Michael Douglas is one of the few actors who actually appears to be a walking paradox. A household name, an estimated worth of over $200 million, a father (Kirk Douglas) who was one of the world's biggest film stars in the 1950s and 1960s, and a wife whose father is younger than he is, Douglas has indeed gained fame and acclaim. His parents (Kirk and wife Diana Douglas) parents divorced when he was six, and he went to live with his mother and her new husband.

Only seeing Kirk on holidays, Michael attended Eaglebrook school in Deerfield, Massachusetts, where he was about a year younger than all of his classmates. Deciding he wanted to be an actor in his teenage years, Michael often asked his father about getting a "foot in the door". Kirk was strongly opposed to Michael pursuing an acting career, saying that it was an industry with many downs and few ups, and that he wanted all four of his sons to stay out of it. Michael, however, was persistent. When he started his career in the early 1970s people were all too ready to tag him as "the next Kirk Douglas". He defied all those critics by accepting sensitive, quiet, hippie-type roles, a far cry from the macho, leading-man, all-American hero parts that his father was most famous for. It didn't earn Michael much credibility, but it earned him his own identity.

His first real break came on the TV series The Streets of San Francisco opposite screen veteran Karl Malden. Michael gained quite a following on this show, and left it to produce One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. His own life was never brilliant either. He had dreams of acting alongside brother Joel Douglas, the one brother out of his three to which he was closest (he would only see Peter Douglas and the late Eric Douglas when he visited his father), but Joel wanted no part of the acting his family was famous for. Michael married the young Diandra Douglas (b. Diane Luker in 1958) in 1977, and they had one son together, Cameron. The marriage failed, as Diandra claimed that she was sick of his womanizing, absenteeism, and not being "a proper father to Cameron".

In the 1980s Michael tried his hand at comedies, the most successful being Romancing the Stone, its sequel The Jewel of the Nile, and The War of the Roses, in which he co-starred with Danny DeVito and Kathleen Turner. It was in the 1990s, though, in which he gained the most notorious aspects of his reputation. He starred in Basic Instinct, a thriller, heavy on sex and violence, that was a worldwide hit. Having played a similar role in Fatal Attraction, it did indeed appear that he was being typecast in "man against woman" type roles, and pictures like Disclosure did nothing to dissuade that opinion. He finally tried to break away from this image with The American President and The Ghost and the Darkness, yet when he started dating Catherine Zeta-Jones, 25 years his junior, this image continued, even after their marriage.

After two children with Jones, Michael is trying to settle down to become a more "family-oriented" actor. The comedy Wonder Boys and the Douglas-clan movie It Runs in the Family were only minor hits, and it appears Michael is again looking for a career change. Trying his hand now at light-hearted comedies, like the re-make of The In-Laws, he hopes to break away from his past reputation.
Traffic (2000): $10,000,000
A Perfect Murder (1998): $20,000,000
The Game (1997): $20,000,000
Basic Instinct (1992): $15,000,000

Son of Kirk Douglas and Diana Douglas. Named a United Nations Messenger of Peace. His mission: to focus worldwide attention on nuclear disarmament and human rights. [1998] Ranked #74 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997] Roomed with Danny DeVito when first starting out. Graduated with a B.A. from U.C. Santa Barbara along with singer Jack Johnson and actor Ossie Beck. [1968] Brother of Joel Douglas. Half-brother of Peter Douglas and Eric Douglas. Graduated from the University of California. Graduate of Choate Rosemary Hall. His second son and first child with Catherine Zeta-Jones, a boy named Dylan Michael, was born on 8th August about 6 p.m. at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre near Beverly Hills. The baby weighed in at 7 pounds and seven ounces and measured 21-1/2 inches. He met Catherine at the Deauville Film Festival in France in August 1998; they began dating in March 1999 and got engaged on New Year's Eve 1999. Father of Cameron Douglas. Has two sons: Cameron Morrell (b. 13 December 1978), with Diandra Luker, and Dylan Michael (b. 8 August 2000), with Catherine Zeta-Jones. Attended Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, MA. Michael is exactly 25 years older than his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones. The two of them share a birthday, September 25th. Is of Russian-Jewish, Scottish, and Irish heritage. As of 2002, he and Sir Laurence Olivier are the only two people in history to win Oscars for both Best Picture and Best Actor (although Olivier won them simultaneously for the same film). Initially turned down the role of Judge Wakefield in Traffic. He later accepted only after the script underwent extensive re-writes. Daughter Carys Zeta Douglas with Catherine Zeta-Jones; Carys was born the 20th April of 2003, at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey. In 1975, quit the show The Streets of San Francisco to produce the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Thursday, December 11, 2003, he was host, together with wife 'Catherine Zeta- Jones' , at the 2003 Annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Olso Spectrum in Oslo, Norway. In addition to Catherine Zeta-Jones, he also shares a birthday with Will Smith, Heather Locklear, Michael Madsen, Barbara Walters and the late Christopher Reeve. Has worked with three actors who share roles with his father. Kirk Douglas played Doc Holliday in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Val Kilmer played the part in Tombstone and then appeared with Michael in The Ghost and the Darkness. _Dennis Quaid_ also played Holliday in _Wyatt Earp (1994)_ and appeared with Michael in Traffic. Kirk played Ulysses (Odysseus) in Ulisse, based on The Odyssey. Michael appeared in Don't Say a Word with Sean Bean, who played Odysseus in Troy. Five days after completing _Black Rain (1989)_ , he started filming The War of the Roses. In 1980, he was involved in a serious skiing accident, which sidelined his acting career for three years. In September of 1992, he underwent treatment for alcohol abuse at Sierra Tucson Center. Was named to Quigley Publications' Top 10 Poll of Money-Making Stars six times between 1985 and 1995, hitting a high of #2 in 1987. Surprising, despite a career that has spanned seven decades, his father, Kirk, never made the list, the annual poll of movie exhibitors that ranks the top stars in terms of box-office drawing power. He and The China Syndrome co-stars Jane Fonda and Jack Lemmon have all won Oscars for Leading Roles. Douglas won for Wall Street, Fonda won for Klute, and Lemmon won for Save the Tiger. Stepson of Anne Buydens. Turned down the role of Oliver in Love Story despite being offered 10% of the gross. He endorsed Richard Gephardt in the 2004 Democratic primaries. His performance as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street is ranked #25 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time. He has been active in handgun control since John Lennon's murder in December 1980.