Hugh Jackman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hugh Jackman
|
|
|---|---|
Jackman in 2024
|
|
| Born |
Hugh Michael Jackman
12 October 1968 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
|
| Citizenship |
|
| Education |
|
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 1994–present |
|
Works
|
Performances |
| Spouse(s) |
Deborra-Lee Furness
(m. 1996; div. 2025) |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Full list |
| Honours | _BAR.svg){kind=small} Companion of the Order of Australia (2019) |
| Signature | |
 |
|
Hugh Michael Jackman (born October 12, 1968) is a famous Australian actor, singer, and producer. He started his career in theater and on TV. He became world-famous for playing Wolverine in the X-Men movies and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He played the character from X-Men (2000) to Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).
Jackman is a star on both the movie screen and the theater stage. He has won many awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, and two Tony Awards. He was also nominated for an Academy Award. In 2019, he was given a special honor in Australia, the Companion of the Order of Australia.
He has starred in many different kinds of movies. These include the romantic comedy Kate & Leopold (2001), the action movie Van Helsing (2004), and the drama The Prestige (2006). He also starred in the musicals Les Misérables (2012) and The Greatest Showman (2017). For Les Misérables, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.
Jackman is also known for his work in theater. He won a Tony Award in 2004 for playing Peter Allen in the Broadway musical The Boy from Oz. He has hosted the Tony Awards four times and even won an Emmy Award for his hosting.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Hugh Jackman was born in Sydney, Australia. His parents, Grace and Christopher, were from England and moved to Australia before he was born. Because his parents were from the United Kingdom, Jackman has both Australian and British citizenship.
When Jackman was eight years old, his parents divorced. His mother moved back to England with his two sisters. He stayed in Australia with his father and two older brothers. As a kid, he loved being outdoors, going to the beach, and camping. He dreamed of traveling the world and wanted to be a chef on an airplane.
Jackman went to an all-boys school where he starred in the musical My Fair Lady. After high school, he worked as a gym teacher in England for a year. He then went to the University of Technology Sydney and studied communications. In his last year, he took a drama class for fun and discovered his love for acting.
He decided to study acting full-time. He turned down a role on the popular TV show Neighbours to attend the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. He graduated in 1994. Jackman said that when he started drama school, he wasn't very good, but he worked hard to improve.
Acting Career
Early Stage and Screen Roles
Right after graduating, Jackman got a role on the Australian TV show Correlli. This was his first big acting job. On the set, he met actress Deborra-Lee Furness, who he would later marry.
After Correlli, he performed in musicals in Melbourne. He played Gaston in Beauty and the Beast and Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard. In 1998, he became famous outside of Australia when he starred as Curly in the musical Oklahoma! in London. This performance earned him a nomination for an Olivier Award, a major theater award in the UK.
Becoming Wolverine in the X-Men Movies
Jackman's big break came in 2000 when he was cast as Wolverine in the movie X-Men. The role was first offered to actor Russell Crowe, who suggested Jackman instead. To prepare, Jackman studied wolves because he thought the character was like a wolf. He also watched movies with actors like Clint Eastwood to learn how to show a lot of emotion with few words.
Wolverine is 5'3" in the comics, but Jackman is 6'2". To make him look shorter, the filmmakers often shot him from the waist up or had his co-stars wear taller shoes. Jackman also had to build a lot of muscle for the part.
He played Wolverine in many more films, including X2 (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), and Logan (2017). He also appeared as Wolverine in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). His long career as the character earned him a Guinness World Record.
Success in Hollywood and on Broadway
Besides playing Wolverine, Jackman starred in many other successful films. In 2001, he was in the romantic comedy Kate & Leopold, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. He also starred in the action movie Swordfish with Halle Berry.
In 2004, Jackman returned to the stage. He won a Tony Award for his role as the Australian songwriter Peter Allen in the Broadway musical The Boy from Oz. He also hosted the Tony Awards three years in a row and won an Emmy Award for his hosting in 2004.
He starred in the mystery movie The Prestige (2006) with Christian Bale. He also provided voices for animated movies like Happy Feet and Flushed Away. In 2008, he starred with Nicole Kidman in the epic movie Australia.
More Hit Movies and Musicals
In 2012, Jackman starred as Jean Valjean in the movie musical Les Misérables. To play the part, he had to lose a lot of weight and then gain it back. His performance won him a Golden Globe Award and his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
In 2017, he starred as P. T. Barnum in the hit musical The Greatest Showman. The movie's soundtrack was very popular, and Jackman won a Grammy Award for it.
In 2019, Jackman went on a world tour called The Man. The Music. The Show. He sang songs from The Greatest Showman and other Broadway and Hollywood musicals. He also returned to Broadway from 2021 to 2023 to star in the musical The Music Man.
Charity Work
Jackman does a lot of work to help others. He supports microcredit, which gives small loans to people in poor countries to help them start businesses. He is a global advisor for the Global Poverty Project, which works to end extreme poverty.
In 2011, he started the Laughing Man Coffee company. He was inspired by a coffee farmer named Dukale he met in Ethiopia. All the profits from the company go to the Laughing Man Foundation. The foundation supports education and community projects around the world.
Personal Life
Jackman married Australian actress Deborra-Lee Furness in 1996. They met on the set of the TV show Correlli. After Furness had two miscarriages, they adopted two children. The couple announced they had separated in September 2023, and their divorce was finalized in 2025.
In 2013, Jackman announced that he had a type of skin cancer called basal-cell carcinoma on his nose. He has had it removed several times. He often reminds his fans on social media to wear sunscreen to protect their skin.
Jackman enjoys many hobbies. He played rugby and cricket in school. He also likes basketball, kayaking, and playing the piano and guitar. He is a fan of the Port Adelaide Football Club in Australia and the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles rugby league team.
Awards and Achievements
Jackman has won many major awards for his work in film and theater.
- Tony Awards: He won Best Actor in a Musical for The Boy from Oz in 2004. He also received a special Tony Award in 2012.
- Grammy Award: He won for the Best Soundtrack Album for The Greatest Showman in 2019.
- Primetime Emmy Award: He won for hosting the 2004 Tony Awards.
- Golden Globe Award: He won Best Actor for Les Misérables in 2013.
He has also been nominated for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Film Award. He is one of the few performers to be nominated for all four major American entertainment awards (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony), often called an EGOT.
See also
In Spanish: Hugh Jackman para niños
