Steven Spielberg's screen adaptation made a big splash when it hit theaters on June 20, 1975

NEED TO KNOW

• Jaws opened in theaters on June 20, 1975
• Directed by Steven Spielberg, the summer blockbuster launched several stars — including Spielberg and actor Richard Dreyfuss — to fame
• The film earned three Oscars for Best Film Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score and Best Sound, and also received a nomination for Best Picture

"Don't go in the water" took on a whole new meaning after Jaws chomped its way to the big screen.

Based on Peter Benchley's best-selling 1974 novel of the same name, the film adaptation became an instant classic when it premiered on June 20, 1975, and helped launch the summer blockbuster concept. The iconic thriller also won three Academy Awards in 1976 for Best Sound, Best Film Editing and Best Original Dramatic Score, though it lost its Best Picture nomination.

Directed by Steven Spielberg — who said in 2025 that he was "surprised" and "disappointed" by the Oscars snub for Best Director — Jaws is set in Amity Island, a small fictional beach community under siege by a series of brutal great white shark attacks. The film opens with the first victim, Chrissie Watkins (Susan Backlinie), who goes skinny-dipping after a night out — but never returns.

When Police Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) tries to shut down the beloved beach that brings in thousands of tourists, he's met with resistance by Mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) and the town. As the man-eating shark continues its killing spree, Brody must embark on a mission to destroy the shark and save Amity Island, enlisting the help of marine biologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and professional shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw).

In addition to the shark-hunting team, the cast includes Lorraine Gary as Brody's wife, Ellen Brody, Jeffrey Kramer as Deputy Leonard Hendricks and Lee Fierro as Mrs. Kintner. The late Benchley even pops up as an interviewer.

Take a look at what the cast members and Spielberg have been up to since Jaws arrived in theaters.

01 of 11

Richard Dreyfuss as Matt Hooper

Dreyfuss had guest roles on several TV shows in the 1960s and 1970s, including Peyton Place, Bewitched and The Mod Squad, as well as uncredited roles in Valley of the Dolls (1967) and The Graduate (1967), before landing his breakout role as Jaws' eccentric biologist Matt Hooper.

He worked with Spielberg again in 1977's Close Encounters of the Third Kind and 1998's Always. In 1978, at age 30, Dreyfuss won the Oscar for Best Actor for The Goodbye Girl. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native was the youngest actor to win the coveted award until Adrien Brody dethroned him in 2003 after taking home the gold statuette for his performance in The Pianist.

Dreyfuss continued starring in major films, including Stand by Me (1986), Stakeout (1987), What About Bob? (1991), The American President (1995) and Mr. Holland's Opus (1995); the latter earned him his second Best Actor Oscar nod.

Since then, he's appeared in Book Club (2018), Astronaut (2019) and Waltzing with Brando (2024), as well as portraying disgraced financier Bernie Madoff on the 2016 miniseries Madoff. He even ventured back into shark-infested waters with the 2025 B-action thriller Into the Deep.

The star has also faced some controversy in the latter years of his career, allegedly making sexist and transphobic comments at a Jaws screening and Q&A in 2024.

Dreyfuss was married to Jeramie Rain from 1983 to 1995. The exes share three children: daughter Emily and sons Ben and Harry, with whom the actor is estranged. He later married Svetlana Erokhin in March 2006.

02 of 11

Steven Spielberg, Director

Jaws made the then-26-year-old director a household name after its 1975 premiere.

Spielberg went on to direct more classic films, including E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), the Indiana Jones trilogy, The Color Purple (1985), Jurassic Park (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Catch Me If You Can (2002), War Horse (2011) and West Side Story (2021), among many others.

Spielberg won his first Oscar for Best Director for the 1993 film Schindler's List, as well as a Best Picture statue, and scored the honor a second time for Saving Private Ryan. He has also won four Golden Globes and the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award, four BAFTA Awards and the first TIME 100 Impact Award in 2023.

In addition to his successful career, Spielberg is the father of seven. He shares his oldest child, son Max, with his ex-wife, Amy Irving.

When he married Kate Capshaw in October 1991, he became a father to her daughter Jessica and son Theo. Spielberg and Capshaw later welcomed four children together: daughters Sasha, Mikaela and Destry and son Sawyer.

03 of 11

Roy Scheider as Chief Martin Brody

Scheider was best known for the 1971 films Klute and The French Connection before he played the heroic Police Chief Martin Brody in Jaws. (He reprised the role in the 1978 sequel Jaws 2.)

Scheider then appeared in Marathon Man (1976), Sorcerer (1977), 2010 (1984), The Russia House (1990), The Rainmaker (1997) and The Punisher (2004), though his favorite was All That Jazz (1979), according to the Los Angeles Times. He was nominated for two Academy Awards, one for Best Supporting Actor for 1971's The French Connection and Best Actor for All That Jazz.

The New Jersey native and his first wife, film editor Cynthia Bebout, shared one daughter, Maximillia, who died in 2006, per the Herald-Tribune. He later married actress Brenda Siemer in 1989, with whom he had two children, son Christian and daughter Molly.

In 2004, Scheider was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. He died in February 2008 at age 75.

Scheider's last credited role was Beautiful Blue Eyes. He died before production finished, and the film wasn't released until 2022, when AI technology helped director Joshua Newton complete a final scene, per The New York Post.

04 of 11

Robert Shaw as Quint

Besides his leading role as shark hunter Quint in Jaws, Shaw also appeared in From Russia with Love (1963), The Sting (1973), The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) and Robin and Marian (1976). He was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Henry VIII in 1966's A Man for All Seasons.

The English actor was a dad of 10. He had four daughters with ex-wife Jennifer Bourke, whom he married from 1952 to 1963.

