He studied law at Cambridge until 1963, and afterwards worked as assistant director in Royal Court Theatre in London. He gained his first film experiences as assistant director to Karel Reisz from 1966 to 1972. At the same time he directed his first short films and several episodes of TV series. His first feature length film was the detective drama Gumshoe (1971). During the 1970’s he directed films and series exclusively for television. His second feature length film for distribution in film theaters was the crime The Hit (1984). He attracted the attention of audience and critics alike with his romantic drama My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) that deals with homosexuality, racism and generational and cultural gap. He collaborated with the writer Hanif Kureishi, wrote the screenplay for My Beautiful Laundrette, again on the film Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1987) but this time with less success. In that same year he directed the successful biographical drama Prick Up Your Ears (1987), and his biggest success was the drama Dangerous Liaisons (1988) that was produced in Hollywood. He won the sympathies of critics with his noir thriller The Grifters (1990), which was produced by Martin Scorsese and nominated for an Oscar for best director. He directed the comedy Hero (1992) starring some famous US actors, and Mary Reilly (1996), adaptation of a novel about Dr. Jekyllu and Mr. Hydu, nbut neither of the films were successful in the theatres or popular with critics. In Ireland he directed the comedy The Van (1996), and then returned to the US where he directed the western The Hi-Lo Country (1998). Another successful and popular of his films was the adaptation of Nick Hornby’s novel High Fidelity (2000). With the French actress Audrey Tautou he collaborated on the crime drama Dirty Pretty Things (2002), and with Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins Mrs Henderson Presents (2005). His film The Queen (2006) starring Helen Mirren once again enthralled both the audience and the critics. While Mirren won many awards for her interpretation of the British queen, Frears was awarded only the FIPRESCI award in Venice as best director. In 2010, he adapted the comic book Tamara Drewe for a feature film with the same title. Afterwards he directed the popular humorous drama Philomena (2013) starring Judi Dench. Recently he directed the successful biographical musical comedy Florence Foster Jenkins (2016). He is currently working on his newest film Victoria and Abdul.