Alec Baldwin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alec Baldwin
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Baldwin in 2018
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Alexander Rae Baldwin III
April 3, 1958 Amityville, New York, U.S.
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| Education | George Washington University, New York University – Tisch (BFA) |
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| Years active | 1980–present |
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Works
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Filmography |
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| Children | 8, including Ireland Baldwin |
| Family | Baldwin |
| Awards | Full list |
Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is famous for his many roles in movies and TV shows. These roles include both main characters and supporting parts in comedies and dramas.
Baldwin has won many awards for his acting. These include three Primetime Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and eight Screen Actors Guild Awards. He was also nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Tony Award.
He is part of the famous Baldwin family of actors. His film career started in 1988 with movies like Beetlejuice and Working Girl. He later played Jack Ryan in The Hunt for Red October (1990).
Baldwin was nominated for an Oscar for his role in The Cooler (2003). He also received a BAFTA nomination for It's Complicated (2010). Other notable films include Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) and The Departed (2006). He also appeared in two Mission: Impossible movies. From 2017 to 2021, he voiced the main character in The Boss Baby film series. He also narrated Thomas & Friends from 1999 to 2003.
From 2006 to 2013, Baldwin starred as Jack Donaghy in the TV show 30 Rock. He won many awards for this role, including two Primetime Emmy Awards. Baldwin has hosted the TV show Saturday Night Live a record 17 times. He was praised for his acting as Donald Trump on the show, which earned him another Primetime Emmy Award in 2017.
In 2024, he starred in the Western film Rust. This movie gained attention due to a tragic incident during filming in 2021. The Baldwin family, including his wife Hilaria and their seven children, are featured in a reality TV series called The Baldwins.
Baldwin first acted on Broadway in 1986 in the play Loot. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role in A Streetcar Named Desire (1992). He also hosted the Academy Awards in 2010. From 2016 to 2021, he hosted the game show Match Game.
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Growing Up and School Years
Alexander Rae Baldwin III was born on April 3, 1958. He grew up in Massapequa, New York. He is the oldest of six children. His father, Alexander Rae Baldwin Jr., was a high school history teacher and football coach. His mother was Carol Newcomb.
Alec has three younger brothers who also became actors: Daniel, William, and Stephen. He also has two sisters, Elizabeth and Jane Ann. The Baldwin children were raised as Catholics. Their family has Irish, French, and English roots.
Baldwin went to Alfred G. Berner High School. He played football there. From 1976 to 1979, he attended George Washington University. He later transferred to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. There, he studied acting. He also worked as a busboy at the famous discotheque, Studio 54. In 1994, he earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from NYU.
Acting Career Highlights
Starting Out in the 1980s
Baldwin's first acting job was on the TV soap opera The Doctors from 1980 to 1982. In 1984, he appeared in the TV series Knots Landing. He made his Broadway debut in 1986 in the play Loot.
His first movie role was in Forever, Lulu in 1987. In 1988, he became well-known after appearing in five major films. These included the fantasy comedy Beetlejuice and the romantic comedy Working Girl.
He gained more fame as a leading actor in The Hunt for Red October (1990). In this movie, he played Jack Ryan. He met actress Kim Basinger while filming The Marrying Man (1991). They played lovers in the movie. Baldwin also starred in Glengarry Glen Ross (1992).
Becoming an Established Actor (1993–2005)
Baldwin appeared with Kim Basinger again in The Getaway (1994). He also played the main character in The Shadow. In the mid-1990s, he starred in thrillers like The Edge.
On Broadway, he was nominated for a Tony Award for his role as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire. He also received an Emmy nomination for the TV version of the play in 1995. From 1998 to 2002, he narrated seasons five and six of Thomas & Friends. In 2000, he was Mr. Conductor in the Thomas & Friends movie Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
In 2002, Baldwin appeared in two episodes of Friends. He also had a recurring role in Will & Grace. Baldwin started taking on more diverse roles. He played Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle in Pearl Harbor (2001). This film is his highest-grossing movie to date.
He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in The Cooler (2003). Critics praised his performance. He also worked with director Martin Scorsese in The Aviator (2004) and The Departed (2006). In 2004, Baldwin returned to Broadway in Twentieth Century.
In 2005, he performed in a concert version of the musical South Pacific at Carnegie Hall.
Success with 30 Rock (2006–2013)
In 2006, Baldwin began starring as Jack Donaghy on NBC's 30 Rock. He had met his co-stars Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan on Saturday Night Live. Baldwin also became one of the show's producers. He won three Primetime Emmy Awards for his role. He also won two Golden Globe awards and seven Screen Actors Guild Awards.
In 2008, Baldwin co-wrote a book called A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey Through Fatherhood and Divorce. He also had a voice role in the animated film Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. In 2009, he started co-hosting The Essentials on TCM. He also became the host of The New York Philharmonic This Week radio series.
Baldwin co-starred in the romantic comedy It's Complicated (2009) with Meryl Streep and Steve Martin. He received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. In 2010, Baldwin co-hosted the 82nd Academy Awards with Steve Martin.
He has hosted Saturday Night Live 17 times, which is a record. In 2011, Baldwin started his podcast Here's the Thing. On this show, he interviewed many public figures. He also hosted the NFL Honors awards show in 2012 and 2013.
Baldwin returned to Broadway in 2013 in the play Orphans. He also briefly hosted the show Up Late with Alec Baldwin on MSNBC. From 2010, Baldwin was a spokesperson for Capital One. He donated the money he earned from this to his charity foundation.
