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Jeff Bridges Biography

(1949–)

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1971 The Last Picture Show
1972 Fat City
1972 Bad Company

1973 The Last American Hero
1973 The Iceman Cometh
1974 Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
1975 Rancho Deluxe
1976 Stay Hungry
1978 Somebody Killed Her Husband
1979 The American Success Company
1980 Heaven's Gate
1981 Cutter's Way
1982 Kiss Me Goodbye
1984 Against All Odds
1984 Starman
1985 Jagged Edge
1986 The Morning After
1988 Tucker
1989 The Fabulous Baker Boys
1990 Texasville
1991 The Fisher King
1992 The Vanishing
1993 Fearless
1994 Blown Away
1995 Wild Bill
1996 White Squall
1996 The Mirror Has Two Faces
1998 The Big Lebowski
1998 Arlington Road
1999 The Muse
1999 Simpatico
2001 K-Pax
2003 Seabiscuit
2004 The Door in the Floor
2005 The Moguls
2005 Tideland
2006 Stick It
2008 Iron Man
2008 How to Lose Friends and Alienate People
2009 The Open Road
2009 Crazy Heart
2009 The Men Who Stare at Goats

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Actor. Born Jeffrey Leon Bridges on December 4, 1949, in Los Angeles, California. Bridges was born into a Hollywood family—his father was famed actor Lloyd Bridges, and their mother, Dorothy, was also an actress—which paved the way for both his and his brother Beau's early acting careers. Jeff made his first big-screen appearance in The Company She Keeps (1951), when he was less than a year old. His mother and brother also made uncredited appearances in the film. He then appeared in his father's television series Sea Hunt (1958) for several episodes, as well as The Lloyd Bridges Show.

Often a discipline problem at school, Jeff's parents sent him to a military academy his freshman year of high school in order to teach him discipline, and take his mind off of girls. Bridges hated every minute of military school, and returned to a public high school to finish out his education. Despite the attempt to make him focus on his studies, Bridges' academics tended to take a backseat to his creative efforts. At the age of 16, he wrote a song which was used in the 1969 film John and Mary. While still a teenager, he also sold two compositions to music producer Quincy Jones.

Upon graduation from University High School, Bridges followed in his brother Beau's footsteps and enlisted in the Coast Guard Reserves with the help of his father's Sea Hunt connections. He then headed to New York, where he studied acting at the famed Herbert Berghof Studio. He appeared in the film Halls of Anger in 1970, followed by a role in The Yin and Yang of Mr. Go that same year.

But the young actor's truly broke into show business in 1971, when he starred in Peter Bogdonavitch's critically acclaimed The Last Picture Show. His role as Duane Jackson, one of two best friends coming to age in a sleepy Texas town, earned Bridges an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. It also led to more serious roles in films such as Fat City (1972) and The Last American Hero (1973). But during this time in his career, Bridges wasn't focused on acclaim or stardom. He was more interested in his experimentation with drugs, spirituality, and his relationships with actress such as Cybil Shepard and Valerie Perrine.

It wasn't until he signed on to the 1973 drama The Iceman Cometh, that Bridges seriously considered making a life of acting. After Bridges turned the film down, he was shamed into doing the picture by friend and director Lamont Johnson. "So I said to myself, maybe I'll do a little experiment," Bridges later recalled. "I hear that if you're a pro you're supposed to do it even if you don't feel like it." Bridges signed on to the film, which rekindled his interest in acting.

Bridges went on to have an illustrious acting career, appearing in popular films such as Heaven's Gate (1980) and TRON (1982), and receiving Oscar nominations for Starman (1984), and Tucker (1988). Later films include The Fisher King (1991) starring Robin Williams, and The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996), featuring Barbra Streisand.