Taylor Edwin Hackford (born December 31, 1944) is an American film director, and the current president of the Directors Guild of America.
Hackford was born in Santa Barbara, California, the son of Mary (née Taylor), a waitress, and Joseph Hackford. He graduated from the University of Southern California in 1968, where he was a pre-law major focusing on international relations and economics. After graduating, he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia, where he started using Super 8 film in his spare time. He decided that he did not want to pursue a career in law, and instead got a mailroom position at KCET-TV.
Hackford has been married to Academy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren since 1997. Hackford met Mirren when he was directing her in White Nights although their first meeting did not go well. He kept her waiting to audition for White Nights, and she was icy. "It was a strange way to meet Helen, because she is a lovely person," says Hackford, "but she didn't hold back her fury." Hackford and Mirren wed in 1997 after 12 years together. As a young woman Mirren had vowed never to marry.
Hackford has two grown children from his two previous marriages.