Biography of Sean Penn

Sean Penn is a versatile American actor, director, and political activist. Forty-eight-year-old Penn has won two Academy Awards and one each of the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award, in a career spanning over two decades.

Biography of Sean Penn

Sean Penn was born on August 17, 1960, in the Los Angeles county of California, in United States. His father Leo Penn, was an actor-director himself, while his mother Eileen Ryan, was an actress. He ventured into filmdom in the early 1980s, with his silver screen debut in Harold Becker's Taps, in 1981. He portrayed the character of a military high school cadet in this movie.

One of his most successful films Fast Times at Ridgemont High, followed soon after. His portrayal of Jeff Spicoli, in this 1982 comedy flick, made him quite famous. In 1983, he appeared on the screen as Mick O'Brien, in director Rick Rosenthal's Bad Boys. During this initial phase of his career, Sean dated Elizabeth McGovern, an American actress, and Susan Sarandon, an Academy Award winning actress, before finally marrying pop sensation Madonna, in 1985.

His four-year marriage with Madonna was in news for all the wrong reasons, and finally, ended with a divorce in 1989. Between 1985 and 1995, Penn worked in films like The Falcon and the Snowman (1985), At Close Range (1986), Judgment in Berlin (1988), Casualties of War (1989), State of Grace (1990), and The Last Party (1993). After his divorce with Madonna, Sean started dating actress Robin Wright. They had their first child, Dylan Frances, in 1991. Two years later, in 1993, Robin gave birth to their second child, Hopper Jack. Sean and Robin got married in 1996.

In 1993, Penn was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his portrayal of David Kleinfeld, in the film Carlito's Way. This was his first major award nomination, which was followed by hordes of other nominations, including five Academy Awards, for films like, Dead Man Walking (1995), Sweet and Lowdown (1999), I am Sam (2001), Mystic River (2003), and Milk (2008). He won his first Academy Award for a Clint Eastwood crime thriller, Mystic River, in 2003. He also won a Golden Globe for the same film. In 2008, he won his second Academy Award, for the film Milk, and also bagged a Screen Actors Guild Award for this movie, which was based on the life of Harvey Milk, a real life gay activist and politician.

Sean Penn also tried his hand at direction, and was largely successful in it. His directorial debut came with The Indian Runner, in 1991. Penn's other directorial ventures were, The Crossing Guard (1995), The Pledge (2001) and Into the Wild (2007). All these films received good critical appreciation. He also directed music videos like Shania Twain's Dance with the One that Brought You; and shows, such as The Barry Williams Show.

Over the years, Sean Penn has also been actively involved in political and social causes. He sent an open letter to former President George Bush, in the form of an advertisement in the Washington Post, dated October 18, 2002, asking him to end his violent streak. In 2005, Sean volunteered to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and Louisiana. In 2006, he participated in the 'Out of Iraq Forum', an antiwar movement, seeking an end to the war in Iraq. In 2006, Penn had an hour-long meeting with the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. In 2008, he traveled all the way to Cuba, and interviewed the Cuban President, Raul Castro.

Sean Penn has always made the news, on-screen with his power-packed performances, and off-screen with his remarks and controversies. But, his numerous awards speak for him, and after watching his directorial ventures, there is no doubt that we will be seeing a lot more of Sean Penn, albeit more on the directorial front.