landmark of British Cinema was filmed on this road. This plaque commemorates the site of 'Powders' laundrette. Directed by Stephe (2024) — Spudgun67, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/My_Beautiful_Laundrette_1985_rainbow_plaque_11_Wilcox_Road_Vauxhall_London_SW8_2XA.jpg/1280px-My_Beautiful_Laundrette_1985_rainbow_plaque_11_Wilcox_Road_Vauxhall_London_SW8_2XA.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Rainbow Plaque commemorating the 1985 film My Beautiful Laundrette, marking the site of the fictional "Powders" laundrette on Wilcox Road, Vauxhall, London. Pho (2026)](https://film.one/media/person/118534/gallery-abfacffddfb1.jpg) Rainbow Plaque commemorating the 1985 film My Beautiful Laundrette, marking the site of the fictional "Powders" laundrette on Wilcox Road, Vauxhall, London. Pho (2026) — MORNHOLT, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/My_Beautiful_Laundrette_Rainbow_Plaque_%282026%29.jpg/1280px-My_Beautiful_Laundrette_Rainbow_Plaque_%282026%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1987: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated), for *My Beautiful Laundrette*

### Other awards — 3 won, 2 nominated

- European Film Award for Best Comedy 2014: European Film Award for Best Comedy (nominated), for *Le Week-End*
- PEN Pinter Prize 2010: PEN Pinter Prize (won)
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature 2008: Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (won)
- European Film Award for Best Screenwriter 2003: European Film Award for Best Screenwriter (nominated), for *The Mother*
- National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay 1986: National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay (won), for *My Beautiful Laundrette*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/hanif-kureishi