Brad Pitt facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Brad Pitt
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Pitt at the 2024 Venice Film Festival
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William Bradley Pitt
December 18, 1963 Shawnee, Oklahoma, U.S.
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| Alma mater | University of Missouri (no degree) |
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| Years active | 1987–present |
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Works
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Full list |
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| Children | 6 |
| Relatives | Doug Pitt (brother) |
| Awards | Full list |
William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is a famous American actor and film producer. He has won many important awards. These include two Academy Awards (also known as Oscars), two British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs), two Golden Globe Awards, and an Primetime Emmy Award. He is known as one of the most influential celebrities.
Brad Pitt first became well-known for his role in the movie Thelma & Louise (1991). He then became a leading actor in films like A River Runs Through It (1992). Other popular movies include Legends of the Fall (1994) and the thriller Seven (1995). He gained even more success in the heist film Ocean's Eleven (2001) and its sequels.
Pitt has starred in many big movies. These include the historical epic Troy (2004) and Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005). He also appeared in the horror film World War Z (2013) and the action movie Bullet Train (2022).
He won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for playing a stuntman in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019). Pitt was also nominated for Oscars for his roles in 12 Monkeys (1995), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), and Moneyball (2011). He has also starred in other well-known films like Fight Club (1999) and Inglourious Basterds (2009).
In 2001, Pitt helped start a movie production company called Plan B Entertainment. As a producer, he won an Oscar for Best Picture for 12 Years a Slave (2013). He was also nominated for producing Moneyball (2011) and The Big Short (2015).
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Early Life and Education
William Bradley Pitt was born on December 18, 1963. His birthplace was Shawnee, Oklahoma, in the U.S. His father, William Alvin Pitt, owned a trucking company. His mother, Jane Etta, was a school counselor. His family soon moved to Springfield, Missouri. He grew up there with his younger brother, Douglas, and sister, Julie.
Pitt went to Kickapoo High School. He was active in sports like golf, swimming, and tennis. He also joined clubs for public speaking and debates. He even performed in school musicals. After high school, Pitt went to the University of Missouri in 1982. He studied journalism, focusing on advertising.
As he got closer to graduating, Pitt realized he loved movies. He felt that films were "a portal into different worlds." Since movies were not made in Missouri, he decided to move to where they were. Just two weeks before finishing his degree, Pitt left college. He moved to Los Angeles to take acting lessons. He also worked many different odd jobs.
Acting Career
Early Roles (1987–1993)
Brad Pitt started his acting career in 1987. He had small, uncredited parts in films like No Way Out. In May 1987, he appeared on the TV show Another World. He also had guest roles on shows like Growing Pains and Dallas.
In 1988, Pitt got his first main role in a movie. It was a film called The Dark Side of the Sun. He played a young American looking for a cure for a skin condition. This movie was not released until 1997. In 1989, he appeared in the horror film Cutting Class, which was his first movie to be shown in theaters.
Pitt gained wider attention in 1991. He played J.D., a small-time criminal, in the road film Thelma & Louise. This role helped him become more recognized. After this, he starred in Johnny Suede (1991) and Cool World (1992).
In 1992, Pitt played Paul Maclean in A River Runs Through It. This movie was directed by Robert Redford. Many people said this role helped his career a lot. Pitt felt a lot of pressure making the film. He said working with Robert Redford helped him improve his acting. In 1993, he appeared in Kalifornia and had a small role in True Romance. He also won an award for "Male Star of Tomorrow."
Becoming a Star (1994–1998)
In 1994, Brad Pitt played the vampire Louis in Interview with the Vampire. He starred with Tom Cruise and Kirsten Dunst. Even though he won two MTV Movie Awards for this role, some critics did not like his performance.
After that, Pitt starred in Legends of the Fall (1994). He played Tristan Ludlow in this movie. For this role, he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor. Many film critics praised his acting in this film.
In 1995, Pitt starred in the crime thriller Seven with Morgan Freeman. Pitt said he wanted to play characters with flaws. His performance was well-liked by critics. Seven made $327 million around the world.
After Seven, Pitt played Jeffrey Goines in 12 Monkeys (1995). This science fiction film received good reviews. Pitt's performance was especially praised. He won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for this film. He also received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
In 1996, he was in the legal drama Sleepers. In 1997, Pitt starred with Harrison Ford in The Devil's Own. He played an Irish Republican Army terrorist. Later that year, he played Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer in Seven Years in Tibet. Pitt trained for months for this role. In 1998, he had the main role in Meet Joe Black. He played a personification of death.
Major Success (1999–2003)
In 1999, Brad Pitt played Tyler Durden in Fight Club. This movie was based on a book by Chuck Palahniuk. Pitt trained in boxing and other fighting styles for the part. He even had pieces of his front teeth removed for the role, which were put back after filming.
