Steven Seagal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Steven Seagal
Seagal in 2024
Born	Steven Frederic Seagal (1952-04-10) April 10, 1952 (age 73) Lansing, Michigan, U.S.
Citizenship	American Serbian Russian
Alma mater	Fullerton College
Occupation	Actor writer producer martial artist musician
Years active	1982–present
Style	Aikido
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Spouse(s)	Miyako Fujitani ​ ​ (m. 1975; div. 1986)​ Adrienne La Russa ​ ​ (m. 1984; annulled 1984)​ Kelly LeBrock ​ ​ (m. 1987; div. 1996)​ Erdenetuya Batsukh ​ ​ (m. 2009)​
Children	7, including Ayako

Steven Frederic Seagal (born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, producer, writer, martial artist, and musician. He is a 7th-degree black belt in aikido, a Japanese martial art. Seagal started his adult life teaching martial arts in Japan. He was the first American to teach in an aikido training hall, called a dojo.

Later, he moved to Los Angeles and kept teaching aikido. In 1988, Seagal made his first movie, Above the Law. This film was special because it was one of the first American movies to show aikido in its fight scenes. He has appeared in more than 50 films.

By 1991, Seagal had starred in three successful movies. He became even more famous in Under Siege (1992), where he played Casey Ryback, a counter-terrorist expert. He played this role again in the sequel Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995). In 1994, he directed his first film, On Deadly Ground. Later in the 1990s, many of his films were released directly to video. He has also appeared in reality shows, like Steven Seagal: Lawman, where he worked as a reserve deputy sheriff.

Seagal is also a guitarist. He has released two music albums, Songs from the Crystal Cave and Mojo Priest. He has also played music for some of his movies. He has worked with famous musicians like Stevie Wonder. Seagal cares about the environment and animal rights. He supports the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. In 2004, he was honored in the Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame.

Seagal has been granted citizenship in both Russia and Serbia in 2016. In 2018, he was named Russia's special envoy to the U.S.

Early Life

Steven Seagal was born on April 10, 1952, in Lansing, Michigan. His mother, Patricia Anne Fisher, was a medical technician. His father, Samuel Seagal, was a mathematics teacher. His mother had Irish family, and his father was Jewish. His father's parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia.

Seagal once said that some of his family came from the Siberian city of Vladivostok. He also mentioned family from Belarus and Saint Petersburg. He claims that DNA tests showed he has Yakut and Buryat family history. When he was 5, Seagal and his parents moved to Fullerton, California. His mother told People magazine that he was a small child and had asthma before they moved. She said he became much healthier after the move.

Seagal went to Buena Park High School and Fullerton College from 1970 to 1971.

Martial Arts and Japan

Steven Seagal's first wife, Miyako Fujitani, said they met in California in 1974. He followed her to Japan in October of that year. They got married in December 1974. Miyako was a second-degree black belt in aikido. Her father was an aikido master in Osaka.

After they married, they had a son, Kentaro, and a daughter, Ayako. Seagal taught at Miyako's family's school. He earned his aikido black belt in 1978.

In the early 1980s, Seagal wanted to return to America and become a movie star. Miyako Fujitani said she saved money for years to help him go back home.

Seagal returned to Taos, New Mexico, with a student named Craig Dunn. They opened an aikido dojo there. After another time in Japan, Seagal came back to the United States in 1983. He opened another aikido dojo in West Hollywood. Seagal later left his student Haruo Matsuoka in charge of the dojo.

In the early 1980s, Seagal started working in the film industry. He was a fight coordinator for The Challenge (1982) and Never Say Never Again (1983). Later in his career, Seagal helped train Brazilian mixed martial artist Lyoto Machida. Machida said Seagal helped him improve a kick he used in a fight in 2011.

Career

1987–1993: Hollywood Action Star

In 1987, Seagal started working on his first film as an actor, Above the Law. The director was Andrew Davis. An agent named Michael Ovitz asked Seagal to make the film. Ovitz thought Seagal could be a movie star after taking aikido classes with him. Ovitz helped Seagal get a contract with Warner Bros..

Above the Law was a success, earning over $18 million in the U.S. A film critic, Roger Ebert, said it had a lot of plot and grew in new ways for action thrillers. After this success, Seagal starred in Hard to Kill, Marked for Death, and Out for Justice. All these movies were popular and made Seagal an action hero.

Seagal became very famous in 1992 with Under Siege. This movie brought him back with director Andrew Davis. Critics called it "Die Hard on a battleship." Many people consider Under Siege to be Seagal's best film.

