Brad Pitt

Guide Note

Brad Pitt is an Academy Award-nominated actor and film producer.

Fast Facts

1. Birth name: William Bradley "Brad" Pitt
2. Born: December 18, 1963
3. Birthplace: Shawnee, Oklahoma
4. Attended the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri–Columbia
5. Member of the Sigma Chi fraternity
6. Married to Jennifer Aniston: 2000-2005
7. Currently in relationship with Angelina Jolie
8. 1996: Won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for Twelve Monkeys

Brad Pitt was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma and raised in Springfield, Missouri. His mother was a high school counselor and his father owned a truck company. After graduating from the University of Missouri, Pitt went to Hollywood to pursue a career in acting. He landed a number of supporting an starring roles in minor and independent film productions, but his big break came for his supporting role in Thelma & Louise, in which he had a sex scene with Geena Davis. Many look at that scene as a pivotal moment in Pitt's career.¹

After appearing in the film Thelma and Louise, Pitt starred in Robert Redford's A River Runs Through It. In 1994, he achieved mainstream success after starring alongside Tom Cruise in Interview with the Vampire and Anthony Hopkins and Aidan Quinn in Legends of the Fall. In 1995, Pitt's star continued to rise as he appeared in Se7en and 12 Monkeys, the latter of which earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination.

In 1999, Pitt played the memorable role of Tyler Durdan in David Fincher's film, Fight Club. Then, in the 2000s, Pitt teamed with George Clooney to make the Ocean's Eleven Films. He also appeared as "Achilles" in Wolfgang Peterson's Troy, and co-starred with Angelina Jolie in the action film, Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston from 2000 to 2005, and then began a relationship with Angelina Jolie. Pitt and Jolie have four children together, three adopted and one biological.

• J.D. in Thelma & Louise (1991)
• Paul Maclean in A River Runs Through It (1992)
• Louis de Pointe du Lac in Interview with the Vampire (1994)
• Tristan Ludlow in Legends of the Fall (1994)
• David Mills in Se7en (1995)
• Jeffrey Goines in Twelve Monkeys (1995)
• Tyler Durden in Fight Club (1999)
• Rusty Ryan in Ocean's Eleven (2001)
• Jesse James in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)