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Quick Facts
- NAME: Sean Penn
- OCCUPATION: Film Actor, Director, Producer
- BIRTH DATE: August 17, 1960 (Age: 52)
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Burbank, California
- ZODIAC SIGN: Leo
Best Known For
Academy Award-winning actor Sean Penn starred in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, married Madonna, and directed Jack Nicholson in two films.
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Sean Penn - Full Episode (45:27)
Sean Penn - Full Episode
Sean Penn's performance in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" made him a Hollywood star and his performances in "Mystic River" and "Milk" made him an Oscar winner.
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Play NowSean Penn. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 12:33, May 19, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/sean-penn-9542280.
Sean Penn. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/sean-penn-9542280 [Accessed 19 May 2013].
"Sean Penn." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 19 2013, 12:33 http://www.biography.com/people/sean-penn-9542280.
"Sean Penn," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/sean-penn-9542280 [accessed May 19, 2013].
"Sean Penn," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/sean-penn-9542280 (accessed May 19, 2013).
Sean Penn [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 19] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/sean-penn-9542280.
Sean Penn, http://www.biography.com/people/sean-penn-9542280 (last visited May 19, 2013).
Sean Penn. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/sean-penn-9542280. Accessed May 19, 2013.
Synopsis
Born in California on August 17, 1960, Sean Penn began his acting career on Broadway before making his film debut in 1981's Taps. His breakout role came in 1982, when he played Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. He quickly turned to acting in and directing, starring in Dead Man Walking (1995) and She's So Lovely (1997), and writing,
producing and directing The Crossing Guard (1995) among other projects. Penn's more recent acting credits include Up in the Villa, The Weight of Water, All the King's Men, I Am Sam, Milk and Tree of Life; and directing credits include The Pledge and Into the Wild. He has won several honors as an actor and filmmakers, including two Academy Awards for best actor.
Young Hollywood
Sean Justin Penn was born on August 17, 1960, in Burbank, California. His father, Leo Penn, was an actor and director. His mother, Eileen Ryan, was an actress. Sean grew up in Los Angeles, and attended Santa Monica High School along with fellow students and future actors Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen and Rob Lowe.
An early interest in filmmaking, specifically directing, led to Penn's passion for acting. He moved to New York City at the age of 19 to pursue a career as an actor. He soon landed a part in a Broadway play, Heartland. In 1981, he made his film debut alongside budding star Tom Cruise and Academy Award winner Timothy Hutton in the military school drama Taps.
Penn's breakthrough role came a year later, when he played the perpetually stoned surfer Jeff Spicoli in the high school comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). He garnered acclaim for his first starring role in 1983's Bad Boys, and for the drama The Falcon and the Snowman (1985).
Bad Boy Image
In 1985, Penn gained a whole new measure of fame when he married pop icon Madonna. Their tumultuous four-year marriage produced one dismal movie, 1986's Shanghai Surprise, and a barrage of tabloid headlines. Penn's "bad boy" image only increased with his continued hostility toward the aggressive paparazzi—he served 34 days in prison in 1987 for punching an extra who tried to take his picture. Penn and Madonna divorced in 1989.
Directing and Acting
In 1991, two years after earning rave reviews for his performance in Casualties of War (1989), Penn directed his first film. The feature The Indian Runner opened to a limited release in theaters, and made a meager $34,047 at the box office. Critics gave the film mild praise.
Though he previously claimed he quit acting, Penn returned to the front of the camera in 1993, playing a coke-addled criminal lawyer in De Palma's Carlito's Way, co-starring Al Pacino. His performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actor.
In 1995, he starred as a death row inmate searching for salvation in the film Dead Man Walking, based on the true story by Helen Prejean. The film earned Penn Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations, as well as an Independent Spirit Award.
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Best Actor Oscar Winners
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