Date of Birth: December 27, 1948

In the small town of Châteauroux in Indre, France, Gérard Depardieu was born the third of six children to a poor sheet metal worker. Depardieu left school at the age of 12 and took up a career as a juvenile delinquent. He left home and lived with prostitutes and was first exposed to the art of acting after tagging along with a friend who was training at the Theatre Nationale Populaire in Paris.

Depardieu started his acting career at the small traveling theater 'Cafe de la Gare' along with Patrick Dewaere. After minor roles in cinema, he finally got the chance to shine in Bertrand Blier's Les Valseuses (1974). That film established a new type of hero in the French cinema and the actor's popularity grew enormously.

He would go on to star in five more of Blier's films before working with French directors Alain Resnais, Maurice Pialat and Claude Berri.

Later he diversified his screen image and became the leading French actor of the '80s and '90s. He was twice awarded a César as Best Actor, for Le Dernier métro (1980) and Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), as well as receiving an Oscar nomination and BAFTA award for 'Cyrano' plus numerous awards at international film festivals.

Perhaps partying a bit too much over his accomplishments, Depardieu was convicted of drunk driving in France during that same year. He was sentenced to two months in jail (suspended) and lost his license for six months. He had motor troubles again nine years later when he crashed his motorcycle and was hospitalized while filming Astérix et Obélix contre César (1999) in Paris.

In 1990, Depardieu crossed the pond and made his American film debut, joining Andie McDowell in Green Card, a box office hit that earned him an American fan base and a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy. The following year, he starred as Christopher Columbus in Ridley Scott's epic, 1492: Conquest of Paradise. He has since become a regular player in Hollywood, starring in such films as Bogus with Whoopie Goldberg, The Secret Agent with Bob Hoskins, The Man in the Iron Mask with Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich and Leonardo DiCaprio, and 102 Dalmatians with Glenn Close. He can most recently be seen in the big-screen adaptation of the best-selling novel Life of Pi (2012).

With more than 115 films on his resumé and 34 films that sold more than a million tickets each to his credit, Gérard Depardieu has been crowned France's all-time box office champ by Le Film Française.

In 1996 he was distinguished with the highest French title of 'Chevalier du Légion d'Honneur.' He married Elisabeth Depardieu, who appeared with him in Jean de Florette (1986), and has a daughter, Julie Depardieu, and a son, Guillaume Depardieu, both of whom are actors.

In addition to a prolific film career, Depardieu has recorded several albums and has been actively involved in the theater since 1968. In 1984, he starred opposite his wife in a stage production of Molière's Tartuffe, which he also directed and co-wrote as a film that same year.

Married since 1970, Depardieu and his wife are now divorced. Depardieu reportedly has another daughter, Roxanne, born out of wedlock in 1992 to a model. In January 2001, he became a grandfather when his son's wife, Elise, gave birth to a daughter. In his private time, Depardieu is an accomplished winemaker.

Filmography:

My Sinful Angel (2012)
Life of Pi (2012)
The Man Who Laughs (2012)
Potiche (2010)
Glenn, the Flying Robot (2010)
Dumas (2010)
In the Beginning (2009)
Inspector Bellamy (2009)
Coco (2009)
Diamond 13 (2009)
Hello, Goodbye (2008)
Bouquet final (2008)
Mesrine: Part 2 - Public Enemy #1 (2008)
Mesrine: Part 1 - Killer Instinct (2008)
Babylon A.D. (2008)
The Easy Way (2008)
Disco (2008)