Joaquin Phoenix facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Joaquin Phoenix
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Phoenix in 2024
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Joaquin Rafael Bottom
October 28, 1974 San Juan, Puerto Rico
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| Other names | Leaf Phoenix |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1982–present |
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Works
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Filmography |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2 |
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| Relatives |
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| Awards | Full list |
Joaquin Rafael Phoenix (born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. Many people consider him one of the best actors of his time. He is known for playing unique and interesting characters, especially in independent films. He has won many awards, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards.
Phoenix started acting in TV shows in the early 1980s with his brother River. His first big movie roles were in SpaceCamp (1986) and Parenthood (1989). Back then, he used the name Leaf Phoenix, which he chose himself. In the early 1990s, he went back to using his birth name. He earned praise for his roles in To Die For (1995) and Quills (2000). Phoenix became even more famous and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing Commodus in Gladiator (2000). He also had success in the movies Signs (2002) and The Village (2004). He won a Grammy Award and a Golden Globe Award for playing musician Johnny Cash in Walk the Line (2005). He was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for this role.
After a short break, Phoenix starred in The Master (2012). He won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor and received his third Academy Award nomination for this film. He was praised for his roles in Her (2013) and Inherent Vice (2014). He also won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for You Were Never Really Here (2017). In 2019, Phoenix won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as the Joker in the movie Joker. He played the Joker again in the 2024 sequel. Since then, he has appeared in independent films like C'mon C'mon (2021) and Beau Is Afraid (2023). He also played Napoleon in the historical drama Napoleon (2023).
Outside of acting, Joaquin Phoenix is a strong supporter of animal rights. He is a vegan and often helps charities. He has also produced documentaries about how eating meat affects the environment.
Contents
Early Life and Family Beginnings
Joaquin Phoenix was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His father, John Lee Bottom, started a gardening company. His mother, Arlyn "Heart" Bottom, worked as a secretary at NBC. Her connections helped her children get acting jobs. Joaquin is the third of five children. His older siblings are River (born 1970, sadly passed away in 1993) and Rain (born 1972). His younger sisters are Liberty (born 1976) and Summer (born 1978). All of them have been involved in acting. He also has an older half-sister named Jodean.
His father was from California and had English, German, and French family roots. His mother's parents were Ashkenazi Jews from Russia and Hungary who lived in New York City. Joaquin's parents met in California and got married less than a year later.
After their second child was born, his parents joined a religious group called Children of God. They traveled around the Caribbean and South America as missionaries. Joaquin's next two siblings were born during this time. In 1977, they became unhappy with the group and left. The family then settled in Florida, where their fifth child was born. Around this time, they legally changed their last name to Phoenix. They chose this name because of the mythical bird that rises from its own ashes, which symbolized a new start for them. When Joaquin was three, he and his older siblings saw fish being hurt. This experience led the whole family to become vegan.
Acting Career Highlights
Starting Out in the 1980s
In 1979, Joaquin's father had to stop working because of an old injury. The family moved to Los Angeles, where his mother met a child agent named Iris Burton. This agent helped the children get roles in commercials and small parts on TV. Joaquin's first acting job was with his brother River in the TV series Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in 1982. He loved acting right away. He said it was "instantaneous joy" and that he's been "chasing that feeling ever since."
In 1984, Phoenix acted with his brother River in an ABC Afterschool Special called Backwards: The Riddle of Dyslexia. They were both nominated for an award for their work. He also appeared in TV shows like Murder, She Wrote, The Fall Guy, and Hill Street Blues. The next year, he was in the TV movie Kids Don't Tell. To earn more money, the children sang songs and performed on the street. Joaquin also became a skilled breakdancer. He left high school after being asked to dissect a frog for biology class. The family later moved back to Florida.
Phoenix made his first movie appearance in SpaceCamp (1986). He played a young boy learning about the NASA space program. That same year, he guest-starred in Alfred Hitchcock Presents. His first main role was in Russkies (1987), where he played a boy who becomes friends with a Russian soldier during the Cold War.
In 1989, Phoenix co-starred in Ron Howard's movie Parenthood. He played Garry, a quiet teenage nephew. The movie was very successful, earning over $126 million worldwide. Critics praised the film and its actors. Phoenix was nominated for a Young Artist Award for his role. After this, Phoenix took a break from acting and traveled to Mexico with his father. When he returned, his brother River encouraged him to start acting again and to use his birth name, Joaquin.
