John Richard Schneider was born April 8, 1954 in Mt. Kisco, New York. His parents divorced when he was two. John began acting at the age of eight. He was in many plays in New York. He and his mother moved to Atlanta, Georgia when he was fourteen. He got involved in the local theater and was in many local productions. He had a small part in Smokey and the Bandit starring Burt Reynolds.

His big break came when he won the role of Bo Duke on The Dukes of Hazzard on CBS from 1979-1985. He auditioned for the role pretending he was a genuine country boy. He had a weeks growth of beard and held a beer can claiming he was from Snellville, Georgia. He later became a very successful country singer and had several hit songs including "I've Been Around Enough To Know" and "Country Girls". He has since opened Faith Works Productions in San Antonio, Texas. He also appears in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman as Daniel Simon/Red McCall.
Children: Leah, Chasen and Karis. Co-founder of the Children's Miracle Network charity organization, along with Marie Osmond. The organization helps children around the United States. Attended North Springs High School in Atlanta, GA. Races cars every May in the Silver State Classic Challenge held in Ely, Nevada. He races and is driver of a model of the General Lee with fellow actor friend, James Caviezel, who is the navigator. On November 12, 2004, John was an honoree at the 7th Annual Silver Spur Awards show by the Reel Cowboys, an organization dedicated to the western heritage. The late Howard Keel was also honored. In addition to starring on The Dukes of Hazzard, he wrote and/or directed several episodes of the series. He also performed many of his own stunts, including driving. Has restored many General Lee- look alike Dodge Chargers. According to a Season 1 commentary of Smallville, John was approached by some kids who said, "Hey, you're Jonathan Kent!" To his relief, it was the first time that he was recognized as someone else other than "Bo" from Dukes of Hazard.