We have compiled the curiosities of the career and private life of actor Jeff Bridges, who was born as the child of actor parents, started with small roles in the industry and went on to win an Oscar Award.
His full name is Jeffrey Leon Bridges, he was born on December 4, 1949 in Los Angeles. He was born to his father, actor Lloyd Bridges, and mother, actress and writer Dorothy Bridges Simpson. Bridges has an older brother named Beau Bridges, who is an actor, a younger sister named Lucinda, and a deceased brother named Garrett. He grew up with Bridges and his siblings in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Bridges, who graduated from University High School in 1967, toured with his father in the stage production of "Anniversary Waltz" at age 17. Later, he moved to New York and studied acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio. He also served in the United States Coast Guard Reserve in California from 1967 to 1975 as a fellow sailor with a terminal rating of Boatswain's Mate Second Class. He also took piano lessons at a young age with his mother's encouragement.
He made his screen appearance in the drama movie "The Company She Keeps" (1951). Bridges and his brother Beau appeared occasionally in their father's action adventure TV series "Sea Hunt" (1958–1961) and the CBS anthology drama series "The Lloyd Bridges Show" (1962–1963). Later, in 1965, he played a supporting role alongside his father in an episode of the western series "The Loner". In 1969, he played the character of Cal Baker in an episode of the TV series "Lassie" titled 'Success Story'.
His first major role came in the coming-of-age drama film "The Last Picture Show" (1971), based on the semi-autobiographical novel and directed by Peter Bogdanovich. He earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. He then co-starred with Stacy Keach, Susan Tyrrell, and Candy Clark in the gritty boxing sports drama "Fat City" (1972), based on the novel of the same name and directed by John Huston. The film made a name for itself as both a critical and commercial success.
The following year, he was cast as Junior Jackson in the sports drama movie "The Last American Hero," based on the true story of NASCAR driver Junior Johnson. He then co-starred with Clint Eastwood in the crime comedy film "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" (1974), written and directed by Michael Cimino. He earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. In 1976, he played the main character Jack Prescott alongside Jessica Lange in the first remake of John Guillermin's monster adventure movie "King Kong." The film was a commercial success, making $90 million worldwide against its $23 million budget.
In 1982, Bridges landed one of his best-known roles as Kevin Flynn, a video game programmer in the science fiction action-adventure film "Tron" written and directed by Steven Lisberger. The film was a moderate success at the box office and received positive reviews from critics. The film later spawned many video games and became a cult movie. That same year, he co-starred with Sally Field in the romantic comedy "Kiss Me Goodbye" directed by Robert Mulligan. Two years later, he played an alien in the sci-fi romance comedy "Starman" (1984), directed by John Carpenter. The film, which received positive reviews, failed to show the same success at the box office. He earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his performance. That same year, he co-starred with Rachel Ward in the romantic thriller "Against All Odds" directed by Taylor Hackford. Along with a moderate box office success, it was nominated for several awards in various categories. He then starred with Glenn Close in "Jagged Edge" (1985), a legal crime thriller drama film directed by Richard Marquand. The film was successful both critically and commercially.
In 1993, his role in the drama film "Fearless" directed and starring Peter Weir was hailed by some critics as one of his best performances. The generally acclaimed film was a box office failure. The following year, he appeared in the action thriller "Blown Away" directed by Stephen Hopkins as Lieutenant Jimmy Dove alongside Tommy Lee Jones and Forest Whitaker. His father, Lloyd Bridges, played Bridges' uncle in the movie. The film was not a commercial success.
Later that year, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to the motion picture industry. In 1998, he played The Dude in the crime comedy movie "The Big Lebowski" directed by the Coen brothers, arguably Bridges' most iconic role. Despite mixed reviews and moderate box office success, the film became a cult favorite.
He released his debut album "Be Here Soon" on January 1, 2000. That same year, he starred alongside Gary Oldman, Joan Allen and Christian Slater in the political drama film "The Contender" written and directed by Rod Lurie. He earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance. In 2003, he appeared with Tobey Maguire and Chris Cooper in the sports movie "Seabiscuit" written and directed by Gary Ross. The film, which was nominated for many awards, also achieved success at the box office. Also in 2005, Bridges starred in the fantasy film "Tideland", based on the novel of the same name and directed by Terry Gilliam.
