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Here's how movie star and Oscar-winning producer Brad Pitt rose to fame
Brad Pitt was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma on December 18, 1963 and grew up in Springfield, Missouri. He was the eldest of three children in a conservative household of parents, truck company owner Bill Pitt and family counselor Jane Pitt.
Entertainment1 min readJust two credits shy of a journalism degree at the University of Missouri, Pitt gave in to his love of films and set off for Los Angeles in the late-1980s.
Source: Bio Channel
In LA, Pitt worked as a limousine driver for a few months, while taking acting classes. Within seven months, he found an agent and began booking acting work, including the soap opera “Another World"in 1987, and “Growing Pains” in 1987 and 1989 (in two different roles).
Source: Fox News
Pitt's big break was a small, but memorable role in 1991's "Thelma and Louise," in which he played a charming hitchhiker and one-night-stand to Geena Davis' character.
After doing a few more films after "Thelma and Louise," Pitt landed the part of a gambling, fly-fisher in Robert Redford's 1992 film "A River Runs Through It." This would earn Pitt respect in Hollywood for his dramatic acting chops.
Source: Bio Channel
In 1994, People magazine named Pitt that year's "Sexiest Man Alive."
By 1992, Brad Pitt had been romantically linked to actresses Jill Schoelen, Robin Givens, and Juliette Lewis. He would go on to co-star with Lewis in "Kalifornia," about a couple on a cross-country murder spree.
Source: Parade
His next major career step would be the coveted lead role in "Interview With the Vampire" opposite one of the hottest actors in Hollywood, Tom Cruise, and a young Kirsten Dunst in 1994.
Source: Bio Channel
Officially part of Hollywood's A-List, Pitt followed "Interview" with 1994's "Legends of the Fall" and David Fincher thriller, "Seven." But it was Terry Gilliam's 1995 psychological thriller "Twelve Monkeys" that would earn Pitt his first Oscar nomination and first Golden Globe win.
Source: Bio Channel
In 1995, Pitt began dating Hollywood it girl Gwyneth Paltrow. They dated for two years and became engaged. In 1997, the called off the engagement and broke up for unknown reasons.
Source: Parade; Bio Channel
Pitt shot in Argentina for his most ambitious film to date, 1997's "Seven Years in Tibet."
Source: Fox News
In 1998, Brad Pitt and "Friends" star Jennifer Aniston were set up on a date by their agents. They married two years later with a huge wedding in Malibu.
Source: Parade
Pitt did several big films between 1998 and 2001, including David Fincher's "Fight Club," Guy Ritchie's "Snatch," "The Mexican," opposite Julia Roberts, "Meet Joe Black," and Steven Soderbergh's "Ocean's Eleven," co-starring George Clooney and Matt Damon.
Source: Bio Channel
In 2000, People once again named Pitt its "Sexiest Man Alive," making him the first male to hold the title twice.
The 2004 blockbuster "Troy" would become Pitt's next big role, but its box office didn't meet expectations and it got mixed reviews from critics.
Source: Fox News
2004 would be a big year in Pitt's life. He began shooting "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" with Angelina Jolie. At the same time, there were reports of a romance between the co-stars and marital problems between Pitt and Aniston.
Source: Fox News
Aniston and Pitt announced their separation in January 2005 and their divorce was finalized in October.
Source: Bio Channel
Over the next several years, Pitt would star in several well-received films, including "Babel" (2006), the Coen brothers' "Burn After Reading" (2008), "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (2008), Quentin Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds" (2011), and "Moneyball" (2011).
In 2014, Pitt would win his first Oscar for "12 Years a Slave" – but not for acting. It was for producing the epic historical drama, under his production company, Plan B Entertainment.
After dating since 2005, Pitt and Jolie married in 2014 in a private ceremony in France.
Source: Bio Channel
In 2015, Pitt co-starred with Jolie in the art house film, "By the Sea." Jolie also wrote and directed the film about a couple trying to repair their marriage while staying at a hotel in France.
In 2015, Pitt produced and appeared in "The Big Short," a movie about the housing market bubble. The film earned him another Oscar nomination for producing.
In September 2016, Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt after two years of marriage and 11 years together. She requested sole physical custody of their six children.
Source: TMZ
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