He made his directorial film debut with Shadowboxer (2005), followed by Precious (2009) which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Picture.

However, he soon realized the liberal arts school was not for him, and he moved to Hollywood, Los Angeles, eventually working as a receptionist in a nursing agency.

[4] He began his career in entertainment as a casting director and manager after a chance meeting with a Hollywood producer, working on such projects as Purple Rain and Under the Cherry Moon.

The documentary My Big Break features Daniels early in his career when he was managing actor Wes Bentley, who starred as Ricky Fitts in American Beauty.

[citation needed] Monster's Ball, the debut production of Lee Daniels Entertainment, was a critical and box office success.

[citation needed] Halle Berry won the Academy Award for Best Actress; the film was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay.

[8] Former president Bill Clinton persuaded Daniels to produce public service announcements to encourage young people of color to vote.

It starred Helen Mirren, Cuba Gooding Jr., Stephen Dorff, Vanessa Ferlito, Mo'Nique, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Macy Gray.

Along the way they meet Krystal (Mariah Carey), an aspiring singer who flees her controlling husband (Lance Reddick) to join them on their journey.

[12] His 2009 film Precious told the story of an obese, illiterate, 16-year-old girl (Gabourey Sidibe) who lives in a Section 8 tenement in Harlem.

She has been impregnated twice by her father, Carl, and suffers long-term physical, sexual, and emotional abuse from her unemployed mother, Mary (Mo'Nique).

[15][16] He directed the historical drama film The Butler (2013), starring Forest Whitaker, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Mariah Carey, Terrence Howard, Alan Rickman, and Oprah Winfrey.

[19][20] In January 2022, Netflix won a bidding war for an exorcism styled horror thriller film directed by Daniels for upwards of 65 million dollars.

[23] In 2010, Grace Hightower De Niro, who appeared in Precious, presented Daniels with the Pratt Institute's Creative Spirit Award.

[36] He and his then-partner, casting director Billy Hopkins, adopted Daniels' biological niece and nephew, Clara and Liam.