Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes (born April 1, 1972), known together professionally as the Hughes brothers, are American film directors, producers and screenwriters. The pair, who are twins, are known for co-directing such visceral, and often violent, movies as Menace II Society, From Hell and The Book of Eli.
Early lives
The Hughes brothers were born in Detroit, Michigan to an African American father and an Armenian American mother, Aida, whose family were Iranian Armenians from Tehran. Albert is the older of the twins by nine minutes; although they originally believed themselves to be fraternal twins, they suspect they may be identical despite not having had a DNA test. Their parents divorced when they were two. The twins moved with their mother to Pomona, California, east of Los Angeles, when they were nine. The mother raised her sons alone while putting herself through school and starting her own business, a vocational center. Supportive of her sons' ambitions as filmmakers, she gave them a video camera when they were twelve. As a result, the boys spent their free time making short films. When a teacher suggested that they make a "How To" film for an assignment, they complied with a short film entitled "How to Be a Burglar."