Recent Work (2014–Present)
Baldwin appeared in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) and Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018). In 2016, he began hosting a new version of the game show Match Game on ABC.
That same year, Baldwin became very well-known for his acting as Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2017 for this role. He continued playing Trump until the 2020 election.
In 2017, he became the sole host of TCM's The Essentials. His memoir, Nevertheless, was a best-seller in 2017. In 2018, ABC broadcast a preview of his talk show, The Alec Baldwin Show. He also had small roles in BlacKkKlansman and A Star Is Born that year.
In 2019, Baldwin was the subject of the Comedy Central Roast. In 2021, he starred in the miniseries Dr. Death. He also had a voice cameo in the film Tár (2022). In 2023 and 2024, Baldwin made cameo appearances on Saturday Night Live.
Awards and Achievements
Baldwin has received many awards and nominations for his work in theater, television, and film. He has been nominated for the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Tony Award. He has won three Primetime Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and eight Screen Actors Guild Awards.
On May 12, 2010, Baldwin gave a speech at New York University. He was also given an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree. He was named Esteemed Faculty by Stony Brook University after teaching an acting class there.
Helping Others (Philanthropy)
Baldwin and his mother, Carol, started the Carol M. Baldwin Cancer Research Fund in 1996. They also dedicated the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Care Center at the Stony Brook University Hospital in her honor. When Baldwin was a spokesperson for Capital One, his contract was set up so that his earnings would go to his charity foundation. He donated over $14 million to charity.
In March 2011, Baldwin donated $1 million to the New York Philharmonic. He also gave $500,000 to the Roundabout Theatre Company, where he has performed. His foundation has also given gift certificates to libraries to support reading programs.
Personal Life and Family
Baldwin was engaged to actress Janine Turner in 1983. He also dated other actresses.
Marriages and Children
Kim Basinger
In 1990, Baldwin met actress Kim Basinger while filming The Marrying Man. They got married on August 19, 1993. They have one daughter, Ireland, who was born on October 23, 1995. They separated in 2000 and divorced in 2002.
Baldwin has spoken about the challenges of co-parenting after their divorce. He wrote in his memoir that he spent a lot of money and time to stay close to his daughter. In May 2023, Baldwin became a grandfather when Ireland had a baby girl.
Hilaria Baldwin
In August 2011, Baldwin started dating Hilaria Thomas, a yoga instructor. They became engaged in April 2012 and married on June 30, 2012. They have seven children together. In 2024, the Baldwin family filmed a reality show called The Baldwins, which premiered in February 2025 on TLC.
Health and Diet
Baldwin and his wife are pescatarians. This means they mostly eat a plant-based diet with fish and eggs. Baldwin stopped eating beef in 1991. He supports People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. In 2019, he wrote an article for CNN supporting a plant-based diet for environmental reasons.
Baldwin has also shared his experiences with Lyme disease.
Rust Filming Incident
On October 21, 2021, a tragic incident occurred on the set of the film Rust. A prop gun that Baldwin was using accidentally fired. This resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injury to director Joel Souza.
The Hutchins family filed a lawsuit against Baldwin. In October 2022, Baldwin reached a settlement with the family. In January 2023, prosecutors announced that Baldwin would be charged with involuntary manslaughter. He pleaded not guilty in February 2023.
In April 2023, the criminal charges against him were dropped by prosecutors. However, in October 2023, special prosecutors in New Mexico stated that new findings suggested Baldwin might be responsible for involuntary manslaughter. The film Rust finished filming in May 2023.
In January 2024, a grand jury indicted Baldwin on an involuntary manslaughter charge. His trial began in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on July 9, 2024. On July 12, 2024, the judge dismissed the case against Baldwin. The judge found that the prosecution had withheld important evidence from the defense. In October 2024, the judge upheld her decision to dismiss the charge.
In January 2025, Baldwin filed a civil rights lawsuit against officials in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He claimed he was wrongly prosecuted. In March 2025, Halyna Hutchins' parents expressed sadness about Baldwin's reality TV series. They noted that it showed his joy with his children, while their child was taken from them.
Political Views and Activism
Baldwin is a member of the Democratic Party. He supported Barack Obama in his presidential campaigns. He is on the board of People for the American Way. He is also an animal rights activist and a strong supporter of PETA. He has narrated videos for PETA, including Meet Your Meat.
Baldwin has also supported the Save the Manatee Club. He recorded public service announcements to help save these endangered animals. He also supports Farm Sanctuary's Adopt A Turkey Project. He has spoken about the suffering of turkeys before Thanksgiving.
In 1998, he wrote letters to The East Hampton Star expressing his strong opinions on political figures. In 1998, on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Baldwin gave a satirical rant about politics. He later apologized for any misunderstanding.
In 2006, Baldwin said he would consider running for Governor of New York. He believed he was more qualified than California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In 2011, he decided not to run for mayor of New York City. However, he later suggested he might change his mind in the future.
In 2009, Baldwin spoke out to encourage New York leaders to renew tax breaks for the film and television industry. He said that without these breaks, film production would move to California.
In 2011, Baldwin was scheduled to appear in a skit at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards. However, a part of the skit that mentioned Rupert Murdoch and a phone hacking scandal was cut. Baldwin then boycotted the awards and asked for his entire appearance to be removed.
See also
In Spanish: Alec Baldwin para niños
