Brad Pitt
William Bradley “Brad” Pitt was born Dec. 18, 1963 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. His parents are William A. Pitt and Jane Etta Hillhouse. Pitt and his two siblings, brother Doug Pitt and sister, Julie Pitt grew up in Springfield, Missouri where the family moved after Pitt’s birth.
Pitt attended Kickapoo High School where he became involved in debating, student government and school musicals. He attended the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia where he was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He left school two credits shy of graduating to try his luck in Hollywood.
Before hitting it big in Hollywood, Pitt did a number of odd jobs to support himself. Among them was as a chauffeur and furniture mover. In the late 1980s, Pitt appeared in a number of television series such as “Dallas,” “21 Jump Street,” “Another World,” and “Growing Pains.” In 1988, Pitt got his first starring role in “The Dark Side of the Sun.” But, problems in Yugoslavia where the film was shot caused footage to be lost until 1998 when the film was finally released.
Pitt’s big Hollywood break came in 1991 when he starred as opposite Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon in “Thelma & Louise.” The role that catapulted Pitt to Hollywood stardom was his role in 1994’s “Interview With A Vampire,” where Pitt played “Louie de Pointe de Lac.” Pitt also starred in hits like 1994’s “Legends of the Fall,” starring Aidan Quinn and Anthony Hopkins and 1995’s “Se7en.” Pitt was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his performance in 1995’s “Twelve Monkeys,” which starred Bruce Willis and Madeleine Stowe.
In 1995, “Empire” magazine chose Pitt as one of the 25 sexiest stars in film history and he has been named twice by “People” as the “Sexiest Man Alive.”
Other films Pitt has starred in are 1997’s “Seven Years In Tibet,” 1999’s “Fight Club,” co-starring Edward Norton, 2001’s “Ocean’s Eleven,” starring George Clooney and 2005’s “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” starring Angelina Jolie.
As for Pitt’s personal life, he was involved in a long-term relationship with Gwyneth Paltrow and were engaged in 1996 but split in 1997. Pitt married actress Jennifer Aniston in 2000. The couple announced their separation in January 2005 and they officially divorced in October of that year. Following his separation from Aniston, Pitt began dating his “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” co-star Angelina Jolie. It was announced in 2005 that Pitt plans to adopt Jolie’s two children, son Maddox and daughter Zahara. On May 27, 2006, Pitt and Jolie’s first child, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt was born in Swakopmund, Namibia.
Pitt is an avid supporter of many causes such as AIDS research. He is also a spokesperson along with U2’s Bono for the ONE campaign, which is dedicated to fighting AIDS and poverty.