Skip to content

American actor and film producer Brad Pitt was born William Bradley Pitt born on December 18th, 1963, in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Pitt attended the University of Missouri to study  journalism and was close to graduation when he suddenly decided to drop out and move to Los Angeles to pursue a career as an actor. He took acting lessons and worked odd jobs to support himself while trying to make it in the business. Pitt’s first appearances on the big screen were uncredited roles in 1987’s No Way Out, No Man’s Land, and Less than Zero. He also made his television debut and played minor characters in Another World, Trial and Error, Growing Pains, Head of the Class, Freddy’s Nightmares and 21 Jump Street.

Some of Pitt’s early starring roles were in the made-for-television films Too Young to Die? and The Image (both in 1990). Brad’s career began to take off when he landed a supporting role in 1991’s comedy-drama Award-winning film Thelma & Louise, which also positioned him as a sex symbol due to the nature of his scenes in the movie. Pitt next starred in Johnny Suede (1991) and live-action/animated film Cool World, but neither made an impact with the critics or box office. However, his performance in Robert Redfors’s biographical film, A River Runs Through It, was highly praised. Following roles in less successful movies Kalifornia (1993), True Romance (1993), and The Favor (1994), Brad landed one of the main leads in the film adaptation of Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire. Although his performance wasn’t well-received, this movie was the starting point for some of Pitt’s most memorable subsequent roles. In 1994, he starred in Legends of the Fall (adapted from a novella of the same name), and gave some of his best performances in crime thriller Seven (1995) and sci-fi movie 12 Monkeys (1995), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and earned his first Academy Award nomination. Other notable film roles were The Devil’s Own (1997), Seven Years in Tibet (1997), Meet Joe Black (1998), Fight Club (1999), and Snatch (2000). Brad returned to television in 2001 to guest-star on an episode of sitcom Friends, where his then-wife Jennifer Aniston was a part of the main cast. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for his performance.

Pitt’s fame only seemed to increase and cemented his status as a leading man as he starred in 2001’s adventure comedy The Mexican and heist comedy Ocean’s Eleven. In 2003, he lent his voice to main character Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas and the following year starred in the historical epic Troy, which brought him further international recognition and was the first film he produced through his company Plan B Entertainment (founded in 2002). Since then, Pitt has enjoyed an active and prolific career both as an actor and as a producer. He has starred in features such as Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Babel (2006), The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), Inglorious Basterds (2009), and The Tree of Life (2011), as well as returned for the sequels Ocean’s Twelve  and Ocean’s Thirteen in 2004 and 2007 respectively.

In 2013, Pitt produced and starred in zombie apocalypse thriller World War Z, which turned into his highest-grossing movie to date, and 12 Years a Slave, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. He was also credited as a producer for coming-of-age drama Moonlight in 2016, another Academy Award winner. In 2018, Brad made a cameo in Deadpool 2 and later appeared in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), for which he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. His most recent film roles were in action comedy Bullet Train and epic period comedy Babylon, both in 2022.

Also on this date...

Bake Cookies Day

Make a batch of your favorite biscuits, experiment with imaginative cookie cutter shapes or organize a bake sale for charity.

World Arabic Language Day

Like a melody from a distant land, this language dances with intricate calligraphy, inviting exploration into its rich tapestry.

Calendar

Join the community!

Password requirements

  • At least one capital letter
  • At least one lowercase letter
  • At least one number
  • 8 or more characters

Welcome back!

Log in to get personalized recommendations, follow events and topics you love, and never miss a day again!