Vince Vaughn Biography
Summary
"Vincent Anthony Vaughn" (born March 28, 1970) is an American film actor. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before coming to wider renown with the 1996 movie, "Swingers". Vaughn has since appeared in a number of high-grossing Hollywood films, mostly comedies.
Biography
Early life
Vaughn was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Vernon Lindsay Vaughn, a salesman, and Sharon Eileen (née DePalmo), a Canadian-born broker once ranked as one of the United States' top money managers by "Bloomberg Wealth Manager" magazine. He has two older sisters, Valerie and Victoria. Vaughn's father was Protestant and his mother was Roman Catholic, and he was raised in the Catholic religion. He has English, Irish, German, Lebanese, and Italian ancestry. Vaughn's parents divorced in 1991. He grew up in Buffalo Grove, Illinois and then Lake Forest, Illinois, where he almost graduated from Lake Forest High School in 1988, with writer Dave Eggers. Vaughn developed an interest in theater at a young age. Although he had planned to pursue a career in water polo, he decided to become an actor in 1987, after being involved in a car accident which derailed his chance at athletic success. He had admitted in interviews that he was a bedwetter growing up, and did not manage to stay dry until a 'very late' age, a moment which he claims was his proudest childhood moment.
Career
In 1988, Vaughn was cast in a Chevrolet television commercial, and subsequently moved to Hollywood. Although he appeared in the 1989 season of the television series, "China Beach" and in three "CBS Schoolbreak Specials" (in 1990), he was a struggling actor and faced many rejections. His first film role was 1993's "Rudy", but Vaughn did not receive wider success until his role in 1996's "Swingers". While filming "Rudy", Vaughn met Jon Favreau, who was working on the original draft for "Swingers".
"Swingers" was released in July of 1996, and became a successful independent film. Afterwards, director Steven Spielberg cast Vaughn in the blockbuster "The Lost World: Jurassic Park", which gave him increased exposure. From there, Vaughn went on to appear in several films of varied success, including playing Norman Bates in the 1998 remake of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho". In 2000, he starred in "The Cell" with Jennifer Lopez, and in 2001, appeared in "Made", another film penned by Favreau. Vaughn also appeared in Dwight Yoakam's directorial debut movie "South of Heaven, West of Hell". Since Vaughn's role in the successful 2003 comedy, "Old School", his profile skyrocketed, and his notoriety improved. In 2004, he appeared alongside Ben Stiller in the hit films "Starsky & Hutch" and "Dodgeball", and had roles in 2005's "Be Cool", "Thumbsucker" and "Mr. & Mrs. Smith".
Also in 2005, Vaughn starred alongside Owen Wilson in the comedy "Wedding Crashers", which grossed over $200 million at the United States box office. Vaughn enjoyed the shoot, even keeping a (somewhat) odd picture that a character was supposed to have painted of him. After this series of roles, Vaughn was dubbed one of the Hollywood Frat Pack, a group of actors who frequently co-star in film comedies. In 2006, Vaughn starred with Jennifer Aniston in the comedy-drama "The Break-Up" (also with Favreau).
In 2007, Vaughn starred in a comedy called "Fred Claus", in which he played the sarcastic, wild-at-heart older brother of Santa Claus (Paul Giamatti). "Fred Claus" was directed by David Dobkin, who previously directed Vaughn in "Wedding Crashers", and co-starred Elizabeth Banks and Kevin Spacey. Next, he momentarily moved from comedy to drama in Sean Penn's critically acclaimed film "Into the Wild", a film about the adventures of Christopher McCandless, which was also a best-selling book by Jon Krakauer. He played the role of Wayne Westerberg opposite Emile Hirsch as McCandless. "Into the Wild" also featured Academy Award winner Marcia Gay Harden, Academy Award winner William Hurt, two time Academy Award nominee Catherine Keener, and Jena Malone.
Personal life
Vaughn dated two of his "The Break-Up" co-stars: actress Joey Lauren Adams during the filming of 1999's "A Cool, Dry Place" and Jennifer Aniston between 2005 and 2006. His relationship with Aniston began the summer after her separation from husband Brad Pitt. Due to the media firestorm surrounding it, along with Pitt's relationship with Angelina Jolie, Vaughn and Aniston's relationship was showered with tabloid attention. Rumors about the relationship include the couple moving to Australia, and a possible engagement. In the fall of 2006, Vaughn filed a lawsuit against three tabloid magazines, accusing them of falsely claiming that he had been unfaithful to Aniston, thus tacitly confirming their relationship. By December 2006, both Vaughn's and Aniston's reps confirmed that they had broken up. In "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", Vaughn plays the friend of Brad Pitt's character, who is convinced that his wife (played by Angelina Jolie) is trying to kill him. In real life, Pitt and his wife Jennifer Aniston were going through a break-up, and Pitt wound up with his onscreen wife Jolie. So for a brief period of time, Vaughn had been dating his co-star's (Pitt) real off-screen wife, Aniston (however, Vaughn and Aniston's relationship took place after the Pitt-Aniston divorce, and after the filming and release of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith").
In 2001, while filming "Domestic Disturbance", he got into a bar fight with a local man.
Vaughn is also an avid fan of the Chicago Cubs and the University of Notre Dame, both of which featured prominently in his film "The Break-Up".
Vaughn was part of the U.S.O. tour. He visited soldiers all over Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Iraq. Vaughn is also a registered Republican, having voted for George Bush in both elections in 2000 and 2004.
Awards
2006
People's Choice Awards, USA Favorite On-Screen Match-Up for: Wedding Crashers (2005) Shared with: Owen Wilson
MTV Movie Awards Best On-Screen Team for: Wedding Crashers (2005) Shared with: Owen Wilson
Teen Choice Awards Movies - Choice Chemistry for: The Break-Up (2006) Shared with: Jennifer Aniston
ShoWest Convention: Special Award - Comedy Star of the Year (2006)
2007
People's Choice Award category Favorite Leading Man
Spike TV's First Annual 'Guys Choice' Guy Movie Hall of Fame' for 'Swingers' along with Jon Favreau
External links
(Wild West Picture Show Productions)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Vince Vaughn.