Fight Club was shown at the Venice International Film Festival. Critics had mixed opinions about the film. However, Pitt's acting was widely praised. Even though the movie did not do great at the box office at first, it became a very popular "cult classic" after its DVD release.
In 2000, Pitt played an Irish boxer in the gangster film Snatch. Many reviewers liked Pitt's performance. They said he was perfectly cast as an Irishman whose accent was hard to understand.
The next year, Pitt starred with Julia Roberts in the romantic comedy The Mexican. He also appeared in the thriller Spy Game (2001). In December 2001, Pitt played Rusty Ryan in the heist film Ocean's Eleven. He was part of a big cast that included George Clooney and Matt Damon. This movie was very successful, earning $450 million worldwide.
In February 2002, Pitt made guest appearances on the MTV show Jackass. He also had a small role in George Clooney's movie Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. In 2003, Pitt did his first voice-acting roles. He voiced the main character in the animated film Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas. He also voiced a character in an episode of the TV show King of the Hill.
Global Recognition (2004–2008)
In 2004, Brad Pitt had two big movie roles. He played Achilles in Troy. He also played Rusty Ryan again in the sequel Ocean's Twelve. Pitt trained with swords for six months before filming Troy. An injury to his Achilles tendon delayed the movie's production. Troy was the first film made by Plan B Entertainment. This is a company he started with Jennifer Aniston and Brad Grey.
Ocean's Twelve earned $362 million worldwide. In 2005, Pitt starred as John Smith in the action comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith. He played a bored married man who finds out his wife is an assassin. The movie was praised for the great chemistry between Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Mr. & Mrs. Smith earned $478 million worldwide. It was one of the biggest hits of 2005.
For his next film, Pitt starred with Cate Blanchett in the drama Babel (2006). Pitt's performance was well-received by critics. He later said taking this role was one of his best career choices. Babel received many award nominations. It won the Golden Globe for Best Drama. Pitt also got a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. That same year, Pitt's company Plan B Entertainment produced The Departed, which won the Oscar for Best Picture.
Pitt played Rusty Ryan again in Ocean's Thirteen (2007). His next film role was as the American outlaw Jesse James. This was in the 2007 Western drama The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Pitt's company Plan B Entertainment produced this film. Pitt won the Volpi Cup award for Best Actor at the 2007 Venice Film Festival for his role.
Pitt's next movie was the black comedy Burn After Reading (2008). This was his first time working with the Coen brothers. Critics liked the film, and Pitt's performance was called one of the funniest. He was then cast as Benjamin Button in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). This story is about a man who ages backward. Pitt's performance earned him nominations for Best Actor at the Golden Globes and Academy Awards. The film made $329 million worldwide.
Later Career (2009–present)
In 2009, Brad Pitt starred in the war film Inglourious Basterds, directed by Quentin Tarantino. Pitt played Lieutenant Aldo Raine. The film was a box office success. It also received many awards and nominations. He then voiced the superhero Metro Man in the animated movie Megamind (2010).
Pitt produced and appeared in The Tree of Life (2011). This film won the Palme d'Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. He also played Billy Beane in the drama Moneyball. His performance received strong praise. Moneyball was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Pitt.
His next role was as mob hitman Jackie Cogan in Killing Them Softly (2012). In 2013, Pitt starred in and produced World War Z. This was a thriller about a zombie apocalypse. World War Z earned $540 million worldwide. It became Pitt's highest-grossing movie. Also in 2013, he produced and had a small role in 12 Years a Slave. This historical drama won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
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Pitt starred in Fury, a World War II film. It was released in October 2014. Fury was a commercial and critical success. It made over $211 million worldwide. In 2015, Pitt starred with his then-wife, Angelina Jolie, in By the Sea. This was their first movie together since Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Pitt also produced and co-starred in The Big Short. This film was also a success and was nominated for five Academy Awards.
In 2016, Pitt starred in the romantic thriller Allied. He played an assassin who falls in love with a French spy. In 2017, he starred in the Netflix war comedy War Machine, which he also produced.
In 2019, Pitt starred as Cliff Booth in Quentin Tarantino's film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. He reunited with Leonardo DiCaprio in this movie. For his performance, he won Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and other major awards. This was his second Oscar, and his first for acting. In 2019, he also starred in Ad Astra. He played Roy McBride, a space engineer. Pitt's acting in this film was highly praised.
In 2021, Pitt started a recording business with French record producer Damien Quintard. They reopened Miraval Studios in France. This studio was famous for recording albums by bands like Pink Floyd and AC/DC. In 2022, Pitt starred in Bullet Train. He also reunited with Margot Robbie in Babylon. On January 5, 2022, he signed on to star in and produce a racing film called F1. He also worked with George Clooney again in the comedy-thriller Wolfs, released in 2024.
