Bill Condon was born in New York City and attended Regis High School. After graduating from Columbia College with a degree in philosophy, he wrote for various film publications, including "American Film" and "Millimeter." He co-wrote the cult movies Strange Behavior and Strange Invaders, then made his directorial debut with Sister, Sister, starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Eric Stoltz and Judith Ivey.

He subsequently wrote and directed Murder 101 with Pierce Brosnan, for which he received the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. Condon also directed the cable film White Lie with Gregory Hines, as well as the black comedy Dead In The Water, starring Bryan Brown.

Condon produced Vicki Oberjeune: Alone in the Night, which he wrote with Nancy Cassaro. In addition to directing Gods and Monsters, Bill wrote the screenplay, which was adapted from Christopher Bram's novel. He won an Oscar in 1998 for Best Adapted Screenplay for this movie; he is also the writer of 2002 movie musical Chicago.