Jeff Bridges facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jeff Bridges
Bridges at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	Jeffrey Leon Bridges (1949-12-04) December 4, 1949 (age 75) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor film producer singer
Years active	1950–present
Works	Full list
Spouse(s)	Susan Geston ​ (m. 1977)​
Children	3
Parent(s)	Lloyd Bridges Dorothy Bridges
Family	Beau Bridges (brother) Jordan Bridges (nephew)
Awards	Full list
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Coast Guard
Years of service	1967–1975
Rank	Petty officer second class

Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He is famous for his main roles in movies and TV shows. Over more than seven decades, he has won many awards. These include an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. He was also nominated for three BAFTA Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019, he received the Cecil B. DeMille Award.

Jeff Bridges grew up in a family of actors. He appeared on the TV show Sea Hunt (1958–1960) with his father, Lloyd Bridges, and brother, Beau Bridges. His first movie was Halls of Anger (1970). He then starred in The Last Picture Show (1971), which earned him his first Academy Award nomination.

As a main actor, he starred in the adventure film King Kong (1976). He also appeared in the science fiction film Tron (1982). Other notable films include Jagged Edge (1985), The Morning After (1986), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), The Fisher King (1991), and The Big Lebowski (1998).

Bridges received more Oscar nominations for Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) and Starman (1984). He also got nominations for The Contender (2000), True Grit (2010), and Hell or High Water (2016). He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as a country singer in Crazy Heart (2009). He has also been in big movies like Seabiscuit (2003), Iron Man (2008), and Tron: Legacy (2010). On TV, he was nominated for Emmy Awards for A Dog Year (2009) and The Old Man (2022–2024).

Early Life and Education

Jeff Bridges was born on December 4, 1949, in Los Angeles. His father, Lloyd Bridges, was an actor, and his mother, Dorothy Bridges, was an actress and writer. He has an older brother, Beau Bridges, who is also an actor, and a younger sister, Lucinda. His brother Garrett passed away in 1948.

Bridges grew up in Holmby Hills, California. He was very close to his brother Beau, who often looked after him when their father was busy working. He finished high school at University High School in 1967. At 17, he acted with his father in a play called Anniversary Waltz. He then moved to New York City to study acting. He also served in the United States Coast Guard Reserve from 1967 to 1975.

Acting Career Highlights

Early Roles and First Steps

Jeff Bridges acted alongside his father, Lloyd Bridges, in Sea Hunt and The Lloyd Bridges Show

Bridges first appeared on screen in 1951, in a movie called The Company She Keeps. As a young boy, he and his brother Beau sometimes appeared on their father's TV shows. These included Sea Hunt (1958–1961) and The Lloyd Bridges Show (1962–1963). In 1965, he had a supporting role in an episode of The Loner. In 1969, he was in an episode of Lassie.

Becoming a Star in the 1970s and 1980s

In 1971, Bridges played the main role in the TV film In Search of America. His first big movie role was in The Last Picture Show (1971). This role earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination. He then starred in the boxing film Fat City (1972). In 1973, he played Junior Jackson in The Last American Hero. He was nominated for another Oscar for his role in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974), where he acted with Clint Eastwood.

In 1976, he starred as Jack Prescott in King Kong. This movie was very successful, making over $90 million. It also won an Academy Award for its special effects. Later in the 1970s, he appeared in Somebody Killed Her Husband (1978) and The American Success Company (1979). In 1980, he was in the Western film Heaven's Gate.

Bridges in 2009

In 1982, Bridges starred in the science fiction film Tron. He played Kevin Flynn, a video game creator. Critic Roger Ebert called the film "brilliant." Also in 1982, he voiced Prince Lir in the animated film The Last Unicorn.

In 1984, he starred in the science fiction romance Starman. He played an alien and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. During this time, he also acted in Against All Odds (1984) and the thrillers Jagged Edge (1985) and The Morning After (1986). In 1988, he played car maker Preston Tucker in Tucker: The Man and His Dream. The next year, he acted in The Fabulous Baker Boys with his brother Beau Bridges.

Becoming an Established Actor in the 1990s and 2000s

Jeff Bridges in 2013

In 1990, he reunited with Cybill Shepard for Texasville, a sequel to The Last Picture Show. In 1991, he starred in The Fisher King with Robin Williams. He played a radio host who becomes friends with a homeless person. For this role, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. In 1992, he produced and starred in American Heart, winning an award for Best Male Lead.

In 1993, he starred in Fearless. Many critics consider this one of his best performances. In 1994, he was Lt. Jimmy Dove in the action film Blown Away. His father, Lloyd Bridges, also appeared in this film. On July 11, 1994, Bridges received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1995, he played James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok in the Western film Wild Bill.

Julianne Moore and Bridges at LebowskiFest in 2011

In 1997, he acted in White Squall and The Mirror Has Two Faces with Barbra Streisand. In 1998, he starred in his most famous role as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski in The Big Lebowski. He played a fictional president in The Contender (2000), earning his fourth Academy Award nomination. The next year, he was in K-Pax. He played businessman Charles S. Howard in the horse racing film Seabiscuit (2003). This film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. He also starred in the 2005 fantasy film Tideland.