Returning to the Screen in the 1990s
Phoenix returned to acting in 1995 in To Die For. He played Jimmy Emmett, a troubled young man. The film was a success with critics and at the box office. A critic from New York Times praised Phoenix's performance, calling him "an actor to watch for."
In 1997, Phoenix appeared in U Turn and Inventing the Abbotts. These films received mixed reviews and did not do very well. The next year, he starred in Clay Pigeons. In 1999, Phoenix co-starred in 8mm. This film was a box office success.
Becoming a Star in the 2000s
In 2000, Phoenix was in three movies. He played the Roman Emperor Commodus in Gladiator. This movie was very popular and earned over $457 million worldwide. Critics loved Phoenix's performance, calling it "a more nuanced star-making performance." He was nominated for his first Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and BAFTA Award for this role. Joaquin and his late brother River became the first brothers to be nominated for acting Academy Awards.
His next film was The Yards, directed by James Gray. This crime film received good reviews, and Phoenix's role as the villain stood out. His third film of 2000 was Quills, where he played a priest. Critics praised his performance and his chemistry with co-star Kate Winslet. For his roles that year, Phoenix won awards from the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the National Board of Review.
In 2001, Phoenix starred in Buffalo Soldiers. The film's release was delayed due to the September 11 attacks. When it was finally released in 2003, critics praised Phoenix's acting.
In 2002, Phoenix worked with director M. Night Shyamalan in the science fiction thriller Signs. He played Merrill Hess, a former baseball player. The movie was a big success, earning over $408 million worldwide. Critics praised Phoenix's performance, saying he found "the humor and the pain" in his character.
In 2003, Phoenix was in It's All About Love and voiced Kenai in the Disney animated film Brother Bear. He was very happy to be a voice in a Disney movie. Brother Bear earned over $250 million worldwide and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Phoenix reunited with Shyamalan in The Village (2004). He played farmer Lucius Hunt. The film was a financial success, earning over $256 million worldwide.
Later in 2004, he starred in Ladder 49 as a Baltimore firefighter. To prepare, Phoenix trained with the Baltimore Fire Department for two months. He admitted he was afraid of heights before the film but overcame his fear during training. The film earned over $102 million. Phoenix's final film of 2004 was Hotel Rwanda, where he played a cameraman. This film, based on the Rwandan genocide, was a critical success. Phoenix was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award with the rest of the cast.
In 2005, Phoenix co-starred with Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line, a movie about Johnny Cash. Phoenix sang all of Cash's songs in the film and on the soundtrack. The movie earned over $186 million worldwide. Critics highly praised Phoenix's performance. Roger Ebert, a famous film critic, was amazed by Phoenix's singing, thinking it was Johnny Cash himself. For this role, Phoenix won a Golden Globe Award and a Grammy Award for the soundtrack. He also received his second Academy Award nomination and a second BAFTA nomination. Earlier that year, he narrated Earthlings (2005), a documentary about animal abuse. He received a Humanitarian Award for his work on Earthlings.
Phoenix's first producing job was the film We Own the Night (2007). He also starred in it as a nightclub manager. The film received mixed reviews, but critics praised Phoenix's acting. Later that year, he played a father trying to find out who killed his son in Reservation Road. Phoenix also helped produce the TV show 4Real, which featured celebrities on global adventures.
In 2008, Phoenix starred in Two Lovers. He played a man torn between two women. The film and Phoenix's performance received positive reviews. During the promotion of Two Lovers, Phoenix began filming I'm Still Here (2010). This film pretended to follow Phoenix's life after he announced he was quitting acting to become a hip hop artist. After its release, Phoenix explained that the film was a "mockumentary" designed to explore celebrity and media.
Continued Success and Acclaim
In 2011, Phoenix was cast in Paul Thomas Anderson's film The Master. He played Freddie Quell, a World War II veteran struggling to adjust to life. Phoenix lost a lot of weight for the role. The film premiered in 2012, and he won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor. Critics highly praised Phoenix's performance, calling it "career-defining." He received his third Academy, Golden Globe, and BAFTA nominations for this role.
Phoenix worked with director James Gray again in The Immigrant (2013). He played a supporting role in this drama. The film and his performance received very positive reviews.
