Brad Pitt was born in Oklahoma and raised in Springfield, Missouri. His mother's name is Jane Etta Hillhouse. His father, William (Bill) Pitt, worked in management at a trucking firm in Springfield. He has a younger brother, Douglas (Doug) Pitt and a younger sister Julie Neal Pitt. At Kickapoo High School, Pitt was involved in sports, debating, student government and school musicals. Pitt attended the University of Missouri, where he majored in journalism with a focus on advertising. He occasionally acted in fraternity shows. He left college two credits short of graduating to move to California. Before he became successful at acting, Pitt supported himself by driving strippers in limos, moving refrigerators and dressing as a giant chicken while working for "el Pollo Loco."
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005): $20,000,000
Troy (2004): $17,500,000
Ocean's Eleven (2001): $30,000,000 ($10m salary + backend participations)
Spy Game (2001): $17,500,000
The Mexican (2001): $10,000,000
Fight Club (1999): $17,500,000
Meet Joe Black (1998): $17,500,000
Seven Years in Tibet (1997): $10,000,000
The Devil's Own (1997): $10,000,000
Sleepers (1996): $10,000,000
Se7en (1995): $4,000,000
Kalifornia (1993): $500,000
Thelma & Louise (1991): $6,000
Cutting Class (1989): $12,000
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#23). [1995] Turned down a role as an astronaut in Apollo 13 to accept his role in Se7en. Posed for a campus calendar in college. A girl went to Pitt's Hollywood-area home shortly after midnight Jan. 7, 1999 and crawled in through an open window, dressed herself in his clothes and stayed for 10 hours before the alarm went off. Athena Rolando, 19, was ordered not to contact the actor and to stay 100 yards away from him for three years. [1999] Ranked #32 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997] Mutally agrees to split with Gwyneth Paltrow. [June 1997] Banned from entering China because of his role in Seven Years in Tibet. [1997] Chosen by "People" magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. [1997] Engaged to actress Gwyneth Paltrow. [20 December 1996] Donated $100,000 to the Discovery Center - a children's learning museum in his hometown of Springfield, MO. [June 1996] Chosen by People (USA) magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. [1996] His first starring role in a feature film was in _Dark Side of the Sun, The (1997)_ , shot in pre-war Yugoslavia during the summer of 1988. As editing neared completion, civil war tore apart the region and much of the footage was lost. In 1996, after a five-year search, all of the lost footage was found and returned to producer Andjelo Arandjelovic, who is currently working on getting a distribution deal for the film. Pitt was paid $1,523 per week for seven weeks. He played a young American taken by his family to the Adriatic Sea to search for a cure for a rare skin disease. Purchased a mansion is Southern California from the actress who portrays "Elvira" (Cassandra Peterson). He reportedly paid $1.7 million for the house. This mansion is filled with antiques and has a "vampirish" look to it. [1996] Given title "Sexiest Man Alive" from People Magazine. After making Legends of the Fall. [1994] Lived in Southern California with friend Buck Simmonds, who starred with Pitt in the movie A River Runs Through It. [May 1992] Dated Juliette Lewis. They met when they filmed the NBC movie of the week entitled Too Young to Die?. Pitt and Lewis also did the film Kalifornia together. He was the third choice for the role of J.D. in Thelma & Louise. William Baldwin, the first choice, left to star in Backdraft. He had to learn how to fly-cast for his role in A River Runs Through It. He practiced on top of buildings in Hollywood. During these practices, Pitt would frequently hook himself in the back of his head. Voted "Best Actor" by viewers of MTV's The Big Picture in 1995. Was a journalism major in college with an advertising focus. Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1991" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 43. [1991] Graduated from Kickapoo High School in Springfield, Mo. [1982] Dropped out of the University of Missouri School of Journalism (Columbia, Missouri). In high school was a member of the golf, tennis, and swim teams. Belonged to the Key Club and the Forensics Club in High School. Listed in "People Weekly"s "Most Intriguing People" list. (December 25, 1995/January 1, 1996 issue) He has a brother Doug, born in 1966 and a sister Julie, born in 1969. Given title "Sexiest Man Alive" from People Magazine, Mr. Pitt was also People's choice in 1995. [2000] Was considered for the lead in The Matrix. Has his teeth capped. Sued Damiani International, the company which created the wedding ring he gave Jennifer Aniston. According to Pitt, the ring was his design and was to be exclusive. The company has since been selling replicas and indicating Pitt/Aniston's endorsement of the ring. [18 July 2001] He and ex-wife Jennifer Aniston spent $1 million on their wedding. [2000] He and ex-wife Jennifer Aniston reached a settlement with Damiani International. The pair claimed the company agreed to never reproduce their wedding rings, but it manufactured and sold "Brad and Jennifer" rings in 18 karat white or yellow gold, featuring either 12 or 13 diamonds and costing about $1,000 apiece. Under the settlement, Pitt will now design jewelry for Damiani that Aniston will model in ads, and Damiani will stop selling the Pitt and Aniston copies. [11 January 2002] For the last couple of years he has been the spokesman for Edwin Jeans ads in Japan. In 2001 he was also the face of the ads for a new Japanese canned coffee which is named Roots. Was replaced in these tv ads (2002) by Kevin Costner. Studied acting with the late Roy London. Spokesmodel of Toyota (Altis model). The commercial only aired in Asia. The car became so popular and resulted in strong sales figures (an almost 32% share of the total passenger car market for Toyota). Has a home at Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey. Auditioned for the role of "J.D." in the 1988 cult classic film Heathers and, though he showed talent, casting directors thought him to be "too sweet" for the role, which later went to Christian Slater. He would later go on to a very similar role in the horror film Cutting Class in 1989. Is mentioned by name in the Shania Twain hit song, "That Don't Impress Me Much." He is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. The Xi Xi chapter at The University of Missouri - Columbia. After watching Two Smoking Barrels, Pitt