The brothers have an older sister, Deborah, who grew up to become a psychiatrist working in Israel. Cloud State University, and their father, Edward Coen (1919–2012), was a Professor of Economics at the University of Minnesota. Their mother, Rena ( née Neumann 1925–2001), was an art historian at St. Louis Park, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957) were born and raised in St. Joel Coen, on the Coens' Jewish heritage. There's no doubt that our Jewish heritage affects how we see things. In regards to whether our background influences our film making. In 1998, the American Film Institute (AFI) ranked Fargo among the 100 greatest American movies ever made. No Country for Old Men, A Serious Man and Inside Llewyn Davis have been ranked in the BBC's 2016 poll of the greatest motion pictures since 2000. They are known for their distinctive stylistic trademarks including genre hybridity. Ethan is also a writer of short stories, theater and poetry. The Coens have written a number of films they did not direct, including the biographical war drama Unbroken (2014), the historical legal thriller Bridge of Spies (2015), and lesser-known, commercially unsuccessful comedies such as Crimewave (1985), The Naked Man (1998) and Gambit (2012). The duo also won the Palme d'Or for Barton Fink (1991). They have been nominated for 13 Academy Awards together, and individually for one award each, winning Best Original Screenplay for Fargo and Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for No Country for Old Men. They often alternate top billing for their screenplays while sharing editing credits under the alias Roderick Jaynes. The brothers write, direct and produce their films jointly, although until The Ladykillers (2004) Joel received sole credit for directing and Ethan for producing. Their most acclaimed works include Raising Arizona (1987), Miller's Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), No Country for Old Men (2007), True Grit (2010).
Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957), collectively known as the Coen brothers ( / ˈ k oʊ ə n/), are American filmmakers.