Michael Cormac Newell was born on 28 March 1942 in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England, UK. He is an English director and producer of motion pictures for the screen and for television.

He soon moved his way up through the ranks and by 1964 had directed his first TV documentary. In 1985 he received critical acclaim for directing Miranda Richardson and Rupert Everett in Dance with a Stranger, winning an award at the Cannes Film Festival. Newell went on to direct The Good Father (1986) starring Anthony Hopkins, then had his biggest hit to date with Enchanted April (1991).

The biting drama made a star of Miranda Richardson, who would later feature to good effect for Newell in another low-key hit, Enchanted April (1992). Soursweet (1988), a saga of an oriental couple struggling to make a go of life in England, and Into the West (1992).

In 1994, Newell directed Four Weddings and a Funeral starring Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell.

He also directed An Awfully Big Adventure (1995), Donnie Brasco (1997), and Mob. Pushing Tin (1999).

His last directorial credits include Mona Lisa Smile (2003), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) and Love in the Time of Cholera (2007).

Director

• Sealand (2008)
• Love in the Time of Cholera (2007)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
• Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
• Jo (2002) (TV)
• Pushing Tin (1999)
• Donnie Brasco (1997)
• An Awfully Big Adventure (1995)
• Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
• "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" (2 episodes, 1993)
• Enchanted April (1992)
• Into the West (1992)
• Common Ground (1990) (TV)
• "Smith and Jones in Small Doses" (1 episode)
• The Whole Hog (1989) (TV)
• Soursweet (1988)
• Amazing Grace and Chuck (1987)
• The Good Father (1985)
• Dance with a Stranger (1985)
• Blood Feud (1983) (TV)
• Birth of a Nation (1982) (TV)
• "ITV Playhouse" (3 episodes, 1967-1981)
• Bad Blood (1981)
• The Awakening (1980)
• "Play for Today" (6 episodes, 1972-1978)
• "BBC2 Play of the Week" (1 episode, 1978)
• Little Girls Don't (1978) (TV)
• The Man in the Iron Mask (1977) (TV)
• The Fosdyke Saga (1977) (TV)
• Honey (1977) (TV)
• Charm (1977) (TV)
• Ready When You Are Mr. McGill (1976) (TV)
• The Midas Connection (1975) (TV)
• The Boundary (1975) (TV)
• "BBC2 Playhouse" (1 episode, 1975)
• Jack Flea's Birthday Celebration (1975) (TV)
• Of the Fields Lately (1975) (TV)
• Lost Yer Tongue? (1975) (TV)
• Ms or Jill and Jack (1974) (TV)
• The Gift of Friendship (1974) (TV)
• Baa Baa Black Sheep (1974) (TV)
• Silver Wedding (1974) (TV)
• "Wessex Tales" (1 episode, 1973)
• The Melancholy Hussar (1973) (TV)
• "Love Story" (1 episode, 1973)
• A Face of Your Own (1973) (TV)
• Barbara's Wedding (1973) (TV)
• £12 Look (1973) (TV)
• The New Word (1973) (TV)
• "Budgie" (6 episodes, 1971-1972)
• "Thirty-Minute Theatre" (1 episode, 1972)
• "The Man from Haven" (1972) TV Series
• "The Guardians" (2 episodes, 1971)
• Big Soft Nelly Mrs. Mouse (1971)
• Mrs. Mouse, Are You Within? (1971) (TV)
• "The Adventures of Don Quick" (1 episode, 1970)
• Arthur Wants You for a Sunbeam (1970) (TV)
• Death of a Dog (1970) (TV)
• Allergy (1970) (TV)
• "Hadleigh" (1969) TV Series 
• "ITV Saturday Night Theatre" (1 episode, 1969)
• "Big Breadwinner Hog" (1969) TV Series
• Blood Relations (1969) (TV)
• The Gamekeeper (1968) (TV)
• Them Down There (1968) (TV)
• 69 Murder - The Blood Relation (1968) (TV)
• The Visitors (1968) (TV)
• "Spindoe" (1967) TV Series
• The Kindness of Strangers (1967) (TV)
• "Coronation Street" (1960) TV Series (1966)
• Comedy Workshop: Love and Maud Carver (1964)
• Sharon (1964)

Awards

• Cesar Best Foreign-Language Film "Four Weddings and a Funeral" 1995
• Australian Film Institute Award Best Foreign Film "Four Weddings and a Funeral" 1994
• BAFTA Award Best Director "Four Weddings and a Funeral" 1994