Brad Pitt was born in on December 18, 1963 to the parents of Jane Etta and William Alvin Pitt. His family moved to Springfield, Missouri where he grew up with his brother Doug and sister Julie. He was raised a Baptist. He attended Kickapoo High School, where he was involved in sports, debating, student government and acting. He attended the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri, Columbia. There he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.
In 1987, Pitt arrived in Beverly Hills, CA to pursue his acting career. He studied under Coach Roy London for six years. His first appearance was in the sitcom Head of the Class. He also guest starred in two episodes of Growing Pains. He then appeared in the soap Another World. While he was auditioning for the show Our House, he ended up landing a role on the daytime soap Dallas. He starred in series ThirtySomething, 21 Jump Street, Freddy’s Nightmares, and appeared in Less Than Zero, No Man’s Land, and Cutting Class. In 1988, Pitt had his first starring role in Dark Side Of The Sun. Since the film was shot in Yugoslavia, a war broke out and much of the film was lost. He later won a part in the TV movie Too Young to Die? He then starred in Across The Tracks, Thelma and Louise, Johnny Suede, Cool World, A River Runs Through It, and Kalifornia. Pitt also starred in Legends of the Fall, Seven Years in Tibet, Meet Joe Black, Fight Club, Snatch, and Usual Suspects, The Devil’s Own, and Se7en. In 1995 his role in Twelve Monkeys helped Pitt get nominated for an Academy Award as “Best Supporting Actor.” In 2000, Pitt starred in the Spy Game and The Mexican with co-star Julia Roberts. At the end of the year Pitt finished filming Ocean’s Eleven with George Clooney, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. He also starred in the sequel’s Ocean’s Twelve and Ocean’s Thirteen. He has also starred in Troy, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith with co-star Angelina Jolie. His 2006 movie Babel won seven Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations, one of which was a Golden Globe nomination for Pitt as “Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture.” That same year he produced the Best Picture winner The Departed.
Pitt dated actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Thandie Newton, Robin Givens, Juliettee Lewis, and Sinitta during the 1990s. In 1998, Pitt met Friends actress Jennifer Aniston and married her in 2000. They announced their seperation on January 7, 2005. As his relationship to Jennifer Aniston drew to a close, his relationship with co-star Angelina Jolie grew stronger. Jolie was publisized as the reason to their split. Pitt and Jolie both denied the claims of adultery. In 2005, Pitt and Jolie shot a spread for W magazine as a 1963 couple with children. Aniston filed for divorce on March 25, 2005 and was finalized on October 2. Brad and Angelina were soon known as “Brangelina.” Jolie and Pitt have one child together and 3 adopted ones. Jolie first adopted Maddox in March, 2002. Jolie and Pitt adopted Zahara in 2005 and Pax in 2003 together. On May 27, 2006, Jolie and Pitt’s biological daughter Shiloh was born.
Did you know…
- On June 6th 2007, Brad left his hand and feet prints in cement outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
- Brad has been on the cover pages of many American magazines including Entertainment Weekly, Premiere, USA Weekend, People, Maxim, Rolling Stone, TV Guide, PlayGirl and many more.
- Brad has been on the cover page of many international magazines like Movie Star (Japan), Woman's Day (Australia), Tribute (Canada), Max (Italy), Film Review (UK), Prestige (France), Cinema (Hungary), AD Magazine (Netherlands), Premiere (Russia) and many more.
- Brad has co-designed a jewelry line with Damiani. His ex-wife Jennifer Aniston modelled for the ads. The contract was a settlement after he sued Damiani because they sold copies of the couple's wedding ring, designed by Brad and created by Damiani.
- Like many A-List stars, Pitt won't normally do American commercials. Instead, he does commercials that are seen in Asia only, most notably for Edwin Jeans, the Toyota Altis, and Japanese canned coffee, ROOTS. The one exception to this is the Heineken commercial which aired during the 2005 Super Bowl, it was directed by David Fincher who he worked with on Se7en.
- Brad's favorite actress is Dianne West.
- Brad shares a birthday with Katie Holmes, Christina Aguilera, DMX, Ray Liotta, film critic Leonard Maltin, Casper Van Dien and filmmaker Steven Spielberg.
- Brad met his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston on a blind date, which was arranged by their agent.
- Angelina Jolie has reportedly changed her childrens' last names from Jolie to Jolie-Pitt
- Brad has made reservations with Richard Branson to fly into space in 2010.