Brad Pitt

William Bradley Pitt, born December 18, 1963, is an American actor and film producer. In a film career spanning more than thirty-five years, his films as a leading actor have grossed over $7.5 billion worldwide. Recognized as an influential figure in popular culture, Pitt has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Volpi Cup.

Pitt was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, to the owner of a trucking company and a school counselor. He was raised in Springfield, Missouri, in a conservative Southern Baptist household alongside two younger siblings. Pitt attended Kickapoo High School, where he participated in sports, debate, and musicals. In 1982, he enrolled at the University of Missouri, majoring in journalism with a focus on advertising. Two weeks before completing his coursework, he left the university and relocated to Los Angeles to pursue acting, supporting himself with odd jobs while taking lessons.

His acting career began in 1987 with uncredited film roles and guest appearances on television series such as Another World, Growing Pains, and Dallas. After appearing in various television projects and minor films, Pitt gained wider recognition for his supporting role as a cowboy hitchhiker in Ridley Scott's 1991 road film Thelma & Louise. He followed this with prominent roles in Robert Redford's A River Runs Through It in 1992 and the road film Kalifornia in 1993, winning a ShoWest Award for Male Star of Tomorrow.

Pitt's profile grew with leading roles in the 1994 films Interview with the Vampire and Legends of the Fall, earning his first Golden Globe Award nomination for the latter. In 1995, he starred in the crime thriller Seven and Terry Gilliam's science fiction drama 12 Monkeys, winning a Golden Globe Award and receiving his first Academy Award nomination for 12 Monkeys. Through the late 1990s and early 2000s, Pitt headlined notable projects including Seven Years in Tibet, Fight Club, and Snatch.

In the following decades, Pitt starred in major commercial hits, such as the Ocean's film trilogy, Troy, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Inglourious Basterds, World War Z, and Bullet Train. He earned additional Academy Award nominations for his performances in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Moneyball. For his portrayal of a stuntman in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2019.

In addition to acting, Pitt co-founded the production company Plan B Entertainment in 2001. As a producer, he won the Academy Award for Best Picture for 12 Years a Slave and received nominations for Moneyball and The Big Short. Pitt appeared on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list from 2006 to 2008 and was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 1995 and 2000. His personal life has received extensive media coverage, including his marriages to actresses Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie.