Vincent Anthony Vaughn was born on March 28, 1970, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA and raised in Lake Forest, Illinois, USA. His parents were Vernon Vaughn, a salesman, and Sharon Vaughn, a real-estate agent and stockbroker. They later divorced in 1991. He also has two older sisters named Victoria Vaughn and Valeri Vaughn. Vince was interested in theater early on and grabbed a spot in a Chevy commercial. Figuring he was set, he packed his bags and headed for Hollywood only to become a struggling actor losing role after role. He managed to hit a few spots on television, but his real goal was to make it to the big screen. He made his first credited role in the film Rudy where he met his friend Jon Favreau, who was writing a script detailing his life as an out-of-work actor. Vince was written into Swingers by Jon to play the character of "Trent". He signed on just as a favor to his buddy, not realizing it would be a career changing role. Though not a commercial success, it was a critical success in which Steven Spielberg saw him and cast him in the big budget sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park. This role gave Vince the exposure he needed to become a movie star and, for the first time, choose the roles he wanted to take. A Cool, Dry Place put him as a loving father, Return to Paradise cast him as a man having to make a life or death decision to save a friend, and Clay Pigeons cast him as an interesting serial killer. He was even cast as "Norman Bates" for the shot-for-shot remake of Psycho.


Fred Claus (2007): $20,000,000
Wedding Crashers (2005): $3,000,000

Attended Lake Forest High School, class of 1988. After Steven Spielberg saw him in Swingers (1996), he cast Vince for a role in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). Vaughn was banned from Wilmington, N.C. bars, ordered to undergo alcohol assessment, and fined $250 after an April brawl. [31 May 2001] Frequent co-star of Ben Stiller, appearing with him in three movies in 2004 alone. Attended Lake Forest High School with Pulitzer-prize nominated author, Dave Eggers. Lost a piece of his thumb in a car wreck. Has quit smoking. Before he became famous, he did an "After School Special" on steroids with Peter Billingsley. Good friends with actor Jon Favreau. Ranked #31 on Premiere's 2006 "Power 50" list. It is his first appearance on the list. Has Canadian heritage as his mother, Sharon Vaughn, is from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Friends with Joaquin Phoenix. A Republican, he supported (and voted for) George W Bush in 2000 and 2004. In 2002, he was part of "principal for a day" program at Curie High school in Chicago. His favorite films are: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Tender Mercies, The Bad News Bears, Terms of Endearment, Urban Cowboy, Five Easy Pieces, and Paper Moon.