Quick Facts
Best Known For
James Cagney was an Academy Award-winning actor who was known for playing gangsters and short-fused tough guys.
Quiz
Think you know about Biography?
Answer questions and see how you rank against other players.
Play NowJames Cagney. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 03:54, Jun 18, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/james-cagney-9234550.
James Cagney. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/james-cagney-9234550 [Accessed 18 Jun 2013].
"James Cagney." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 18 2013, 03:54 http://www.biography.com/people/james-cagney-9234550.
"James Cagney," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/james-cagney-9234550 [accessed Jun 18, 2013].
"James Cagney," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/james-cagney-9234550 (accessed Jun 18, 2013).
James Cagney [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 18] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/james-cagney-9234550.
James Cagney, http://www.biography.com/people/james-cagney-9234550 (last visited Jun 18, 2013).
James Cagney. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/james-cagney-9234550. Accessed Jun 18, 2013.
Profile
James Cagney was born in Manhattan's Lower East Side on July 17, 1899. While working at a department store, the soon-to-be-legendary big screen tough guy landed his first stage role in drag as a chorus girl. Cagney signed to Warner Brothers and made a name for himself by playing gangsters in films like Angels with Dirty Faces and White Heat. Cagney was nearly as tough off-screen as on and he became one of the first actors to sue a studio over a contract and win. He died in 1986.
© 2013 A+E Networks. All rights reserved.
Profile Connections
Included In These Groups
-
Famous Irish-Americans 80 people in this group
-
Best Actor Oscar Winners
View groupExplore our collection of Best Actor Oscar winners, including Daniel Day-Lewis, Adrien Brody, Colin Firth, Forest Whitaker, Tom Hanks and Sean Penn. View full biographies, photos and videos, only at Biography.com.
Best Actor Oscar Winners 64 people in this group
-
Oscar-Winning Portrayals
View groupTruth is often more fascinating than fiction. Since the beginning of movies, actors have been portraying figures from history and bringing them to life on screen. Mastering the well-known mannerisms and characteristics of real world figures can be more challenging than portraying a fictional character. Enormous amounts of research and drastic physical transformations are not uncommon for actors wanting to properly inhabit their role on film. Whether playing a scheming Queen, a country singer, a temperamental boxer, or a pioneering writer, those performers who can accurately play the part often find Oscar gold as their reward. Here are the Academy Award-winning actors, and the larger-than-life people they portrayed.
Oscar-Winning Portrayals 70 people in this group
presented by Oscar-Winning Portrayals
profile name: James Cagney profile occupation:
Your Connections
Sign in with Facebook to see how you and your friends are connected to famous icons.

Prince William
Famous Astronauts
Kanye West
My Ghost Story
I Survived
Liberace
Annie Oakley
I Survived