His next film in 2013 was Her, directed by Spike Jonze. He played Theodore Twombly, a man who falls in love with an intelligent computer operating system. The film received great reviews. A critic called Phoenix "one of the most emotionally honest actors in Hollywood." Her earned more than double its production cost, and Phoenix received his fourth Golden Globe nomination.
In 2014, Phoenix played Doc Sportello, a private investigator, in Inherent Vice. Critics praised Phoenix's performance and the film's direction. He earned his fifth Golden Globe nomination for this movie.
After narrating the animal rights documentary Unity (2015), Phoenix starred in Irrational Man with Emma Stone. He played a philosophy professor. The film received mixed reviews, but critics praised Phoenix's acting.
The thriller You Were Never Really Here (2017), directed by Lynne Ramsay, is considered one of Phoenix's most acclaimed films. He played Joe, a former FBI agent who helps find missing girls. To prepare, Phoenix gained a lot of weight and muscle. He also received advice from a former bodyguard who rescues children in difficult situations. The film premiered in 2017, and Phoenix won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. Critics described his performance as "riveting" and "haunting."
In 2018, Phoenix played Jesus in Mary Magdalene. His performance received mixed reviews. His next two films, Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot and The Sisters Brothers, were much better received. In the first, he played cartoonist John Callahan. Critics praised Phoenix's acting, saying he showed "new and tremendous range."
The Sisters Brothers (2018) starred John C. Reilly and Phoenix as two assassin brothers. Critics noted their "tremendous chemistry" in the film. Also in 2018, he narrated the documentary Dominion, which focuses on animal rights. He received an Award of Excellence for his narration.
In 2019, Phoenix starred as the DC Comics character Joker in Joker. The film tells an alternative story for the character. Phoenix lost 52 pounds for the role. The film received strong reviews for Phoenix's performance. Joker became a huge box office success, earning over $1 billion. It was Phoenix's highest-grossing film. Critics called his performance "extraordinary" and "dazzling." He won many awards for this role, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and a SAG Award.
Recent Work and Future Projects
In 2020, Phoenix was an executive producer for Gunda, a documentary about a pig, cows, and a chicken. That same year, The New York Times named him one of the 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century.
In 2021, he starred in C'mon C'mon as Johnny, a radio journalist who travels with his young nephew. Critics praised Phoenix's performance, calling it "tremendous" and "lovely, empathetic, humane."
Phoenix starred as Beau Wassermann in Beau Is Afraid (2023). He played a man who is very worried and goes on a strange journey to get home to his mother. Critics praised Phoenix's strong commitment to the role. He received his seventh Golden Globe nomination for this performance.
Phoenix played Napoleon Bonaparte in Napoleon, working again with director Ridley Scott. The film earned over $200 million but received mixed reviews, especially for its historical accuracy. In 2024, Phoenix played Joker again in Joker: Folie à Deux.
Phoenix will work with Lynne Ramsay again in a film called Polaris. He will also reunite with Ari Aster in a Western film called Eddington.
Other Activities
Music Videos
Phoenix has directed music videos for several bands, including Ringside and Silversun Pickups. He was also said to have produced a song for rapper Pusha T, but Phoenix later clarified that he only introduced a friend's son's music to Kanye West's team.
Animal Rights Advocacy
Joaquin Phoenix is known as one of the most active celebrities in the animal rights movement. He has been a vegan since he was three years old. He does not wear clothes made from animal skin and asks for synthetic materials for his costumes in films. Phoenix believes that animal rights are very important in his life. He says that "climate change is imminent if we do not adopt a plant-based lifestyle." He helps people understand the connection between animal rights, climate change, and health.
Animal rights groups have praised Phoenix. PETA named him "Person of the Year" in 2019. PETA's president, Ingrid Newkirk, said that Phoenix always uses his fame to help animals. He actively supports many animal rights organizations, including PETA.
"We go into the natural world, and we plunder it for its resources. We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow, and when she gives birth, we steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are unmistakable. Then we take her milk that's intended for her calf, and we put it in our coffee and our cereal. And I think we fear the idea of personal change because we think that we have to sacrifice something, to give something up, but human beings, at our best, are so inventive and creative and ingenious. And I think that when we use love and compassion as our guiding principles, we can create, develop and implement systems of change that are beneficial to all sentient beings and to the environment."
