George Clooney

Biography: An American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award. Clooney is also noted for his social activism and has served as one of the United Nations Messengers of Peace since January 31, 2008.

Though he made his acting debut on television in 1978, Clooney gained fame and recognition by portraying Dr. Douglas "Doug" Ross on the long-running medical drama ER from 1994 to 1999. While working on ER, he started attracting a variety of leading roles in films including Batman & Robin (1997) and Out of Sight (1998), where he first teamed with long-term collaborator Steven Soderbergh. In 2001, Clooney?s fame widened with the release of his biggest commercial success, Ocean?s Eleven, the first of a profitable film trilogy, that is a remake of the movie from 1960 with the members of The Rat Pack with Frank Sinatra as Danny Ocean. He made his directorial debut a year later with the 2002 biographical thriller Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and has since directed Good Night, and Good Luck (2005) and Leatherheads (2008). He won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in the Middle East thriller Syriana (2005).

Clooney?s humanitarian work includes his advocacy of finding a resolution for the Darfur conflict, raising funds for the 2010 Haiti earthquake, 2004 Tsunami and 9/11 victims, and creating documentaries such as Sand and Sorrow to raise awareness about international crises.

Clooney was born in Georgetown, Kentucky. His mother, Nina Bruce (nee Warren), is a former beauty pageant queen; his father, Nick Clooney, is a former anchorman, as well as a game show and American Movie Classics host. Clooney is of part Irish descent on his father?s side. Clooney was raised a strict Roman Catholic. He has an older sister, Adelia (also known as Ada).

Clooney began his education at the Blessed Sacrament School in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. Spending part of his childhood in Ohio, he attended St. Michael?s School in Columbus, and St. Susanna School in Mason, Ohio. In middle school, Clooney developed Bell?s palsy, a debilitating condition that partially paralyzes the face. The malady went away within a year. "That was the worst time of my life," he told the Daily Mirror in 2003. "You know how cruel kids can be. I was mocked and taunted, but the experience made me stronger."

His parents eventually moved to Augusta, Kentucky, where Clooney attended Augusta High School. He has stated that he earned all As and a B in school, and was an enthusiastic baseball and basketball player. He tried out with the Cincinnati Reds in 1977 to play professional baseball, but was not offered a contract. He did not pass the first round of player cuts. He attended Northern Kentucky University from 1979 to 1981 majoring in Broadcast Journalism and, very briefly, the University of Cincinnati, but did not graduate from either. He had such odd jobs as selling men?s suits and cutting tobacco.

Clooney?s first role was as an extra in the TV series Centennial in 1978. The series was based on the novel of the same name by James Michener and was partially filmed in Clooney?s hometown of Augusta, Kentucky. Clooney?s first major role came in 1984 in the short-lived sitcom E/R (not to be confused with ER, the better-known hospital drama, on which Clooney also co-starred a decade later).

His first significant break was a semi-regular supporting role in the sitcom Roseanne, playing Roseanne Barr?s supervisor Booker Brooks, followed by the role of a construction worker on Baby Talk and then as a sexy detective on Sisters. In 1988, Clooney also played a role in Return of the Killer Tomatoes.

Clooney achieved stardom when he played Dr. Doug Ross, alongside Anthony Edwards, Julianna Margulies, and Noah Wyle on the hit NBC drama ER from 1994 to 1999. After leaving the series in 1999, he made a cameo appearance in the 6th season and returned for a guest spot in the show?s final season.

Clooney began appearing in movies while working on ER. His first major Hollywood role was in From Dusk till Dawn, directed by Robert Rodriguez. He followed its success with One Fine Day with Michelle Pfeiffer and The Peacemaker with Nicole Kidman.

Clooney was married to Talia Balsam from 1989 until they divorced in 1993. Since then, Clooney has said that he will never marry again. After meeting on the set of a Martini advertisement in 2000, he had a five-year on/off relationship with British model Lisa Snowdon. In 2007, he started dating Sarah Larson and the couple broke up in May 2008. From 2009 to June 2011, Clooney was in a relationship with Elisabetta Canalis.

Often featured in People Magazine?s "Sexiest Man Alive" issue, Clooney?s marital status and availability is a running joke for female fans who still fantasize they have a chance to bring him to the altar. Madame Tussaud?s Wax Museum in Las Vegas has a "Marrying George Clooney" photo-op in which museum visitors can put on a wedding gown and stand next to a wax statue of the smiling actor in a tuxedo.

As of August 3, 2011, he was reported to have been dating former WWE diva Stacy Keibler after his recent break up with model Elisabetta Canalis.

Clooney?s main home is in Los Angeles. He purchased the 7,354 square feet house in 1995 through his George Guifoyle Trust. His villa in Italy is situated in the village of Laglio, on Lake Como