RATINGS: Cast & Crew

DOB: June 27, 1966

Background: Abrams was born in New York and raised in Los Angeles. He attended Palisades Charter High School and then Sarah Lawrence College.

Filmography: As a college senior, he wrote a film treatment with Jill Mazursky, which became "Taking Care of Business," his first produced screenplay. He next wrote "Regarding Henry" (1991), "Forever Young" (1992), and "Gone Fishin'" (1997) before contributing to the script for the blockbuster "Armageddon" (1998).

In 1998, he co-created the WB series "Felicity," starring Keri Russell as a lovelorn college student. It ran for four seasons, and since then Abrams has created, produced, and wrote and directed for a number of hit series, including "Alias" (2001-2006), "Lost" (2004-2010), and "Fringe" (2008-Present).

In recent years he has broken into feature film directing. His first effort was "Mission: Impossible III" in 2006. He next tackled another popular franchise, rebooting "Star Trek" (2009) to critical and audience acclaim. This year he directed the alien invasion thriller "Super 8," which invited comparisons to Steven Spielberg's "E.T."

DGA Awards: Nomination - Best TV Drama Directing ("Lost," 2005)

Emmy Awards: Wins - Best Drama Series ("Lost," 2005); Best Drama Directing ("Lost," 2005)

Best Drama Series nominations:
- "Lost" (2010); lost to "Mad Men"
- "Lost" (2009); lost to "Mad Men"
- "Lost" (2008); lost to "Mad Men"

Best Drama Writing nominations:
- "Lost" (2005); lost to David Shore ("House")
- "Alias" (2002); lost to Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran ("24")