Early life

Ball was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Frank and Mary Ball, an aircraft inspector and a homemaker. He attended high school in Marietta, and went on to attend the University of Georgia and Florida State University, from which he graduated in 1980 with a degree in theater arts. After college, he began work as a playwright at the General Nonsense Theater Company in Sarasota, Florida.

Movie career

He is noted for writing the films American Beauty and Towelhead, and creating and producing the HBO drama series Six Feet Under and True Blood. For his work in television and film, Ball has received critical acclaim and numerous awards, including an Academy Award, an Emmy and a Golden Globe. He works currently on the screenbook on the pilot for All Signs of Death, the HBO series based on the crime noir novel The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston.

Personal life

Ball is gay and has been called "a strong voice for [the] LGBT community". In 2008 he made Out magazine's annual list of the 100 most impressive gay men and women.

Television

Film

Awards

• 2000 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay — American Beauty
• 2000 Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay-Motion Picture — American Beauty
• 2000 Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay — American Beauty
• 2002 Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement — Six Feet Under
• 2002 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series — Six Feet Under
• 2004 Producers Guild of America Award for Dramatic Series — Six Feet Under

Nominations

• 2000 BAFTA Film Award — American Beauty
• 2002 Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement — Six Feet Under
• 2004 Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement — Six Feet Under
• 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series — Six Feet Under
• 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series — Six Feet Under
• 2006 Writers Guild of America Award for Best Dramatic Series — Six Feet Under
• 2009 Writers Guild of America Award for Best New Series — True Blood
• 2010 Producers Guild of America Award for Dramatic Series — True Blood