FACTBOX:Film director Roman Polanski dogged by old sex charge

(Reuters) - Roman Polanski asked a Los Angeles court on Tuesday to dismiss a decades-old charge against him of having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.

The sensational case dogged the career of Polanski after he fled the United States in 1978 before being sentenced.

Following are some facts about Polanski's life and career:

* Born in August 1933 in Paris to Eastern European parents of Jewish descent.

* Raised in Poland through World War Two and the Holocaust. His mother died in a concentration camp.

* Broke into Hollywood with the 1968 movie "Rosemary's Baby."

* Pregnant wife Sharon Tate, an actress, was murdered by members of Charles Manson's criminal cult in 1969. He married French actress Emmanuelle Seigner in 1989.

* Nominated for a best director Oscar for his 1974 noir movie "Chinatown" and for "Tess" (1980).

* Charged in 1977 with having sex with a 13-year-old girl during a photo session in Los Angeles and fled the United States in 1978 before being sentenced.

* Continued filmmaking in Europe and won a best director Oscar, three French Cesars and numerous other awards for his 2002 Holocaust drama "The Pianist," but did not come to the United States to collect his Oscar amid speculation he would be arrested.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Eric Beech)