Justin Hurwitz

Justin Hurwitz (born January 22, 1985) is an American film composer and television writer, best known for his long-standing collaboration with director Damien Chazelle on acclaimed films including Whiplash (2014), La La Land (2016), First Man (2018), and Babylon (2022). His work often features jazz influences, intricate orchestration, and emotional depth, earning him multiple Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and Grammy Awards.

Hurwitz was born in Los Angeles, California, to a family with creative roots; his father a writer and his mother a former professional ballet dancer and registered nurse. He began playing the piano at age six and composed his first pieces by age ten, developing an early passion for music. His family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during his middle school years, a relocation he has described as shaping his identity as a Milwaukee native. Hurwitz later attended Harvard University, where he majored in music composition and orchestration, graduating in 2008.

Justin Hurwitz was born on January 22, 1985, in Los Angeles, California. He grew up in a Jewish family of mixed Ashkenazi and Mizrahi heritage, with his father, Ken Hurwitz, a writer of Russian and Polish Jewish descent, and his mother, Gail Hurwitz (née Halabe), a former professional ballet dancer who later became a registered nurse, hailing from a Sephardi family with Syrian and Lebanese roots. The family's Los Angeles environment, rich in Jewish cultural traditions and the city's vibrant arts scene, provided an early backdrop for creative expression, though they relocated to Fox Point, Wisconsin, during his middle school years.