GEORGE CLOONEY
Date of Birth: May 6, 1961
George Timothy Clooney had his share of failures before reaching the lofty height of Sexiest Man Alive, an honor bestowed by People Magazine in 1997. Born In Lexington, Kentucky, he moved around with his family to accommodate his father's job as a TV newscaster and talk show host.
George studied at Northern Kentucky University but never earned a degree. He tried out for the Cincinnati Reds but didn't make the team. He got a small part in a film called And They're Off! but it was never released. He drove a beat up car that never went over 50 mph, but at least it got him to California to stay with his Aunt Rosemary, a singer and actress who was once married to Jose Ferrer.
Continuing true to form, Clooney made 15 television pilots, none of which were picked up. He married Talia Balsam in 1989 but divorced three years later. Perhaps this is why he's reluctant to reveal anything about his life. "I don't like to share my personal life ... it wouldn't be personal if I shared it."
Aside from being chosen Sexiest Man Alive, he was one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World, according to People magazine. All of this attention came his way after being chosen to play the part of the philandering doctor Doug Ross on the hit TV show ER.
"What I've learned, " he says, "is that you have to love the entire process. You have to love auditioning, you have to love going to work, because otherwise it all rushes by."
In 2001 he won his first Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Comedy for his performance in the film O Brother, Where Art Thou?. More recently, he decided to not only play a role in, but also made his directorial debut with the independent film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), then followed that up with Good Night, and Good Luck (2005). He took on supporting roles in Welcome to Collinwood and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003) and starred in Solaris (2003), a remake of a successful Russian film, but the movie bombed at the box office and with critics.
The highly anticipated Intolerable Cruelty (2003), pairing Clooney with Catherine Zeta-Jones and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, also did not do well at the box office, to the surprise of many. Clooney returned in the sequel to his 2001 hit Ocean's Eleven with Ocean's Twelve (2004), also taking on the role of producer, but it was his work in the political drama Syriana (2005) that not only won him a second Golden Globe, but a supporting actor Academy Award as well. His direction of Good Night, and Good Luck (2005) earned him a Best Achievement in Directing and Best Screenplay nominations at the 78th Academy Awards as well. For his role in Up in the Air, he received nominations from both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards. Clooney won a Golden Globe and received a Leading Actor Academy Award nomination for his performance in The Descendants (2011).
In 2006, at the age of 45, he was named People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive for the second time. At the 2010 Emmy Awards, he was given the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.