Bridges hosted VH1's Top 100 Greatest Albums of Rock and Roll in 2001. He narrated documentaries like Lost in La Mancha (2002) and Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West (2002). He also voiced Big Z in the animated film Surf's Up (2007).

Recent Career and Awards

Bridges at an event for The Giver in 2014

In 2008, Bridges played Obadiah Stane in the Marvel movie Iron Man. He also appeared in a teaser for Tron: Legacy, returning as Kevin Flynn. In 2008, he was in the HBO film A Dog Year, earning an Emmy nomination. He then acted in the comedies How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008) and The Open Road (2009).

He received great praise for his role as a country singer in Crazy Heart (2009). For this, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Bridges is one of the youngest actors to be nominated for an Oscar (at 22) and one of the oldest to win (at 60).

In 2009, he acted in The Men Who Stare at Goats. In 2010, he returned as Kevin Flynn in Tron: Legacy. Bridges received his sixth Academy Award nomination for True Grit, where he played Rooster Cogburn. On December 18, 2010, Bridges hosted Saturday Night Live.

Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson, and Bridges promoting Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)

In 2013, he starred with Ryan Reynolds in R.I.P.D.. That same year, Bridges wrote The Dude and the Zen Master with Bernie Glassman. The book explores ideas from his role in The Big Lebowski and Zen Buddhism. In 2014, he produced and starred in The Giver and acted in Seventh Son. In 2015, he voiced The Aviator in The Little Prince. The next year, he narrated Dream Big: Engineering Our World (2015) and acted in Hell or High Water (2015). For this role, he received his seventh Oscar nomination.

In 2017, he was in The Only Living Boy in New York and Kingsman: The Golden Circle. In 2018, he acted in Bad Times at the El Royale. In 2019, he received the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award. Since 2022, he has starred in the TV series The Old Man, earning Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. In 2024, Bridges received the Chaplin Gala Award. It was also announced in 2024 that Bridges would return as Kevin Flynn in Tron: Ares. In June 2024, he was cast as God in the upcoming film Carnival: At the End of Days.

Interests and Hobbies

Music Passion

Bridges during a concert in 2016

Jeff Bridges loves both acting and music. He once said it was hard to choose between them. His mother encouraged him to learn piano when he was young. Before his first big acting role, he sold two songs to composer Quincy Jones. One of his songs was used in the 1970 film John and Mary. While filming Heaven's Gate in 1980, he often played guitar with his co-star, Kris Kristofferson. His character in Crazy Heart was partly based on Kristofferson.

In 1982, he sang two songs as Prince Lír in The Last Unicorn. He released his first album, Be Here Soon, on January 1, 2000. In 2005, he performed the song "Man in Me" at a Lebowski Fest event. On January 15, 2010, he sang "I Don't Know" from Crazy Heart on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. In February 2010, he joined many musicians to sing on the charity song We Are the World.

On October 24, 2010, Bridges played at Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit concert. In April 2011, he signed a record deal with Blue Note Records. He released his second album, Jeff Bridges, on August 16, 2011. In 2015, he sang a duet with Judy Collins on her album Strangers Again. The same year, he released an album called Sleeping Tapes. All money from this album goes to his charity, No Kid Hungry. Bridges plays many guitars, including a Gretsch Chet Atkins Country Gentlemen. In 2020, he worked with Breedlove Guitars to create his own signature guitar. In 2025, he sang on the song "Men in Bars" from Japanese Breakfast's album.

Photography as a Hobby

Bridges has enjoyed photography since high school. He started taking pictures on movie sets in 1984, during the filming of Starman. His favorite camera is a Widelux F8. He has shared many of his photos online and in a 2003 book called Pictures: Photographs by Jeff Bridges. In 2013, he received an award for his photos from the International Center of Photography. A second book, Jeff Bridges: Pictures Volume Two, was published in 2019.

Personal Life

Bridges at the premiere of True Grit at the 2011 Berlin Film Festival

Bridges and his siblings inherited their family home in Malibu. In January 2025, the house was unfortunately destroyed in the Palisades Fire.

Bridges married Susan Geston in 1977. They met while filming Rancho Deluxe (1975), where Susan was working as a waitress. They have three daughters, born in 1981, 1983, and 1985.

Health Journey

On October 19, 2020, Bridges shared that he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer. He went through chemotherapy treatment. On September 12, 2021, Bridges announced that his cancer was in remission. He also shared that he got COVID-19 while in treatment and fought it for almost five weeks. He described his long recovery from both illnesses.

Helping Others

In 1984, Bridges helped start the End Hunger Network. This group works to stop childhood hunger. He supported President Obama's plan to end childhood hunger by 2015. In November 2010, Bridges became a spokesperson for the No Kid Hungry campaign. This campaign aims to end childhood hunger in the United States. Bridges also supports groups that protect the environment, like the Amazon Conservation Team.

Filmography

Awards and Nominations

Bridges' star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Discography

See also

In Spanish: Jeff Bridges para niños

• List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees