David Benioff

David Benioff (born David Friedman; September 25, 1970) is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and director. He is best known for being the co-creator and showrunner of the widely acclaimed award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones. 2Early life Benioff was born David Friedman in New York City, to a Jewish family. He is the son of Barbara (Benioff) and Stephen Friedman, who is a former head of Goldman Sachs. He is a distant cousin of Marc Benioff. As an adult, he uses the last name to Benioff, his mother's maiden name, to avoid confusion with other writers named David Friedman. He is the youngest of three children. He grew up in Manhattan, first in Peter Cooper Village, then on 86th Street where he spent most of his childhood, before eventually moving near the U.N. headquarters when he was sixteen. He is an alumnus of The Collegiate School and of Dartmouth College. While at Dartmouth College, he was a member of Phi Delta Alpha Fraternity and the Sphinx Senior Societ