asked director Guy Ritchie if he could be in his next film. He couldn't master the English accent, so Ritchie gave him the role of Mickey the One Punch Pikey. When Brad Grey left for Paramount and after the divorce settlement with ex-wife Aniston, he now solely owns Plan B Entertainment. Tore his Achilles tendon during the production of Troy, in which he plays, ironically, Achilles. His injury caused the production of Ocean's Twelve to be pushed back to April 2004. [2003] Is the first man ever to be named "Sexiest Man Alive" twice by "People Magazine." (1994 and 2000). He and ex-wife Jennifer Aniston are campaigning in the United States to save EastEnders from being axed there [2003]. He is "in talks" to portray Marvel superhero Captain America, a role he says he has wanted to play for a long time. [Early 2004] Showed his parents the "Chemical Burn" scene to convince them not to watch Fight Club. He had a mishap during the production of Troy - he tore his left achilles tendon. Got into better shape and eventually gained over 20 pounds of muscle for Troy. He has appeared in three movies with the number seven in the title (Se7en, Seven Years in Tibet, and Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas). He has also appeared in two movies with the number twelve in the title (Ocean's Twelve and Twelve Monkeys). He was ranked #6 on VH1's "100 Hottest Hotties." His high school nickname was Brad the "Pitt-bull." He took Greek language lessons in secret to surprise his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston who is of Greek ancestry. Voted #1 in Company magazine's annual "100 Sexiest Men" poll, 2004. His favorite movies are Planet of the Apes and Saturday Night Fever. Announced on January 7, 2005 that he and Jennifer Aniston are separating after 4 1/2 years of marriage. Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2005 Razzie Award nominating ballot. He was listed as a suggestion in the Worst Actor category for his performance in the film Troy. He did not receive a nomination, however. Dianne Wiest is his favorite actress. Premiere Magazine ranked him as #50 on a list of the Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in their Stars in Our Constellation feature (2005). His best friend is Troy co-star Orlando Bloom. A short while after completing A River Runs Through It, he fled to Amsterdam where he briefly lived for three months by himself in a small basement apartment before returning to the USA to film Kalifornia. He and his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston met on a blind date, which was arranged by their agent He and his Ocean's Eleven / Ocean's Twelve co- stars, Julia Roberts, George Clooney and Elliott Gould, all have guest-starred on the TV show Friends, though not in the same episodes Owns and plays Taylor Guitars In 2001, Frank O. Gehry renovated the wine cellar in the home of Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. Pitt subsequently did an informal apprenticeship in Gehry's Los Angeles office. Owns the rights to the Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs (2002). He wanted it to be remade with him and Tom Cruise in the leading roles. Visited over 100 orphans affected by HIV at a facility run by The Salvation Army in South Africa. Is a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. Has appeared in 8 movies with a number in the Title - and only one of those movies uses an actual number rather than spelling the word out. Which is Se7en, and that is a combination of the two - he has appeared in 1 movie with the number Zero in the title, 1 movie with the number Two in the title, 3 movies with the number Seven in the title, 1 movie with the number Eleven and 2 with the number Twelve. Without being asked to, he made an appearance on MTV's Jackass where he did stunts with the cast, dressed in an ape outfit. Raised in Springfield Missouri and is an alumni of Kickapoo high school. Other Alumni include Adrienne Wilkinson and Jay Kenneth Johnson. Broke his arm during the filming of Se7en. The injury was written into the movie. Adoptive father of Angelina Jolie's children Maddox and Zahara. Wanted to play Darcy in Bride & Prejudice, but wasn't able to work out the filming dates. Daughter, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt [b. 27 May 2006], in Namibia Africa, with girl friend Angelina Jolie Ranked #15 on Premiere's 2006 "Power 50" list. Had ranked #31 in 2005. Was considered for two roles which went to Johnny Depp: Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow and Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Both were directed by Tim Burton. The first commercial that Brad Pitt ever booked was through Matrix Talent Agency, Los Angeles. His agent was Linda Olhava, sister of film director Jody Lee Olhava. Has Single Engine Land pilot license. Occasionally fly a Cessna 208B Caravan belonging to Chivan Productions. Initially, he didn't want to appear in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, although it was he who gave the script for the movie to director Doug Liman. Tore his Achilles tendon during the production of Troy (2004), in which he plays, ironically, Achilles who is wounded in the Trojan War by an arrow piercing his Achilles tendon. His injury caused the production of Ocean's Twelve (2004) to be pushed back to April 2004. [2003]. Originally cast as Colin Sullivan in The Departed, but later dropped out. He continued to produce the film under his (and his then wife Jennifer Aniston's) production company, Plan B. His first job was dancing in a chicken suit for a chicken restaurant. March 2007 - he and girlfriend Angelina Jolie adopted a 3-year-old boy named Pax Thien from Vietnam. Made a cameo appearance with Matt Damon for free in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind as a favor to Ocean's Eleven costar and close friend George Clooney - the film was Clooney's directorial debut. Has been in 7 movies where the title contains the name of the character he plays: Johnny Suede, Meet Joe Black, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Chad Schmidt. Considered for the role in "Crimson Tide" (1995) that went to Denzel Washington. Moved with Angelina Jolie and their four children to New Orleans. [2007] Voted #6 in Elle (France) Magazine's "15 Sexiest Men" poll (June 2007). Mentioned in the song High School Never Ends by Bowling for Soup, as "the quarterback". Was trained by renowned Hollywood Gun Coach Thell Reed, who has also trained such actors as: Val Kilmer, Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Sam Elliot, Girard Swan, Ben Foster and Kurt Russell.