Jean-Claude Van Damme is an actor and martial artist who originally hailed from Brussels, Belgium. His given name is Jean-Claude Van Varenberg, and he was born on Oct. 18, 1960. He began studying martial arts at the age of 11, and while he was still a teenager he earned the title of middleweight champion of the European Professional Karate Association. He eventually opened his own gym in Brussels, and then later headed to Hong Kong to enter the world of martial arts movies. He soon decided to take a shot in Hollywood, and early in his career he billed himself under different stage names (such as Frank Cujo) before settling on Jean-Claude Van Damme.http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800019806/bio
Van Damme has been though 5 weddings and 4 divorces, and is currently still married to Gladys Portugues. She was his 3rd wife, and they reconciled to get married again after Van Damme's 4th divorce. They have been wed since 1999.http://www.vandamme.ru/biography.htm
Jean-Claude Van Damme Career
In 1981, Van Damme moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in movies. His first part was a small role in the 1984 movie Missing In Action. His next role was in the 1986 No Retreat, No Surrender. His breakthrough role was in the 1988 movie Bloodsport. He followed up his success with Cyborg, Lionheart, Double Impact, Universal Soldier and Timecop. Starting in 1996, he had a string of box office busts that included The Quest, Maximum Risk and Double Team. He began a career turnaround in 2001 with Replicant, which he followed with Derailed and In Hell.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000241/bio
Van Damme on Letterman
This video clip features an episode of the Late Show with David Letterman. This interview was conducted to promote his movie Street Fighter. He he talks about visiting his family in Belgium and notes that there is "a lot of food." He also talks about his first acting role in the United States.
