Brad Pitt arrived in Hollywood nearly two decades ago. Today, he's one of the most recognizable faces in the world.
While looks may have nabbed him some early roles, it took great ambition, talent, and the ability to swivel between acting and producing to create a career that could stand the test of time.
Pitt has starred in many of the most enduring and beloved movies in entertainment history, including "Thelma and Louise," "Interview with the Vampire," "Moneyball," "A River Runs Through It," and "Ocean's Eleven."
As with any Hollywood heart throb, Pitt's personal life has sold a great number of magazines. He has been attached to some of the biggest actresses in the entertainment business, from Gwyneth Paltrow to Jennifer Aniston, and
soon-to-be-ex-wife Angelina Jolie.
Here's how this Missouri kid found his way to Hollywood and 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.
Brad Pitt attended Kickapoo High School, where he was a member of the golf, swimming and tennis teams.Bio Channel
Just 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.
Brad Pitt originally aspired to be an advertising art director.Kickapoo High School/Public Domain
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).
In his early Hollywood days, Brad Pitt worked as a limo driver, a furniture mover, and a costumed mascot for El Pollo Loco.Kickapoo High School/Public Domain
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.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
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.
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.
Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis first co-starred in the NBC made-for-television movie "Too Young to Die" in 1989.AP Photo/Reed Saxon
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.
Anne Rice, the author of the book "Interview With the Vampire" was based one, was unhappy about the casting of Cruise and Pitt. She later changed her mind after watching the film.Warner Bros.
In 1995, People magazine named Pitt that year's "Sexiest Man Alive."
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.
In 1995, Pitt began dating Hollywood it girl Gwyneth Paltrow. They dated for two years and became engaged. In 1997, they called off the engagement and broke up for unknown reasons.
Pitt and Paltrow at the 1996 Oscars.AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
Pitt shot in Argentina for his most ambitious film to date, 1997's "Seven Years in Tibet."
"Seven Years in Tibet" got Pitt banned for life from returning by China.Mandalay Entertainment
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.
AP Photo/Michael Caulfield
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.
In 2000, People once again named Pitt its "Sexiest Man Alive," making him the first male to hold the title twice.
The 2004 movie "Troy" would become Pitt's next big role, but its box office didn't meet expectations and it got mixed reviews from critics.
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.
Aniston and Pitt announced their separation in January 2005 and their divorce was finalized in October.
Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt attend the "Troy" premiere at Cannes in 2004.Bruno Vincent/Getty Images
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.
Pitt and Jolie have six children together, including three adopted children: Maddox, Pax Thien, and Zahara.Getty Images
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.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie arrive at Narita International Airport with their children, from left, Maddox, Vivienne, Zahara and Knox in 2009.Junko Kimura/Getty Images
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