Jeff Bridges

Jeffrey Leon Bridges was born on December 4, 1949 in Los Angeles, California, the son of well-known film and TV star 'Lloyd Bridges' (qv) and his long-time wife 'Dorothy Dean Bridges' (qv) (née Simpson). He grew up amid the happening Hollywood scene with big brother 'Beau Bridges' (qv). Both boys popped up, without billing, alongside their mother in the film _The Company She Keeps (1951)_ (qv), and appeared on occasion with their famous dad on his popular underwater TV series _Sea Hunt (1958)_ (qv) while growing up. At age 14, Jeff toured with his father in a stage production of "Anniversary Waltz". The "troublesome teen" years proved just that for Jeff and his parents were compelled at one point to intervene when problems with drugs and marijuana got out of hand.He recovered and began shaping his nascent young adult career appearing on TV as a younger version of his father in the acclaimed TV- movie _Silent Night, Lonely Night (1969)_ (qv), and in the strange 'Burgess Meredith' (qv) film _The Yin and the Yang of Mr. Go (1970)_ (qv). Following fine notices for his portrayal of a white student caught up in the racially-themed _Halls of Anger (1970)_ (qv), his career-maker arrived just a year later when he earned a coming-of-age role in the critically-acclaimed ensemble film _The Last Picture Show (1971)_ (qv). The 'Peter Bogdanovich' (qv)- directed film made stars out off its young leads (Bridges, 'Timothy Bottoms' (qv), 'Cybill Shepherd' (qv)) and Oscar winners out of its older cast ('Ben Johnson' (qv), 'Cloris Leachman' (qv)). The part of Duane Jackson, for which Jeff received his first Oscar-nomination (for "best supporting actor"), set the tone for the types of roles Jeff would acquaint himself with his fans -- rambling, reckless, rascally and usually unpredictable).Owning a casual carefree handsomeness and armed with a perpetual grin and sly charm, he started immediately on an intriguing 70s sojourn into offbeat filming. Chief among them were his boxer on his way up opposite a declining 'Stacy Keach' (qv) in _Fat City (1972)_ (qv); his Civil War-era conman in the western _Bad Company (1972)_ (qv); his redneck stock car racer in _The Last American Hero (1973)_ (qv); his young student anarchist opposite a stellar veteran cast in Eugene O'Neill's _The Iceman Cometh (1973)_ (qv); his bank-robbing (also Oscar-nominated) sidekick to 'Clint Eastwood' (qv) in _Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)_ (qv); his aimless cattle rustler in _Rancho Deluxe (1975)_ (qv); his low-level western writer who wants to be a real-life cowboy in _Hearts of the West (1975)_ (qv); and the brother of an assassinated President who pursues leads to the crime in _Winter Kills (1979)_ (qv). All are simply marvelous characters that should have propelled him to the very top rungs of stardom...but strangely didn't.Perhaps it was his trademark ease and naturalistic approach that made him somewhat under appreciated at that time when Hollywood was run by a 'Dustin Hoffman' (qv), 'Robert De Niro' (qv) and 'Al Pacino' (qv)-like intensity. Neverthless, Jeff continued to be a scene-stealing favorite into the next decade, notably as the video game programmer in the 1982 science-fiction cult classic _TRON (1982)_ (qv), and the struggling musician brother vying with brother 'Beau Bridges' (qv) over the attentions of sexy singer 'Michelle Pfeiffer' (qv) in _The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)_ (qv). Jeff became a third-time Oscar nominee with his highly intriguing (and strangely sexy) portrayal of a blank-faced alien in _Starman (1984)_ (qv), and earned even higher regard as the ever-optimistic inventor Preston Tucker in _Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988)_ (qv).Since then Jeff has continued to pour on the Bridges magic on film. Few enjoy such an enduring popularity while maintaining equal respect with the critics. _The Fisher King (1991)_ (qv), _American Heart (1992)_ (qv), _Fearless (1993)_ (qv), _The Big Lebowski (1998)_ (qv) (now a cult phenomenon) and _The Contender (2000)_ (qv) (which gave him a fourth Oscar nomination) are prime examples. More recently he seized the moment as a bald-pated villain as 'Robert Downey Jr.' (qv)'s nemesis in _Iron Man (2008)_ (qv) and then, at age 60, he capped his rewarding career by winning the elusive Oscar, plus the Golden Globe and Screen Actor Guild awards (among many others), for his down-and-out country singer Bad Blake in _Crazy Heart (2009)_ (qv). Bridges next starred in _TRON: Legacy (2010)_ (qv), reprising one of his more famous roles, and received another Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his role in the Western remake _True Grit (2010)_ (qv). In 2014, he co-produced and starred in an adaptation of the 'Lois Lowry' (qv) science fiction drama _The Giver (2014)_ (qv).Jeff has been married since 1977 to non-professional Susan Geston (they met on the set of _Rancho Deluxe (1975)_ (qv)). The couple have three daughters, Isabelle (born 1981), Jessica (born 1983), and Hayley (born 1985). He hobbies as a photographer on and off his film sets, and has been known to play around as a cartoonist and pop musician. His ancestry is English, and smaller amounts of Scots-Irish (Northern Irish), Irish, Swiss-German, and German.::Gary Brumburgh / [email protected]