Michael Douglas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Michael Douglas
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Douglas at the 2016 César Awards
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Michael Kirk Douglas
September 25, 1944 |
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| Alma mater | University of California, Santa Barbara (B.A., 1968) |
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| Years active | 1966–present |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Partner(s) | Brenda Vaccaro (1971–1976) |
| Children | 3, including Cameron Douglas |
| Parent(s) | Kirk Douglas Diana Dill |
| Relatives | Joel Douglas (brother) Peter Douglas (half-brother) Eric Douglas (half-brother) Anne Buydens (stepmother) |
Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has won many awards, including two Academy Awards (also known as Oscars), five Golden Globe Awards, and an Primetime Emmy Award. He also received special honors like the Cecil B. DeMille Award and the AFI Life Achievement Award.
Michael is the older son of famous actors Kirk Douglas and Diana Dill. He studied drama at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He started his career in films, on stage, and on television. He became well-known for his role in the TV show The Streets of San Francisco. In 1975, he produced the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. This film was very popular and won the Academy Award for Best Picture, which was Michael's first Oscar as a producer.
Douglas continued to produce films like The China Syndrome (1979) and Romancing the Stone (1984). He won a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for Romancing the Stone. He also starred in many famous movies. These include Wall Street (1987), for which he won an Oscar for Best Actor. Other notable films are Fatal Attraction (1987), Basic Instinct (1992), and Traffic (2000).
More recently, he won an Emmy Award in 2013 for playing Liberace in the TV film Behind the Candelabra. He also starred in the Netflix series The Kominsky Method (2018–2021), winning another Golden Globe. Many know him as Hank Pym in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, starting with Ant-Man (2015).
Michael Douglas is also known for his work helping others and his political activism. He supports groups that work for peace and against nuclear threats. In 1998, he was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace. He has been married to actress Catherine Zeta-Jones since 2000.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Michael Douglas was born on September 25, 1944, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. His parents were actors Kirk Douglas and Diana Dill. They met while studying acting.
His father, Kirk, was Jewish. His paternal grandparents came from a place called Chavusy, which is now in Belarus. His mother, Diana, was from Devonshire Parish, Bermuda. Her family had roots from many European countries. Michael's uncle was a politician, and his maternal grandfather was a lawyer and served in the Bermuda Parliament.
Michael has a younger brother, Joel Douglas (born 1947). He also has two half-brothers, Peter Douglas and Eric Douglas, from his father's second marriage.
Douglas went to several schools, including The Allen-Stevenson School in New York City. He earned his college degree in dramatic art from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1968. He also studied acting in New York City.
Career Highlights
Early Roles and First Big Success
Michael Douglas began his acting career in the late 1960s. His first TV role was in a special called The Experiment in 1969. He also appeared in early films like Hail, Hero!. For this film, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as a promising new male actor.
His first major role was in the TV series The Streets of San Francisco from 1972 to 1976. He starred alongside Karl Malden, who became a close friend and mentor to him.
In 1971, Michael's father, Kirk Douglas, gave him the rights to the book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Michael decided to produce a film based on the book. His father wanted to star in it, but Michael felt he was too old for the main role. Instead, Jack Nicholson was cast and won an Oscar for his performance. Michael Douglas won an Academy Award for Best Picture for producing the film.
After leaving The Streets of San Francisco in 1976, Douglas starred in the medical thriller Coma (1978). In 1979, he produced and starred in The China Syndrome. This dramatic film was about a nuclear power plant accident. It was released just 12 days before a real nuclear accident happened at Three Mile Island.
Becoming a Hollywood Star
Douglas became even more famous when he produced and starred in the 1984 romantic adventure comedy Romancing the Stone. This movie showed he could be a strong leading man. It also starred Danny DeVito, who was a friend of Douglas. A year later, they made a sequel called The Jewel of the Nile, which Douglas also produced.
In 1987, Douglas starred in the thriller Fatal Attraction with Glenn Close. In the same year, he played the powerful businessman Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone's Wall Street. For this role, he won an Academy Award for Best Actor. He played Gordon Gekko again in the sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps in 2010.
Douglas starred in the 1989 film The War of the Roses with Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito. He also appeared in Ridley Scott's police drama Black Rain.
In 1992, Douglas had another big hit with Basic Instinct, co-starring Sharon Stone. Later in the 1990s, he starred in popular films like Falling Down, The American President, and The Game. In 1998, he received an award for his artistic contributions to world cinema at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
In 2000, Douglas starred in the acclaimed film Traffic with Benicio del Toro and his future wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones. That same year, he was praised for his role in Wonder Boys, playing a professor with writer's block.
Continued Success and Recent Work
Douglas continued to act in films like Don't Say a Word (2001). In 2003, he starred in It Runs in the Family, which included his parents, Kirk and Diana, and his son, Cameron. This film was a special project for the family.