On April 20, 1991, Seagal hosted Saturday Night Live. Some cast members and the show's producer, Lorne Michaels, later said Seagal was the "worst host ever." They mentioned he was not funny and treated the cast and writers poorly. Seagal has never been invited back to the show.

1994-2002: Career Changes

Seagal directed and starred in On Deadly Ground (1994). This film also featured actors like Michael Caine. The movie focused on environmental and spiritual ideas. Critics did not like On Deadly Ground very much, especially Seagal's long speech about the environment. However, Seagal believes it was a very important part of his career.

After this, Seagal made a sequel to Under Siege, called Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995). His co-star, Morris Chestnut, said Seagal changed many of his own scenes in the script.

In 1996, Seagal had a role in the film Executive Decision with Kurt Russell. Seagal's character appeared only in the first 45 minutes of the movie. The same year, he filmed a police drama, The Glimmer Man (1996). In another movie about the environment, Fire Down Below (1997), he played an agent fighting against people dumping toxic waste.

In 1998, Seagal made The Patriot. This was another environmental thriller. It was his first movie released directly to video in the United States. Seagal used his own money to produce this film.

Seagal returned to movie theaters with Exit Wounds in March 2001. This film had fewer martial arts scenes than his earlier movies. But it was a commercial success, earning almost $80 million worldwide. Many thought it was a "comeback" for Seagal. However, his next two movies were not as successful. Ticker went straight to DVD. Half Past Dead, starring Ja Rule, earned less than $20 million worldwide.

2003–Present: Direct-to-Video Films and Television

Most of the films Seagal has made since late 2001 have been released directly to video in North America. One exception was his role as a villain in Robert Rodriguez's Machete (2010). Seagal is often a producer or writer on these direct-to-video movies.

In 2009, the A&E Network started a reality TV show called Steven Seagal: Lawman. The show followed Seagal as a deputy in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Seagal said he wanted to show the good work being done by the Sheriff's Office after Hurricane Katrina. The first episode was very popular, with 3.6 million viewers.

Seagal speaking at the Astana International Action Film Festival in July 2011

In 2011, Seagal produced and starred in an American TV action series called True Justice. The show first aired in Spain and then in the UK. It was renewed for a second season.

In the 2010s, many of Seagal's direct-to-video films started to feature him in smaller roles. Even though he was often the top-billed actor, he sometimes had less screen time.

Influence and Artistry

At the peak of his career, Steven Seagal was one of the biggest action movie stars. He was one of the most successful martial arts actors of the 1980s and 1990s. He is known for making aikido popular in films. Seagal is seen as an important person in bringing East Asian martial arts to Western audiences.

Many of Seagal's films have special things that make them unique. His characters often have a past with groups like the CIA or Special Forces. For example, Casey Ryback in Under Siege was a former Navy SEAL. His characters are usually very strong and rarely get hurt. They easily defeat their opponents. Two exceptions are Executive Decision (1996), where his character dies early, and Machete (2010), where he plays a rare villain role.

Seagal's films often show parts of his own life. His music appears in some of his movies. He speaks Japanese in Into the Sun. His Buddhist beliefs are also shown in films like The Glimmer Man. His past as an aikido teacher is also part of several movies. Many of his films also have strong political messages, like the environmental themes in On Deadly Ground.

While his acting in Above the Law was praised, Seagal has often been criticized. Some critics and fans say he plays the same type of character in many movies. They also say he doesn't show a lot of different emotions. This has led to his acting style being joked about. In 2008, a writer named Vern wrote a book called Seagalogy. This book looked at Seagal's movies and found common themes. These themes include government corruption, environmentalism, and adopting foreign cultures. The book divides Seagal's career into different "eras" based on changes in his film style.

Other Ventures

Music

Seagal performing in 2007

Steven Seagal plays the guitar. He has a large collection of guitars, including some that belonged to famous blues musicians. In 2004, he released his first album, Songs from the Crystal Cave. This album has a mix of pop, world, country, and blues music. It includes songs with Tony Rebel and Stevie Wonder. Some songs from this album were used in his 2005 film Into the Sun.

Seagal's second album, Mojo Priest, was released in April 2006. He went on a concert tour for this album.

Law Enforcement Work

Seagal has served as a Reserve Deputy Chief in the Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, Sheriff's Office. In the late 1980s, he taught martial arts and marksmanship to the deputies. Then-sheriff Harry Lee asked Seagal to join the force. His rank in Louisiana was mostly honorary.

The reality TV series Steven Seagal: Lawman showed his work in the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. It started on A&E in December 2009. The show was very popular. Production for Season 3 moved to Maricopa County, Arizona. In October 2011, Seagal also became a deputy sheriff in Hudspeth County, Texas. This department patrols the Texas-Mexico border.

