William Bradley "Brad" Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor, film producer, and social activist. He
became famous during the mid 1990s after having starring roles in several major Hollywood films, including
Interview with the Vampire in 1994 and the thriller
Se7en in 1995. Pitt was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe Award, both of which were for his role in
Twelve Monkeys .
Pitt is consistently cited as one of the most attractive men alive by celebrity magazinesand is regarded one of the top Hollywood A-listers<. His former marriage to Jennifer Aniston and current relationship with Angelina Jolie have been widely covered in the world media. He is the father of four children, one biological, all of whom have also received fevered media coverage. Since his connection with Jolie, he has become increasingly
involved in social issues, both domestically (in Hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans) and abroad (in the poverty-stricken third world).
Pitt was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, the son of Jane Etta a high school counselor, and William Alvin Pitt, a truck company owner. Along with his brother Doug and sister Julie Neal, he grew up in Springfield, Missouri, where the family moved soon after his birth. Pitt is of English heritage and 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 where he was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. In 1987, Pitt arrived in Beverly Hills, California. He studied under coach Roy London for six years. He first
appeared in the sitcom
Head Of The Class, for a while dating the show''s star Robin Givens. He also guest starred in two episodes of
Growing Pains. Pitt appeared as Chris in the long-running soap
Another World. While auditioning for the show
Our House, he was asked to read for another part, and found himself playing Shalane McCall''s boyfriend Charles on the daytime soap
Dallas. He also had a number of roles in prime-time series, such as
thirtysomething,
21 Jump Street, and
Freddy''s Nightmares