Phoenix has led many campaigns to promote veganism and end animal slaughter. In 2019, he and his partner Rooney Mara led a National Animal Rights Day demonstration. On January 10, 2020, Phoenix was arrested with actress Jane Fonda at a climate change protest in Washington, D.C. At the protest, Phoenix spoke about the link between farming animals and climate change.
Phoenix also speaks out about the suffering of fish, which he feels is often overlooked. He says fish are the "last thing besides insects that people don’t really consider." His views were shaped by seeing fish being hurt when he was a child. In 2013, he appeared in a PETA video to show how fish suffer.
During the 2019–2020 awards season, Phoenix helped change the menus at five major events to be meat-free. This started with the Golden Globe Awards. He thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for making their event plant-based, saying it sent "a powerful message." The Critics' Choice and SAG Awards soon followed. Phoenix contacted the presidents of these events, with support from other actors like Leonardo DiCaprio. He argued that meat farming causes climate change and that these events should use their platforms to address important issues. The Academy Awards later announced that all food served before the Oscars would be vegan.
A day after winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2020, Phoenix helped rescue a cow and her newborn calf from a slaughterhouse in Los Angeles. They were taken to Farm Sanctuary, where they will live out their lives. The same month, he starred in Guardians of Life, a short film by the environmental group Mobilize Earth.
Two animal species have been named after him. In 2011, a trilobite species was named Gladiatoria phoenix after his role in Gladiator. In 2020, a spider species from Iran was named Loureedia phoenixi (also called the Joker spider) because its colors match the Joker character from his 2019 film Joker.
Other Activism
In 2020, Phoenix worked with JusticeLA to create a public service announcement about the health of people in jails during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In October 2023, Phoenix signed an open letter from artists to President Joe Biden, asking for a ceasefire during the Gaza war. The letter stated, "We believe all life is sacred, no matter faith or ethnicity and we condemn the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians." In May 2025, Phoenix was one of many Hollywood figures to sign a letter criticizing the film industry for its "silence" on the situation in Gaza.
Personal Life
Interests and Beliefs
After becoming a successful actor in the mid-1990s, Phoenix moved back to Los Angeles. He generally prefers a quiet life and does not often give interviews or talk about his private life. In 2018, he said he doesn't follow any organized religion. He believes in the idea of forgiveness.
In 2005, Phoenix took a break to focus on his well-being. In 2006, he was in a car accident. While he was confused, German filmmaker Werner Herzog helped him out of the car. Phoenix later thanked Herzog.
In 2012, Phoenix made some comments about the Academy Awards. He later apologized, saying he understood that the awards provide an important platform for filmmakers. He explained that he feels uncomfortable receiving awards because filmmaking is a team effort.
As a longtime vegan, Phoenix finds animal agriculture "absurd and barbaric." He explained his veganism by saying, "I don't want to cause pain to another living empathetic creature." He also noted the devastating effect animal agriculture has on the environment.
Phoenix is on the board of directors for The Lunchbox Fund. This organization provides daily meals to students in schools in Soweto, South Africa.
Relationships and Family
From 1995 to 1998, Phoenix dated his co-star Liv Tyler. They remain good friends. He was also in a relationship with model Topaz Page-Green from 2001 to 2005, and with artist Allie Teilz from 2013 to 2015.
In 2012, Phoenix met his Her co-star Rooney Mara. They became friends and started a romantic relationship four years later while making Mary Magdalene. They got engaged in 2019. In August 2020, they had a son. In June 2024, they welcomed their daughter named Sparrow. They live in the Hollywood Hills. In September 2024, Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara formalized their marriage.
Phoenix describes his family life as simple. He enjoys meditating, watching documentaries, reading scripts, and taking karate classes. He has a black belt in karate.
Acting Achievements and Awards
Joaquin Phoenix has been recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for these performances:
- 73rd Academy Awards (2001): Nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Commodus in Gladiator.
- 78th Academy Awards (2006): Nominated for Best Actor for his role as John R. "Johnny" Cash in Walk the Line.
- 85th Academy Awards (2013): Nominated for Best Actor for his role as Freddie Quell in The Master.
- 92nd Academy Awards (2020): Won Best Actor for his role as Arthur Fleck / Joker in Joker.
Phoenix has won two Golden Globe Awards: Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Walk the Line and Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for Joker. He also won a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role for Joker. Phoenix received a Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media for the Walk The Line soundtrack. He also won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for The Master and the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for You Were Never Really Here.
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See also
In Spanish: Joaquin Phoenix para niños
