Stephen Roark Gyllenhaal (pronounced as IPA: ; born October 4, 1949) is an American film director and poet.
Gyllenhaal was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Virginia Lowrie (née Childs) and Hugh Anders Gyllenhaal. The Gyllenhaal family is a descendant of the cavalry officer Nils Gunnesson Haal, who was ennobled in 1652 when Queen Christina of Sweden conferred upon him the crest and family name, "Gyllenhaal." Stephen grew up in rural Pennsylvania in a close-knit Swedenborgian family and graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in 1972 with a degree in English. His mentor at Trinity was the poet Hugh Ogden.
He is the second husband of screenwriter Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal, father of actors Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jake Gyllenhaal, and brother of Anders Gyllenhaal, managing editor of the Miami Herald. His daughter Maggie is engaged to actor Peter Sarsgaard.
Gyllenhaal directed the film version of the Pete Dexter novel Paris Trout, which was nominated for five Emmy awards.
He is also a poet who has been published in literary journals such as Prairie Schooner and Nimrod. His first collection of poetry, Claptrap: Notes from Hollywood, was published in June 2006 by Cantara Christopher's New York-based literary small press, Cantarabooks.
