Roman Polanski's Real Name: Rajmund Roman Thierry Polański

Quick answer: Roman Polanski was born Rajmund Roman Thierry Polański on August 18, 1933, in Paris, France. The Library of Congress also records the birth surname Liebling. He is a French Polish director known for Rosemary's Baby (1968), Chinatown (1974), and The Pianist (2002), which won him an Academy Award. In 1977 he pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor in California, and he fled the United States in 1978 (Britannica; Library of Congress).

Real name and early life

Britannica's quick facts give his "Original name" as Rajmund Roman Thierry Polański and his name "in full" as Roman Raymond Polanski. Britannica also lists "Raimund Liebling" among his other names. The Library of Congress name authority files him as "Polanski, Roman," with variants "Polański, Rajmund Roman Thiery" and "Liebling, Roman." Its citations read "birth name: Rajmund Roman Thierry Polański … born 18 August 1933 in Paris" and "birth name, Roman Liebling, b. Aug. 18, 1933 in Paris."

Britannica says that shortly after his family settled in Kraków, Poland, the Nazis interned his parents in a concentration camp, where his mother died. He escaped internment and survived the war by sheltering with Catholic families and fending for himself. He acted in Andrzej Wajda's films and studied directing in Łódź.

Career highlights

His first feature, Knife in the Water (1962), brought him international fame. He went on to Repulsion (1965). His first American film, Rosemary's Baby (1968), became a classic. In 1969 his wife, actress Sharon Tate, who was pregnant, was murdered by followers of Charles Manson. Macbeth (1971) and Chinatown (1974) followed.

Britannica reports that in 1977 he was charged with raping a 13-year-old girl. He denied the charges, then pleaded guilty that August to a lesser charge of unlawful sex with a minor under a plea bargain. Learning the judge might disregard the deal, he fled to France in 1978. Swiss authorities arrested him in 2009 but rejected U.S. extradition in 2010, and he remains a fugitive. Britannica notes that at least six other women have accused him of sexual assault, and he has denied those accusations.

His later films include Tess (1979), Frantic, Bitter Moon, Death and the Maiden, and The Pianist, which won the Palme d'Or and the best director Oscar. He then made The Ghost Writer (2010), for which he won his third César for best director, and An Officer and a Spy (2019). He married actress Emmanuelle Seigner in 1989.

Name notes for searchers

Polański is the Polish spelling with the accented ń. Sources also record Liebling as a family name, and LOC lists both forms. Britannica gives his full name today as Roman Raymond Polanski.