Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson was born on January 3, 1956, in Peekskill, New York, USA as the sixth of eleven children to parents Hutton Gibson, a railroad brakeman, and Ann Gibson, who was born in Australia and died in December of 1990. Though born in the US, Mel and his family moved to New South Wales, Australia. After high school, Mel studied at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, performing at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts alongside future film thespians Judy Davis and Geoffrey Rush. After college, Mel had a few stints on stage and starred in a few TV shows. Eventually, he was chosen to star in Mad Max and in a movie called Tim, co-starring Piper Laurie. The small budgeted movie Mad Max made him known worldwide, while Tim garnered him an award for Best Actor from the Australian Film Institute (equivalent to the Oscar). Later, he went on to star in Gallipoli, which earned him a second award for Best Actor from the AFI. In 1980, he married Robyn Moore and, as of today, they are still together and have seven children. In 1984, Mel made his American debut in The Bounty, which co-starred Anthony Hopkins. Then in 1987, Mel starred in what would become his signature series, Lethal Weapon, in which he played "Martin Riggs". In 1990, he took on the interesting starring role in Hamlet, which garnered him some critical praise. He also made the more endearing Forever Young and the somewhat disturbing The Man Without a Face. 1995 brought his most famous role as "Sir William Wallace" in Braveheart, for which he won two Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. From there, he made such box office hits as The Patriot, Ransom, and Payback. Today, Mel remains an international superstar mogul, continuously topping the Hollywood power lists as well as the Most Beautiful and Sexiest lists. His $25 million paycheck for The Patriot is the latest milestone for actor's salaries.


Signs (2002): $25,000,000
We Were Soldiers (2002): $25,000,000
The Patriot (2000): $25,000,000
Chicken Run (2000): £ 1,000,000
Lethal Weapon 4 (1998): $25,000,000
Conspiracy Theory (1997): $20,000,000
Ransom (1996): $20,000,000
Maverick (1994): $15,000,000
Lethal Weapon 3 (1992): $10,000,000
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985): $1,200,000 (Australia)
The River (1984): $500,000
Attack Force Z (1982): $A1000 / Week
Gallipoli (1981): $A35,000
Mad Max (1979): $15,000 (Australia)
Summer City (1977): $400 (Australian)

Ranked #12 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997] Chosen by People (USA) magazine as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People" in the world. [1996] Attended drama school with Judy Davis. They played Romeo and Juliet together. Chosen by People magazine as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People" in the world. [1990] Awarded the AO (Officer of the Order of Australia), Australia's highest honor, in mid-1997. He took up acting only because his sister submitted an application behind his back. The night before an audition, he got into a fight, and his face was badly beaten, an accident that won him the role. Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the "100 Sexiest Stars" in film history (#37). [1995] Is a big fan of The Three Stooges. He and his wife met through a dating service. Owns a production company with branches in the USA, Australia and the UK. His voice in Mad Max (1979) was dubbed for the film's US release. He was a part of the movment dubbed the "Australian New Wave" by the press. They were a group of filmmakers and performers who emerged from Down Under at about the same time in the early 1980's and found work in other parts of the world. Other members included actress Judy Davis and directors George Miller, Gillian Armstrong and Peter Weir. Almost turned down the role of William Wallace in Braveheart (1995) because he thought he was too old for the role. He asked the producers if he could direct it instead. A compromise was made, he could direct the movie if he agreed to portray Wallace. His father, Hutton Gibson, moved the family from upstate New York to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia in 1968 after winning as a contestant on "Jeopardy!" (1964). Has 8 children: daughter, Hannah Gibson (born 1980); twin sons, Edward Gibson and Christian Gibson (born 1982); son, Willie Gibson (born 1985); son, Louis Gibson (born 1988); son, Milo Gibson (born 1990); son, Tommy Gibson (born 1999); daughter, Lucia (born (2009). Was considered for the role of James Bond in GoldenEye (1995). Has his own private