Biography
Pitt was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, to Southern Baptist parents Bill Pitt and Jane Pitt, of mainly English and Irish descent. He and his two siblings, Doug Pitt and Julie Pitt, would grow up in Springfield, Missouri, soon after his birth. In high school, Pitt was involved in sports, debating, student government, and school musicals. He attended the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri - Columbia where he became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He was two credits shy of graduating with a journalism degree before trying his luck in Hollywood.
Career
Before he became successful at acting, Pitt supported himself as a chauffeur, a furniture mover, and a costumed mascot for the restaurant chain El Pollo Loco. In the late 1980s, Pitt started landing acting gigs on primetime series such as Dallas, thirtysomething, 21 Jump Street, Freddy's Nightmares, Another World, Growing Pains, and Head of the Class. In 1988, he finally landed his first starring role in The Dark Side of the Sun. However, as the film was being edited, civil war tore apart Yugoslavia, where location shooting was taking place. Most of the footage remained lost until 1998, when the film was finally released.
In 1991, Pitt finally got his big break in one of that year's biggest hits: Thelma & Louise as J.D., Thelma (Geena Davis)'s one-night stand who gives her tips on robbing 7-11 stores. He followed up that success with A River Runs Through It, Legends of the Fall and Se7en. He was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1995 film Twelve Monkeys.
In 1995, he was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 25 sexiest stars in film history. Pitt has also twice been named the Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine, the only person to ever receive this honor more than once. He is consistently rated among the world's sexiest men in womens' polls worldwide.
Also in 1997, the film Seven Years in Tibet was released. This film, which chronicled China's invasion of Tibet, was hailed by Tibetan nationalists and resulted in Brad Pitt, along with his co-star David Thewlis, being banned from entering China for life.
In 1999 he starred in one of his most recognizable roles in the cult classic Fight Club, based on a novel by Chuck Palahniuk.
Since then he has done numerous films including Mr. & Mrs. Smith which some believe to be the cause of his and Aniston's break-up.
In March of 2006 it was announced that Warner Bros. had purchased the rights to The Sparrow for Pitt's production company, Plan B, and that Pitt himself would be playing the lead role of Sandoz. [1]
Personal life
Pitt was involved in a long-term relationship with actress Gwyneth Paltrow. They became engaged in December 1996, but the couple split in June 1997. Extensive tabloid coverage surrounded the relationship. Nude photographs of the couple, taken by paparazzi without permission, controversially appeared in magazines.
Pitt married actress Jennifer Aniston on July 29, 2000. Their separation was announced on January 7, 2005, and Aniston filed for a divorce on March 25 the same year. There has been speculation that the marriage ended due to Aniston's refusal to have children with Pitt, which he greatly desired. Aniston has denied this. She claims their personal reasons for entering the marriage were not completely honest and they could not sustain the deceit, both in their private and public lives. Further speculation surrounded Pitt's relationship with his then co-star Angelina Jolie, while filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith The couple were quickly dubbed "Brangelina" by the media. Both Pitt and Jolie denied such relationship during his marriage to Aniston. Aniston, however, was not convinced and eventually filed for divorce. The divorce was finalized on October 2nd 2005.
While going through divorce proceedings, Pitt began dating Jolie, though initially the two insisted they were just friends. Pitt accompanied the actress to Ethiopia in July 2005 to pick up her adopted daughter Zahara from an orphanage in that country. In late 2005, Pitt and Jolie visited Pakistan twice as ambassadors of Unicef to support earthquake victims in that country.It was announced on December 2, 2005, that Pitt was seeking to legally adopt Angelina Jolie's two children, Maddox and Zahara, and to have the children's surnames legally changed to Jolie-Pitt. On January 19, 2006, a judge in California approved this request.
It was confirmed by Pitt and Jolie's representatives on January 11, 2006 that Jolie is pregnant with Pitt's child.
After returning from Africa, Pitt was diagnosed with a mild case of viral meningitis. He checked himself into Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles but was released a few days later. Though reluctant to embrace celebrity status, the philanthropic Pitt has been an active supporter of research into diseases such as AIDS. Unlike many Hollywood celebrities, he has remained largely nonpartisan, working with members of both parties to help fight poverty, disease, and improve global environmental conditions. Along with U2 frontman Bono and TV evangelist Pat Robertson, Pitt has used his celebrity to campaign for assistance to Africa, and he is the marquee spokesman for the ONE Campaign. Brad Pitt has also traveled in 2001 overseas with Ocean's 11 cast to Turkey to visit and entertain U.S. troops.
Trivia
Like many A-list stars, Pitt does not normally perform in American television commercials, instead opting to do commercials that are seen in Asia only, most notably for Edwin Jeans, the Toyota Altis, and Japanese canned coffee, ROOTS. A notable exception to this is a Heineken commercial which aired during the 2005 Super Bowl. It was directed by David Fincher, who directed Pitt in the feature films Se7en and Fight Club.
Pitt was previously engaged to Gwyneth Paltrow (she co-starred with him in Se7en) and dated actresses Juliette Lewis, Robin Givens, Geena Davis and Alice Wilkinson. Paltrow confessed in an interview that she regretted breaking up with him.
Pitt tore his Achilles tendon during the production of Troy, in which he plays, coincidentally, Achilles. [2]
He sued Damiani International, the company which made the wedding ring he gave Jennifer Aniston, for selling replica "Brad and Jennifer" rings. According to Pitt, the ring was his design and was to be exclusive. Under the settlement reached in January 2002, Pitt will design jewelry for Damiani that Aniston will model in ads, and the company will stop selling the copies.
At the time Brad was a student at the University of Missouri, Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow and ABC-TV news anchor Elizabeth Vargas were also students there. However, it is unknown whether or not any of the three future celebrities actually knew each other while they were students at the University.
Together with Paramount Pictures head Brad Grey and Jennifer Aniston, Pitt is the co-founder of the production company Plan B. Aniston is no longer a partner in the company, although she is still attached to many projects that were set up before her divorce. The company produced the blockbuster Charlie and the Chocolate Factory starring Johnny Depp.
Has appeared on an episode of MTV's Jackass, in which he took part in a staged abduction of himself.
He has been awarded a Blue Peter badge.
He owns a house in the picturesque town of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.
Filmography
No Man's Land (1987)
Less Than Zero (1987)
Happy Together (1989)
Cutting Class (1989)
Across the Tracks (1991)
Thelma & Louise (1991)
Johnny Suede (1991)
Contact (1992) (short subject)
Cool World (1992)
A River Runs Through It (1992)
Kalifornia (1993)
True Romance (1993)
The Favor (1994)
Interview with the Vampire (1994)
Legends of the Fall (1994)
Se7en (1995)
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Sleepers (1996)
The Devil's Own (1997)
Seven Years in Tibet (1997)
The Dark Side of the Sun (1997; filmed in 1988)
Meet Joe Black (1998)
Being John Malkovich (1999) (cameo)
Fight Club (1999)
Snatch (2000)
The Mexican (2001)
Spy Game (2001)
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
Full Frontal (2002) (cameo)
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) (cameo)
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003) (voice)
Abby Singer (2003) (cameo)
Troy (2004)
Ocean's Twelve (2004)
Special Thanks to Roy London (2005) (documentary)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (post-production) (2006)
Chad Schmidt (announced) (2006)
Babel (filming) (2006)
Benjamin Button (announced) (2007)
