George Clooney

George Clooney
A headshot of Clooney at the White House in 2016
Clooney in 2016
Born
George Timothy Clooney

(1961-05-06) May 6, 1961 (age 62)
Alma materNorthern Kentucky University
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
  • producer
  • screenwriter
Years active1978–present
Organizations
WorksFilmography
Political partyDemocratic[1]
Spouses
  • (m. 1989; div. 1993)
  • (m. 2014)
Children2
Parent
Relatives
AwardsFull list

George Timothy Clooney[2] (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Academy Awards. Clooney has been honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2015, the Honorary César in 2017, AFI Life Achievement Award in 2018, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2022.[3][4]

Clooney started his career in television, gaining wide recognition in his role as Dr. Doug Ross on the NBC medical drama ER from 1994 to 1999, for which he received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He expanded to leading roles in films, with his breakthrough role in From Dusk till Dawn (1996)[5][6] followed by Batman & Robin (1997), Out of Sight (1998), Three Kings (1999), The Perfect Storm (2000) and O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000). Greater stardom came from his starring role in Soderbergh's Ocean's film series from 2001 to 2007.

Clooney made his directorial debut with the spy drama Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), and has since directed the historical drama Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), the political drama The Ides of March (2011), the war film The Monuments Men (2014), the science fiction film The Midnight Sky (2020) and the biographical sports drama The Boys in the Boat (2023). Clooney won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the thriller Syriana (2005), and earned Best Actor nominations for the legal thriller Michael Clayton (2007), and the comedy-dramas Up in the Air (2009) and The Descendants (2011). He received the Academy Award for Best Picture for co-producing the political thriller Argo (2012). He has also starred in Burn After Reading (2008), The American (2010), Gravity (2013), Hail, Caesar! (2016) and Ticket to Paradise (2022).

As of 2023, Clooney is one of four people to have been nominated for Academy Awards in six different categories (a distinction shared with Walt Disney, Alfonso Cuarón and Kenneth Branagh).[7][8] Clooney was included on Time's annual Time 100 list, which identifies the most influential people in the world, every year from 2006 to 2009.[9] He is also noted for his political and economic activism, and has served as one of the United Nations Messengers of Peace since 2008.[10][11][12] Clooney is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.[13] He is married to human rights lawyer Amal Clooney.

  1. ^ Breznican, Anthony (October 22, 2020). "George Clooney: Keep Fighting For Kentucky and Other Red States". Vanity Fair. Retrieved February 13, 2021. Growing up as a Democrat in Kentucky helped George Clooney get used to fighting impossible battles. With the presidential election fast approaching, the activist and actor says progressives should not give up on fighting for deep red states—even if the challenge seems insurmountable [...] "I've always been involved in Democratic politics since I was raised a Democrat in Kentucky. So imagine how much fun it was for me," said the actor, whose mother was active in city politics while his father ran unsuccessfully for congress in 2004, in an interview with Vanity Fair about his upcoming film, The Midnight Sky.
  2. ^ "George Clooney". Encyclopædia Britannica. May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  3. ^ "American Film Institute – 2018 George Clooney Tribute". American Film Institute. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  4. ^ "Actor and Filmmaker George Clooney, Honoree, The 45th Kennedy Center Honors". The Kennedy Center. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  5. ^ McCarthy, Todd (January 22, 1996). "From Dusk Till Dawn". Variety. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  6. ^ "AmIAnnoying.com – MTV Movie Awards: Breakthrough Performance". www.amiannoying.com. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  7. ^ "HitFix". June 23, 2023.
  8. ^ Hammond, Pete (February 21, 2013). "OSCARS: Is George Clooney Now King Of The Academy Awards?". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  9. ^ Bono (April 30, 2009). "George Clooney – The 2009 TIME 100". Time. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  10. ^ Worsnip, Patrick (January 18, 2008). "George Clooney named UN messenger of peace". Reuters.
  11. ^ "UN gives actor Clooney peace role". BBC News. February 1, 2008. Retrieved July 5, 2008.
  12. ^ "Clooney PSA Announcement". Better World Campaign. Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved September 19, 2009.
  13. ^ "Membership Roster". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on August 3, 2011. Retrieved January 31, 2012.