Awards and Achievements
Throughout his career, Brad Pitt has received many awards. These include two Academy Awards (one as a producer and one as an actor), two BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has recognized him for these performances:
- 68th Academy Awards (1995): Nominated for Best Supporting Actor for 12 Monkeys
- 81st Academy Awards (2008): Nominated for Best Actor for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- 84th Academy Awards (2011): Nominated for Best Actor for Moneyball
- 92nd Academy Awards (2019): Won Best Supporting Actor for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Charity Work and Activism
Brad Pitt is very involved in charity work. In October 2004, he visited the University of Missouri to encourage students to vote. He also supported funding for stem-cell research. He said it was important to "open up these avenues" to find cures for diseases.
Pitt supports the ONE Campaign. This group works to fight AIDS and poverty around the world. He narrated a PBS TV series called Rx for Survival: A Global Health Challenge. This series talked about global health issues. In 2006, Pitt and Angelina Jolie visited a school in Haiti supported by a charity. In 2007, they donated $1 million to groups helping people in the Darfur region. Pitt is also a founder of Not On Our Watch. This organization focuses on stopping "mass atrocities" around the world.
Pitt is very interested in architecture. He even studied computer-aided design. He narrated a PBS series called e2 design, which focused on building environmentally friendly structures. In 2006, he started the Make It Right Foundation. This group helped build 150 sustainable, affordable homes in New Orleans. This was after the damage from Hurricane Katrina. Pitt and philanthropist Steve Bing each gave $5 million to this project.
In September 2006, Pitt and Jolie started the Jolie-Pitt Foundation. This charity helps humanitarian causes worldwide. They donated money to groups like Global Action for Children and Doctors Without Borders. In 2009, the foundation gave $1 million to a U.N. refugee agency. This helped Pakistanis who were displaced by fighting. In 2010, they donated $1 million to Doctors Without Borders for help after the Haiti earthquake.
Pitt supports same-sex marriage. In 2006, he said he would marry Angelina Jolie when everyone in America could legally marry. In 2008, he donated $100,000 to a campaign against a California law that tried to stop same-sex marriage. In 2012, Pitt was part of a play called 8. This play was about the trial that overturned the ban on same-sex marriage in California.
Personal Life
Family
Brad Pitt met actress Jennifer Aniston in 1998. They got married in Malibu, California, on July 29, 2000. In January 2005, they announced they were separating. Their divorce was finalized in October 2005.
During his divorce, Pitt's relationship with his Mr. & Mrs. Smith co-star Angelina Jolie gained a lot of media attention. In April 2005, photos of Pitt, Jolie, and her son Maddox in Kenya appeared. This showed they were a couple. The media called them "Brangelina". On January 11, 2006, Jolie confirmed she was expecting Pitt's child.
Pitt and Jolie announced their engagement in April 2012. They had been together for seven years. They got married in a private ceremony in France on August 23, 2014. On September 19, 2016, Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt. Their divorce became legal on April 12, 2019.
Children
In July 2005, Pitt went with Jolie to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. There, she adopted her second child, a girl named Zahara. In December 2005, Pitt began the process of adopting Jolie's first adopted child, a boy named Maddox. In January 2006, a judge allowed the children's last names to be changed to "Jolie-Pitt".
Jolie gave birth to their daughter, Shiloh, in Swakopmund, Namibia, on May 27, 2006. The couple sold the first pictures of their daughter to magazines. The money from the sale was given to charities helping African children.
On March 15, 2007, Jolie adopted a 3-year-old boy named Pax from Vietnam. Pitt adopted Pax in the United States in February 2008. In May 2008, Jolie confirmed she was expecting twins. She gave birth to a son, Knox, and a daughter, Vivienne, on July 12, 2008, in Nice, France. The rights for the first pictures of the twins were sold for $14 million. This was the most expensive celebrity picture ever taken at the time. The couple donated the money to the Jolie-Pitt Foundation.
Since Jolie filed for divorce in 2016, they have been in a custody battle over their children.
Prosopagnosia
In 2022, Pitt shared that he has had trouble recognizing people's faces for many years. This condition is called prosopagnosia, or face blindness. In a 2013 interview, he said this problem sometimes made him want to stay home. However, Pitt has not been officially diagnosed with prosopagnosia by a doctor.
Art Interests
Brad Pitt is interested in art. He has learned pottery and created sculptures. Nine of his sculptures were shown in an art museum in Tampere, Finland, from 2022 to 2023. His works were displayed alongside pieces by musician Nick Cave and artist Thomas Houseago.
Images for kids
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Pitt at the 2024 Venice Film Festival
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Pitt with Losang Thonden on the set of Seven Years in Tibet in 1997
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Pitt in 2001
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Pitt at the premiere of Burn After Reading in 2008
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Pitt at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival
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Pitt at the Japan premiere of War Machine in 2017
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Pitt with his then-partner Angelina Jolie at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival
See also
In Spanish: Brad Pitt para niños