In 2004, Douglas received the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes. He and his father, Kirk, are the only father-son pair to both receive this honor. He also appeared in an episode of the TV show Will & Grace, earning an Emmy nomination.
In 2013, Douglas worked with director Steven Soderbergh again on the film Behind the Candelabra. He played the famous pianist Liberace, with Matt Damon as his partner. Douglas received great reviews for his performance and won an Emmy, SAG, and Golden Globe Award. That same year, he starred in the comedy Last Vegas with Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Kline.
He joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Hank Pym in Ant-Man (2015), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019). In 2018, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
From 2018 to 2021, he starred in The Kominsky Method as an aging acting coach, winning another Golden Globe. In 2019, he began voicing Guy-I-Am in the Netflix animated series Green Eggs and Ham (TV series). In 2023, he returned as Hank Pym in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. He also received special lifetime achievement awards at the Cannes Film Festival and the International Film Festival of India. In 2024, he starred in the Apple TV+ series Franklin, playing Benjamin Franklin.
Personal Life
Family and Relationships
In March 1977, Michael Douglas married Diandra Luker. They had one son, Cameron, born in 1978. They divorced in 1995.
In March 1999, Douglas started dating Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones. They married on November 18, 2000. They have two children: a son named Dylan Michael (born 2000) and a daughter named Carys Zeta (born 2003).
Health
In 1980, Douglas had a serious skiing accident that kept him from acting for three years.
In August 2010, it was announced that Douglas was diagnosed with a form of cancer. He underwent treatment and announced in January 2011 that the tumor was gone. He has since spoken about the importance of health awareness.
Faith and Charity Work
Michael Douglas was born to a Jewish father and an Anglican mother. He was not raised with a specific religion, but in 2015, he said he identifies as a Reform Jew. His son, Dylan, had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony, and the family visited Jerusalem.
Douglas received the 2015 Genesis Prize, a $1 million award for Jewish achievement. He gave the prize money to groups that promote inclusion and diversity.
Michael Douglas is involved in many charity activities. He supports healthcare, nuclear disarmament, and human rights. Since 1998, he has been a United Nations Messenger of Peace, focusing on disarmament. He has helped raise money for hospitals and foundations that support people in the entertainment industry. He also works to raise awareness about the link between human papillomavirus (HPV) and certain cancers.
Activism
Political Activities
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Douglas is a member of the Democratic Party. He has donated money to the campaigns of several politicians, including Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a group that discusses foreign policy. In 2019, Douglas appeared in a short film about improving American democracy.
Disarmament and Gun Control
Douglas has been a strong supporter of gun control since 1980. He supports organizations that promote gun safety.
He is also a big advocate for nuclear disarmament, which means reducing and getting rid of nuclear weapons. In 1998, the United Nations appointed him as a Messenger of Peace. He uses his platform to talk about peace and disarmament.
In 2003, Douglas hosted a film about child soldiers and how war affects children in countries like Sierra Leone. He interviewed children who were forced to fight. He said, "I'm in an enviable position... When I talk about movies I can talk about messages of peace, and infuse them into the entertainment pages."
In 2006, he spoke at a United Nations conference about the illegal trade of weapons. He said that this issue affects everyone and fuels conflict and violence. In 2009, he joined a project called Soldiers of Peace, a movie against all wars.
In 2012, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released a public service announcement video of Douglas. In the video, he encouraged people to report financial crimes. In 2023, Douglas was an executive producer and narrator for a documentary called America's Burning.
Philanthropy
Michael Douglas believes in giving back to the community. He has supported over 70 organizations, including the hospital where he was treated for cancer.
He is a supporter and board member of the Perelman Performing Arts Center in New York City. He also supports the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Connecticut, where he worked during college.
Douglas supports PEN America, an organization that promotes free expression. In 1999, he helped fund the Michael Douglas Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Center at UC San Francisco.
He is a supporter of the Clinton Global Initiative, which is part of the Clinton Foundation. Douglas has also hosted a celebrity golf tournament for 12 years, raising over $10 million for the Motion Picture & Television Fund.
At UC Santa Barbara, he supports the Center for Film, Television, and New Media. He also created and funds a program that brings visiting artists to the Department of Theater and Dance.
He serves on the Board of Trustees of The Douglas Foundation. This foundation, started by his father and stepmother, has given over $118 million to groups that help provide fair access to education, healthcare, and the arts.
Images for kids
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Douglas at the 2016 César Awards
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Douglas in 1969 with Tisha Sterling in The Experiment
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Douglas in The Streets of San Francisco around 1975
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Douglas in June 2004
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Douglas at a Vanity Fair party with his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, in 2012
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Douglas's hand and footprints at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles
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Douglas with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on June 2, 2024
See also
In Spanish: Michael Douglas para niños
- List of actors with Academy Award nominations
- List of actors with Hollywood Walk of Fame motion picture stars