In 2008, he played the role of Obadiah Stane in the Marvel comics adaptation of the superhero movie "Iron Man," alongside Robert Downey jr., Terence Howard, and Gwyneth Paltrow. It became the eighth highest-grossing film of 2008 and garnered many accolades. Later that year, he starred in a teaser reprising the role of Kevin Flynn for "Tron: Legacy," which was shot as a concept shoot for director Joseph Kosinski. It was made into a movie in 2010 and was released on December 17, 2010. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a commercial success with its production budget.
In 2009, he starred as Otis "Bad" Blake in the drama film "Crazy Heart" written and directed by Scott Cooper. The film, which earned a huge profit in return for its production budget, was highly appreciated. He also won an award for Best Actor at the 2010 Academy Awards for his performance. In the same year, he appeared in the black comedy war movie "The Men Who Stare at Goats" directed by Grant Heslov. The film was met with mixed reviews and box office success. On January 15, 2010, Bridges sang "I Don't Know" with Conan O'Brien on The Tonight Show. In February 2010, he appeared among nearly 80 musicians who sang on the charity song version of "We Are the World".
Bridges starred alongside Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper and Hailee Steinfeld in the western film "True Grit" (2010), written and directed by the Coen brothers. He earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance. Both the film and Bridges' performance were critically acclaimed. On April 19, 2011, it was announced that Bridges had signed a recording contract with Blue Note Records/EMI Music Group. Working with producer T Bone Burnett, Bridges' second album "Jeff Bridges" was released on August 16, 2011. In 2015, Bridges released an ambient/oral word album called "Sleeping Tapes", and all proceeds from the album were sent directly to his own charity, "No Kid Hungry". In 2016, Bridges starred in the crime drama movie "Hell or High Water" directed by David Mackenzie. He received his seventh Academy Award nomination for his performance.
The following year, he appeared in the sequel spy action comedy "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" directed by Matthew Vaughn. The film was met with mixed reviews and a huge commercial success. In 2018, he starred alongside Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Cailee Spaeny, Lewis Pullman and Chris Hemsworth in the thriller "Bad Times at the El Royale" written and directed by Drew Goddard. The film, which received generally positive reviews, was not successful at the box office. In 2019, he was honored with the Cecil B.DeMille Award for his contributions to films.
At 22, Bridges is one of the youngest actors to be nominated for an Academy Award. He is also one of the oldest players ever to win the award at the age of 60. Crazy Heart also earned him a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor.
Private life
Bridges met while filming a movie on a farm where Susan Geston worked as a waitress. The couple married in 1977. The couple has three daughters, Isabelle Annie, born on August 6, 1981, Jessica Lily "Jessie", born on June 14, 1983, and Haley Roselouise, born on October 17, 1985. They also have a grandchild named Grace, born March 31, 2011, from their first child, Isabelle.
Bridges describes himself as a Buddhist man and meditates for half an hour before working on a movie set. Announcing on October 19, 2020 that he was diagnosed with lymphoma and undergoing chemotherapy, Bridges said that his disease was in remission the following year.
In 2013, Bridges co-wrote the book "The Dude and the Zen Master" with Bernie Glassman. An amateur photographer since high school, Bridges began taking pictures on movie sets during Starman in 1984 at Karen Allen's suggestion. He showed many of these photos online and in a 2003 book called "Pictures: Photographs by Jeff Bridges". Later, he won the "Infinity Award" from the International Center of Photography in New York for the photographs he took in 2013. The sequel, "Jeff Bridges: Pictures Volume Two," was released in 2019. Bridges, who has done voice over for many movies, also did voice work for TV commercials in various categories.
In 1984, Bridges and some others formed the "No Hunger Network" to encourage, mobilize and support the end of childhood hunger. Supporting institutions, organizations and associations in various fields, Bridges supported them and took a role in material and morale. He is also the national spokesperson for the "No Kid Goes Hungry" campaign.