Brad Pitt

Early life

The son of Jane Etta, a high school counselor, and William Alvin Pitt, a truck company owner, Pitt was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma. The family soon moved to Springfield, Missouri, where he lived together with his younger siblings, Doug (born 1966) and Julie Neal (born 1969).

Pitt attended Kickapoo High School, where he was a member of the basketball, golf, tennis, wrestling and swimming teams.

Following his graduation from high school, Pitt enrolled in the University of Missouri in 1982, majoring in journalism, with a focus on advertising.

Two weeks before earning his degree, Pitt left the university and moved to Los Angeles, where he took acting lessons and worked odd jobs.

Career

His first film starring role was in The Dark Side of the Sun.

Following the release of Interview with the Vampire, he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination, in the Best Actor category.

He won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film Seven, and received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Since 2008, Pitt's work has included a leading role in Inglourious Basterds, released in August 2009 at a special presentation at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. The film received multiple awards and nominations, including eight Academy Award nominations and seven MTV Movie Award nominations, including Best Male Performance for Pitt.

Pitt appeared in Terrence Malick's drama The Tree of Life, co-starring Sean Penn, which won the Palme d'Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

In a performance that attracted strong praise, he portrayed the Oakland Athleticsgeneral manager Billy Beane in the drama Moneyball, which received six Academy Award nominations including Best Actor for Pitt.

Personal life

Pitt met Friends actress Jennifer Aniston in 1998 and married her in a private wedding ceremony in Malibu on July 29, 2000. For years their marriage was considered a rare Hollywood success; however, in January 2005, Pitt and Aniston announced that they had decided formally to separate after seven years together.

During Pitt's divorce from Aniston, his involvement with his Mr. & Mrs. Smith co-star Angelina Jolie attracted vigorous media attention. While Pitt denied claims of adultery, he admitted that he "fell in love" with Jolie on the set, and On January 11, 2006, Jolie confirmed to People that she was pregnant with Pitt's child, thereby publicly acknowledging their relationship for the first time.