John Alan Lasseter was born on the 12th of January 1957 in Hollywood, California. His mother Jewell Mae Risley taught art at Bell Gardens High School while his father Paul Eual Lasseter managed parts for a Chevrolet dealership.
Animation administrator Ed Hansen terminated John Lasseter's employment after he proposed Where the Wild Things Are with colleague Glen Keane. The project faced cancellation and Hansen stated clearly that his employment with Disney Studios was now terminated.
John Lasseter oversaw all films including Toy Story released in 1995 after George Lucas sold his Graphics Group to Steve Jobs in 1986 forming Pixar. He joined Lucasfilm as full-time employee in October 1984 and later became chief creative officer when Disney announced its purchase of Pixar in January 2006.
John Lasseter works have grossed more than 19 billion making him one of most financially successful filmmakers. Five of ten animated films exceeding US$1 billion were executive produced by Lasseter including Frozen released in 2013.
In November 2017 John Lasseter took a six-month leave when interactions with employees made them uncomfortable. He apologized in a memo stating it was never his intent to make anyone feel disrespected regarding alleged misconduct that included grabbing kissing and comments about physical attributes over multiple years.