Architect Jose Rafael Moneo was born in Spain on May 9, 1937. He is known as one of Spain's leading architects, having won the Pritzker Prize in 1996. While studying at the High Technical School of Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, he worked under architect Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oisa. After graduating, he went to Denmark and studied under Jorn Utzon, who designed the Sydney Opera House, from 1961 to 1962. From 1963 to 1965, he received a scholarship from the Spanish Academy in Rome, and for the next five years lectured at the Escuela de Arquitectura in Madrid. He opened a practice in Barcelona from 1970 to 1980, then returned to Madrid. In the 1980s, while working on numerous buildings, he also lectured at leading universities in Europe and the United States. From 1985 to 1990, he served as head of the architectural design program at Harvard University's Graduate School of Architecture.

He is known for designing buildings that are in line with the history and townscape of the area in which they are built, and his most famous work is the National Museum of Roman Art (1986), built on top of Roman ruins. His other highly acclaimed design is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles (2002), which combines modern trends with traditional Scandinavian style. From 2001 to 2007, he was responsible for the expansion of Madrid's Prado Museum.