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John Travolta Biography

(1954–)

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Films
1975 The Devil's Rain
1976 Carrie

1977 Saturday Night Fever
1978 Grease
1978 Moment By Moment
1980 Urban Cowboy
1981 Blow Out
1983 Staying Alive
1984 Two of a Kind
1985 Perfect
1989 Look Who's Talking
1990 Look Who's Talking Too
1991 Shout
1991 Eyes of an Angel
1993 Look Who's Talking Now
1994 Pulp Fiction
1995 Get Shorty
1995 White Man's Burden
1995 Broken Arrow
1996 Phenomenon
1997 Michael
1997 Face/Off
1998 Mad City
1998 Primary Colors
1998 A Civil Action
1998 The Thin Red Line
1999 The General's Daughter
2000 Battlefield Earth
2001 Swordfish
2003 Basic
2004 The Punisher
2004 A Love Song for Bobby Long
2004 Ladder 49
2005 Be Cool
2006 Lonely Hearts
2007 Hairspray
Theatre
1972 Rain
1972–3 Grease
1973–4 Over Here!
Television
1975–9 Welcome Back, Kotter
1976 The Boy In The Plastic Bubble
1991 Chains of Gold
1992 Boris and Natasha

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Actor. Born on February 18, 1954, in Englewood, New Jersey. The youngest of six children born into a family of entertainers, John Travolta dropped out of high school by age 16 to pursue a career in acting. He made his debut in an off-Broadway production of Rain (1972), then joined the Broadway cast of Grease, as well as the hit musical Over Here! starring The Andrews Sisters.

In 1975, Travolta shot to stardom for his role as Vinnie Barbarino in the hit TV series Welcome Back Kotter. The following year, he won the lead in the critically acclaimed TV movie, The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. International fame came with two successive box-office hits, Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Grease (1978). He earned an Oscar nod for his role in the former, becoming an icon for disco nightlife and ‘70s culture.

At the top of his game, it seemed John Travolta could do no wrong in the late 1970s. What he came up with were a series of hits (Urban Cowboy) and misses (Moment by Moment, Staying Alive, Two of a Kind). By the end of the 1980s, despite a brief comeback with the Look Who’s Talking series, Travolta’s poor career choices, missed opportunities and horrendous films landed him in the has-been actor category.

Then, in 1994, Travolta made a career comeback when he starred in Quentin Tarantino’s crime smash Pulp Fiction. He earned his second Academy Award nomination and went on to win a Golden Globe for his performance in the critically acclaimed film Get Shorty. Other notable films include Broken Arrow, Phenomenon, Primary Colors, The General’s Daughter, and Ladder 49.

After a long string of dramatic roles, Travolta returned to his musical roots with the film adaptation of the Broadway smash Hairspray (which in itself was based on the 1988 film by John Waters) in 2007. The film tells the story of a plump young girl who wants to be a performer on a local dance show. Travolta played the girl's mother, Edna Turnblad. With the help of wigs, make-up, costumes, and a fat suit Travolta convincingly transformed himself into a large woman to play the role. He earned a Golden Globe nomination for his performance.

Most recently Travolta voiced the lead role in the Disney film Bolt (2008). In the movie, he plays a lost dog who believes he is a super hero. He also performed the duet "I Thought I Lost You" with co-star Miley Cyrus for the ending credits of the film. In 2009 he will appear in Old Dogs, co-starring Robin Williams and Bernie Mac.

Travolta married actress Kelly Preston in 1991. The couple had two children: son Jett, born on April 13, 1992, and daughter Ella Bleu, born in 2000. Jett died on January 2, 2009, during a family vacation at their home in the Bahamas. A coroner's report determined the cause of death to be a seizure.