NFL player Eli Manning and actor Mel Gibson are celebrating their birthdays today, January 3.
Eli Manning, 34
image courtesy ofKamil Krzaczynski/INFphoto.com
NFL quarterback, Eli Manning turns 34 today. Manning currently plays for the New York Giants. He is the son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning and the younger brother of Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. Manning played college football at the University of Mississippi. He was drafted as the first overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers and immediately traded to the New York Giants.
Manning holds Giants franchise records for most passing yards, touchdown passes and completed passes in a career and the NFL record for most fourth-quarter touchdown passes in a season. He led the Giants to victory in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI, defeating the New England Patriots in both games. Manning was also named Most Valuable Player in each Super Bowl.
Manning is married to Abby McGrew. They have two daughters, Ava Frances and Lucy Thomas.
Mel Gibson, 59
image courtesy of INFphoto.com
Actor, filmmaker and screenwriter Mel Gibson turns 59 today. Gibson is well known as an action hero, for roles such as Martin Riggs in the Lethal Weapon buddy cop film series and Max Rockatansky in the first three action films in the Mad Max series.
During the 1980s, Gibson founded Icon Entertainment, a production company. Gibson starred as one of the leads in the critically acclaimed World War I drama Gallipoli, which earned him a Best Actor Award from the Australian Film Institute.
In 1995, Gibson produced, directed, and starred in the epic historical drama film Braveheart, for which he won the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Director, along with the Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2004, he directed and produced The Passion of the Christ, a financially successful and controversial film. Gibson received further critical acclaim for his directing of the 2006 action-adventure film Apocalypto.
Gibson has seven children with former wife Robyn Gibson and a daughter with pianist Oksana Grigorieva.