Business Ventures

In 1997, Seagal was going to be in a video game called Deadly Honor. However, the game was canceled. In 2005, Seagal Enterprises started selling an energy drink called "Steven Seagal's Lightning Bolt." This drink is no longer sold. Seagal has also sold an aftershave called "Scent of Action" and a line of knives. In 2013, Seagal joined a Russian firearms company called ORSIS. He helped promote the company and worked to make it easier to import Russian sporting firearms into the U.S.

Personal Life

Steven Seagal has a large collection of swords. He also used to have a custom gun made for him every month. Seagal owns homes in Los Angeles and Louisiana. He used to live in New York. Seagal is a Buddhist. In 1997, a Lama from a Buddhist monastery said that Seagal was a tulku. This means he was believed to be the reincarnation of an important 17th-century Buddhist teacher.

Seagal signing his Russian passport in November 2016

Seagal has citizenship in three countries: the United States, Serbia, and Russia. He was born in the United States. He became a Serbian citizen on January 11, 2016. This happened after he visited the country several times. He was asked to teach aikido to the Serbian Special Forces.

Seagal was granted Russian citizenship on November 3, 2016. A government spokesman said Seagal had asked for citizenship for a long time. Seagal and Russian President Vladimir Putin are known to be friends. Seagal has said he considers Putin "a brother." Putin gave Seagal the Russian award of Order of Friendship medal in 2023.

Seagal introduces his wife Erdenetuya Batsukh to Matthieu Ricard in January 2008

While in Japan, Seagal married his first wife, Miyako Fujitani. They had a son, Kentaro Seagal, and a daughter, Ayako Fujitani. Seagal later moved back to the United States. He met actress and model Kelly LeBrock. Seagal and LeBrock married in September 1987. They had two daughters, Annaliza and Arissa, and a son, Dominic. LeBrock filed for divorce in 1994.

Seagal is married to Erdenetuya Batsukh, who is from Mongolia. She is also known as "Elle." They have one son together, Kunzang. Elle trained as a dancer in Mongolia. She met Seagal in 2001 when she was his interpreter during his visit to Mongolia.

Seagal has seven children from four relationships. He also has grandchildren. Besides his own children, Seagal is the guardian of Yabshi Pan Rinzinwangmo. She is the only child of the 10th Panchen Lama of Tibet. When she studied in the United States, Seagal was her minder and bodyguard.

Political Views and Activism

Steven Seagal narrated a film project called Medicine Lake Video. This project aims to protect sacred tribal land near Seagal's ranch in Siskiyou County. In 2003, he wrote an open letter to the leaders of Thailand. He asked them to make a law to stop the torture of baby elephants. In 1999, Seagal received a PETA Humanitarian Award for his work with animals.

Seagal and Vladimir Putin attending a Russian martial arts championship in August 2012

Seagal and Putin meeting at the aquarium on Russkiy Island in September 2015

In a March 2014 interview, Seagal called Vladimir Putin "one of the great living world leaders." He supported Russia's actions in Crimea. In November 2016, Seagal was granted Russian citizenship by Putin. His views on Ukraine and his Russian citizenship led Ukraine to ban him from entering the country.

Seagal visited the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2015. He met with the country's president, Ilham Aliyev. Seagal has supported Azerbaijan's land claims in a dispute with Armenia.

Seagal spoke out against the protests during the United States national anthem by athletes. He said that while he believes in free speech, he doesn't think athletes should use sports events to share their political views.

Seagal with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on October 12, 2017

In October 2017, Seagal met with Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte. He was looking for film locations in Manila. In 2021, Seagal gave a katana (a Japanese sword) to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Seagal was visiting as a special envoy for Russia's Foreign Affairs Ministry. Maduro called Seagal "my brother." In May 2021, Seagal became an official member of a pro-Kremlin political party in Russia.

In March 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Seagal visited Moscow. He held his birthday party there, and many people connected to Vladimir Putin attended. In August 2022, he visited Olenivka in Donetsk Oblast. The leader of the Donetsk People's Republic said Seagal was filming a documentary about the conflict. On February 27, 2023, Vladimir Putin gave Seagal the Russian Order of Friendship medal. This was for his "major contribution to the development of international cultural and humanitarian cooperation."

Filmography

Films

Television

Stunts

Awards and Nominations

Discography

• Songs from the Crystal Cave (2004)
• Mojo Priest (2006)

See also

In Spanish: Steven Seagal para niños