He then married actress Mary Ure in April 1963 and adopted her son, and the couple went on to welcome three more children before her death in April 1975, including son Ian, who played his dad's character in the 2023 Jaws-themed Broadway play The Shark Is Broken. Shaw later wed Virginia Jansen in 1976; he adopted her son, and they welcomed one son together.

Per the BBC, Shaw died from a heart attack at 51 years old in August 1978.

05 of 11

Lorraine Gary as Ellen Brody

Born in New York and raised in L.A., Gary played the police chief's wife, Ellen Brody, a role she reprised for Jaws 2.

She acted in a handful of films after Jaws, including Car Wash (1976), Zero to Sixty (1978) and 1941 (1979), the latter directed by Spielberg.

Though she retired from acting in 1979, Gary did have a brief reprisal of Ellen in 1987's Jaws: The Revenge.

A human rights activist, Gary is a board member of the Feminist Majority Foundation, a member of two Human Rights Watch committees and an advisory board member of Ms. Magazine, among many other board positions.

Gary married Sidney "Sid" Sheinberg, the head of Universal Pictures, in August 1956. The couple shares two sons, Jonathan and Bill, both of whom are film producers.

06 of 11

Murray Hamilton as Mayor Larry Vaughn

Hamilton was a prolific stage actor, earning a Tony Award nomination for the 1965 Broadway play Absence of a Cello, before starring in Jaws as Mayor Larry Vaughn. He also appeared in Anatomy of a Murder (1959), The Graduate and The Way We Were (1973).

After Jaws, he continued working with Spielberg, acting in the 1978 sequel and 1941. He was set to star in Jaws: The Revenge, but died before filming began.

Beyond the Jaws franchise, the North Carolina native starred in movies such as The Amityville Horror (1979), Brubaker (1980) and Hysterical (1982). He also had guest spots on TV shows, including Cannon, McCloud, Alice and The Golden Girls. His last film role was the 1986 TV movie The Last Days of Patton.

In 1953, Hamilton married Terri DeMarco, who sang in the famed group The DeMarco Sisters. The two shared one child, son David.

Hamilton died at age 63 of lung cancer in September 1986, per the Los Angeles Times. DeMarco died in 1999.

07 of 11

Carl Gottlieb as Harry Meadows

After his start in improv, Carl Gottlieb — who co-wrote the screenplay and appeared in the film as local newspaper editor Harry Meadows — continued a career in entertainment by writing, directing and acting in several films after Jaws. He also co-wrote the sequels Jaws 2 and 1983's Jaws 3-D.

Gottlieb made his directorial debut with 1977's The Absent-Minded Waiter and later wrote and directed 1981's Caveman. He also co-wrote 1979's The Jerk, starring Steve Martin, and directed various TV episodes.

The New York City native also continued to act, appearing in the 1995 cult classic Clueless and guest-starring on shows like Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy and Decker.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Gottlieb was previously married to Allison Caine.

08 of 11

Susan Backlinie as Chrissie Watkins

Backlinie portrayed the first shark attack victim, Chrissie Watkins. Jaws was her first film appearance.

Before earning the part, she was a nationally ranked swimmer, professional diver and animal trainer — all reasons why Backlinie was hired for the blockbuster film.

"I didn't want an actor to do it. I wanted a stunt person because I needed somebody who was great in the water, who knew water ballet and knew how to endure what I imagined was going to be a whole lot of violent shaking," Spielberg said in Laurent Bouzereau's 2023 book Spielberg: The First Ten Years (via The Hollywood Reporter). "So, I went to stunts to find her, and Susan was up to the challenge."

Raised in Florida, Backlinie worked with Spielberg and some of her other Jaws costars again in 1941. She also acted in Day of the Animals (1977) and The Great Muppet Caper (1981), as well as an episode of The Fall Guy, before retiring.

Backlinie was married to Harvey Swindall, with whom she lived on a houseboat in Ventura, Calif., at the time of her death from a heart attack in May 2024. She was 77.

09 of 11

Jeffrey Kramer as Deputy Leonard Hendricks

Kramer, who played Deputy Leonard Hendricks, got his start in Hollywood with Jaws and Jaws 2. He continued acting, securing roles in the movies Hollywood Boulevard (1976), Halloween II (1981), Clue (1985) and The 'Burbs (1989) and on shows such as M*A*S*H, Soap and Barney Miller.

The New York native turned his focus towards producing TV shows in the 1990s. Kramer worked as a producer on Chicago Hope, Ally McBeal, The Practice and Armed & Famous.

Kramer continues to wax poetic about Jaws on Instagram.

10 of 11

Lee Fierro as Mrs. Kintner

Fierro played distressed mother Mrs. Kintner. Jaws was filmed on Martha's Vineyard, where Fierro, a stage actress, had moved to from New York in the late 1960s.

After starring in Jaws, she continued living on the island and mentored over a thousand young actors as the artistic director of the Island Theatre Workshop from 1974 to 2017.

Fierro had four children with her first husband, actor Marvin Stephens, and one child with her second husband, Bernard Fierro, as well as seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

In April 2020, Fierro died after contracting COVID-19. She was 91. At the time of her death, she was living in Ohio at an assisted living facility to be closer to her family.

11 of 11

Peter Benchley as a news reporter

Benchley wrote the 1974 novel Jaws. He later teamed up with Gottlieb to co-write the screenplay of the same name, and he made a cameo in the film as a local news reporter.

After the success of Jaws, Benchley, a native of N.Y.C., continued writing, and he adapted two more novels for film, 1976's The Deep and 1980's The Island. He also released Beast (1991) and White Shark (1994). In his later years, he concentrated on nonfiction that largely centered around marine conservation.

The novelist shared two children with his wife, Wendy Wesson.

Per Variety, Benchley died in February 2006 of pulmonary fibrosis at the age of 65.

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