Roman Polanski, a French-Polish director whose films have won eight Oscars, has been a fugitive from the US since 1978.
He was arrested and charged with drugging and raping 13-year-old Samantha Geimer in 1977.
He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sex with a minor before undergoing 42 days of psychiatric evaluation in prison while awaiting sentencing.
Once he learned the judge planned to give him a prison term, he fled to Paris and has been avoiding extradition ever since.
Pictured is a scene from Polanski’s 1974 film, Chinatown
Polanski was born in Paris in 1933 but moved back to Poland with his Jewish parents in 1936.
Three years later the family were trapped in Krakow as Nazis invaded Poland.
His parents were taken during raids, leaving Polanski to be brought up by the foster care system while using a different identity to evade Nazi capture.
In 1965 he directed his first feature-length film, Knife in the Water, before directing three more films in the UK.
He moved to the US in 1968 where he directed psychological horror film Rosemary’s Baby and gained status.
Pictured is a scene from Polanski’s 2005 film, Oliver Twist
In 1969 he was struck by tragedy when his then pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered along with four friends by the Manson family.
He has been married to French actress Emmanuelle Seigner since 1989.
After Sharon Tate’s death Polanski returned to Europe and carried on his career until 1974 when he went back to America to direct Chinatown.
Although he was known as a convicted rapist, Polanski’s career continued to blossom after he fled America in 1978.
He returned once more to Europe where he became famous for directing films such as The Pianist (2002), a film about a Polish Jew who was trying to avoid Nazi capture, and Oliver Twist (2005).
Pictured is a scene from Polanski’s 2002 film, The Pianist
In 2009 he was arrested by Swiss officials when he went to the Zurich Film Festival.
His arrest sparked a backlash from Hollywood stars and Harvey Weinstein, who 80 women have accused of sexual assault, started a petition demanding Polanski’s immediate release.
The ‘We demand the immediate release of Roman’ petition was signed by the likes of Woody Allen, Martin Scorcese and Tilda Swinton.
In 2017 two women came forward to accuse Polanski of sexual assault, Renate Langer claimed he raped her when she was 16 in 1972.
And Marianne Barnard claimed he molested her and photographed her naked when she was 10 years old in 1975.