American actor, producer, screenwriter and director, George Clooney has balanced his movie career with his social and political activities.
George Timothy Clooney was born on 6th May 1961 in Lexington, Kentucky. His father, Nick Clooney, was a journalist, a game show host and a host on American Movie Classics, and later a politician. His mother, Nina Bruce, was a former pageant queen. Clooney studied at the Blessed Sacrament School, St Michael’s School in Columbus, the Western Row School, and at the St Susanna School in Mason. He went to Northern Kentucky University from 1979 to 1981 and also to the University of Cincinnati, but he never graduated.
Recovering miraculously from Bell ’s palsy, riding on a bicycle to reach auditions, living in his friend’s closet earlier in his career – it was all good preparation for his first major role in the medical comedy-drama E/R in 1984. He truly achieved stardom when he played Dr Doug Ross on the NBC hit ER from 1994 to1999. Clooney began to appear in movies while he was still starring in ER. His Hollywood debut From Dusk till Dawn (1996) was directed by Robert Rodriguez. Following that was a string of movies including One Fine Day (1996), The Peacemaker (1997), Batman and Robin (1997) and Out of Sight (1998). After Clooney left ER in 1999, his film career reached the zenith with major successes like The Perfect Storm (2000), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), Three Kings (1999) and Oceans Eleven (2001). He also starred in its sequels Oceans Twelve (2004) and Oceans Thirteen (2007).
Clooney has also moved into production, successfully partnered with Deborah Leoni in the production company Mirador Entertainment and also founded the SmokeHouse production company with Steven Soderbergh. Confesssions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) marked Clooney’s directorial debut. He has starred in his productions as well including Good Night, Good Luck (2005).
People Magazine has conferred the title of the Sexiest Man Alive to Clooney twice, in 1997 and 2006 and he is a regular on their list of Top Sexiest Men and Top 50 bachelors. In 1996, he was chosen by USA magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World and in 1997 as the Best Dressed Male Television Star.
For his films, Clooney has received both popularity and critical acclaim. He has won one Academy Award and two Golden Globes: an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for Syriana (2005) and Golden Globes for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for Syriana (2005) and for Best Comedy Actor in O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000). He received the first Spirit of Independence Award of the Los Angeles Film Festival. He is also a recipient of the American Cinematheque Award.
He was married to Talia Balsam from 1989 to 1993. Following his divorce, he has been spotted with a number of glamorous stars including Reese Witherspoon. Clooney is a political liberal and his involvement in projects other than films has also won him wide acclaim. He actively assisted in rebuilding hospitals in Louisiana when Hurricane Katrina caused huge devastation. He placed a personal plea in China and Egypt, urging the countries to halt violence in Darfur and he has addressed the United Nations Security Council in this regard too.
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