George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an
Academy Award- and
Golden Globe award-winning
American actor,
director,
producer, and
screenwriter. Clooney has balanced his glamorous performances in big-budget
blockbusters with work as a producer and director behind commercially riskier projects, as well as
social and
liberal political activism. On January 31, 2008, the
United Nations named Clooney a "Messenger of peace".
[Clooney PSA Announcement]
Early life
Clooney was born in
Lexington, Kentucky. His mother, Nina Bruce (
née Warren), is a former
pageant queen, while his father,
Nick, is a
journalist,
anchorman,
game show and
American Movie Classics host, and an aspiring politician from the state of
Kentucky.
[George Clooney Biography - Film Reference] Clooney is of
Irish and
German descent.
[www.genealogy.com/famousfolks/george-clooney/index.htm#toc]
He has an older sister, Adelia (aka Ada) and his cousins include actors
Miguel and
Rafael Ferrer, who are the sons of his aunt, singer
Rosemary Clooney, and actor
José Ferrer. He is also related to another singer,
Debby Boone, who married José and Rosemary's son, Gabriel Ferrer. From an early age, Clooney would hang around his father's sets, often participating in shows, where he proved to be a crowd favorite. He worked at Mcalpins with the lovely and talented Lisa Schaiper.