chapel in his grounds, where he attends mass every day. Ranked number 1 on Forbes 2004 "Celebrity 100 List". He was the highest paid celebrity in 2004 with a reported $210,000,000 salary from his The Passion of the Christ (2004) profits, plus a potential $150,000,000 that is yet to be accounted for. He made more money than Oprah Winfrey ($210,000,000), J.K. Rowling ($147,000,000), Tiger Woods & Michael Schumacher ($80,000,000 each) and Steven Spielberg ($75,000,000) in 2004. Was considered for the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in Batman (1989). Son of the controversial Hutton Gibson and Anne Gibson. Along with Warren Beatty, Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford, Richard Attenborough and Kevin Costner one of 6 people to win and Academy Award for "Best Director", though they are mainly known as actors. Ranked #15 on Premiere's 2005 Power 50 List. Had ranked #10 in 2004. His family line goes back several generations in Australia, but his ancestors originally came from Ireland and Scotland. He turned down the role of Harvey Dent/Two Face in Batman Forever (1995), due to scheduling conflicts with Braveheart (1995). When Apocalypto (2006) is finished, he plans to donate six replicas of Mayan pyramids and several movie-set villages. Gibson has been widely perceived as a conservative Republican, even though he has never identified himself as such. In March 2004 he expressed doubts over the Iraq war, in particular the failure to find weapons of mass destruction, although he maintained that President George W. Bush had "done a lot of good" elsewhere. At the People's Choice Awards ceremony in January 2005, Gibson again condemned the Iraq war and praised the liberal director Michael Moore and his documentary film Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004). Many of Gibson's positions are in accordance with traditional Catholicism. He released a statement in March 2005 condemning the euthanasia of Terri Schiavo, and has criticized stem cell research. He was named after the Church of St. Mel in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, Ireland where his mother's family is from. Gibson has an estimated fortune of $850 million, according to the "Los Angeles Business Journal". The size of his fortune him the 47th richest person in the Los Angeles area and the wealthiest actor in the world. Braveheart (1995) is ranked #62 on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time. Turned down the role of Sgt. John McLoughlin in World Trade Center (2006) to direct Apocalypto (2006) instead. Checked himself into a recovery program for alcohol abuse. [1st August 2006] Father-in-law of Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Has bipolar disorder. Received the Chairman's Visionary Award from Latin Business Association Chairman Rick Sarmiento during the 2006 Latino Global Business Conference and Digital Expo in Beverly Hills, California, on 2 November 2006. Gibson's appearance marked his first public appearance since his DUI arrest on 28 July in Malibu. Oliver Stone has tried casting him twice. Once as Jim Garrison in JFK (1991), and another time as Sgt. John McLoughlin in World Trade Center (2006). A chain smoker for most of his career, in 2004 Gibson's wife persuaded him to limit his addiction to just three cigarettes a day. However this did not last. Actor Girard Swan formerly worked as his stand in and photo double. On 27 January 1997, nine lesbian and gay filmmakers met with Gibson on the set of Conspiracy Theory (1997). Conceived and sponsored by GLAAD, the day long event gave the filmmakers the opportunity to meet with director Richard Donner, producer Joel Silver, and co-stars Patrick Stewart and Julia Roberts. A 40-minute lunch with Gibson, however, found the filmmakers not only discussing the inner workings of the industry but also Gibson's troubled relationship with the lesbian and gay community. In interviews promoting The Passion of the Christ (2004), Gibson admitted that depression had led him to contemplate suicide, and that he made the film to "heal" himself. Voted the most powerful Christian in Hollywood in a poll by religious website Beliefnet.com in October 2007. His wife Robyn field for divorce in April 2009. They had already been separated since August 2006. He and Oksana Grigorieva became the parents of a girl, Lucia, on October 30, 2009 in Los Angeles. Turned down the chance to voice a parody of himself in the "Family Guy" (1999) episode "North by North-Quohag". He later admitted in an interview that he regretted the decision because he thought the episode was hilarious.