Pitt was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, to Southern Baptist parents William
A. Pitt and Jane Etta Hillhouse. The Pitt family is English. He
and his two siblings, Doug Pitt and Julie Pitt, grew up in Springfield,
Missouri, where the family moved soon
after his birth. In high school,
Pitt was involved in sports, debating, student government, and school
musicals. He attended the Missouri School of Journalism at the
University of Missouri - Columbia where he became a member of the Sigma
Chi Fraternity. He was two credits short of graduating with a journalism
degree before trying his luck in Hollywood.
Career
Before he became successful at acting, Pitt supported himself as a
chauffeur, a furniture mover, and a costumed mascot for the restaurant
chain El Pollo Loco. In the late 1980s, Pitt started landing acting gigs
on primetime series such as Dallas, , 21 Jump Street, Freddy's
Nightmares, Another World, Growing Pains, and Head of the Class. In
1988, he landed his first starring role in The Dark Side of the
Sun. However, as the film was being edited, civil war tore apart
Yugoslavia, where location shooting was taking place. Most of the
footage remained lost until 1998, when the film was finally released.
In 1991, Pitt finally got his big break in Thelma & Louise as J.D.,
Thelma (Geena Davis)'s one-night stand who gives her tips on robbing
7-Eleven stores. He followed up that success with A River Runs Through
It, Legends of the Fall and Se7en. He was nominated for an Academy Award
as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1995 film Twelve
Monkeys.
In 1995, he was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 25 sexiest stars
in film history. Pitt has also twice been named the Sexiest Man Alive by
People magazine, the only person to ever receive this honor more than
once. He is consistently rated among the world's sexiest men in womens'
polls worldwide.
Also in 1997, the film Seven Years in Tibet was released. This film,
which chronicled China's invasion of Tibet, was hailed by Tibetan
nationalists and resulted in Brad Pitt, along with his co-star David
Thewlis, being banned from entering China for life.
In 1999 he starred in one of his most recognizable roles in the cult
classic Fight Club, based on a novel by Chuck Palahniuk.
Since then he has done numerous films, including Mr. & Mrs. Smith, in
which he starred in the title roles with his current partner, Angelina
Jolie.
