Mel Gibson

Biography: An American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.

After appearing in the Mad Max and Lethal Weapon series, Gibson went on to direct and star in the Academy Award-winning Braveheart. In 2004, he directed and produced The Passion of the Christ, a controversial, yet successful, film portraying the last hours in the life of Jesus.

Gibson was born Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson in Peekskill, New York, the sixth of 11 children, and the second son of Hutton Gibson and Irish-born Anne Patricia (nee Reilly). His paternal grandmother was the Australian opera contralto Eva Mylott (1875-1920). One of Gibson?s younger brothers, Donal, is also an actor. Gibson?s first name comes from Saint Mel, fifth-century Irish saint, and founder of Gibson?s mother?s native diocese, Ardagh, while his second name, Colm-Cille, is also shared by an Irish saint and is the name of the parish in County Longford where Gibson?s mother was born and raised. Because of his mother, Gibson holds dual Irish and American citizenship.

Soon after being awarded US$145,000 in a work-related-injury lawsuit against New York Central Railroad on 14 February 1968, Hutton Gibson relocated his family to West Pymble, Sydney, Australia. Mel Gibson was 12 years old at the time. The move to Hutton?s mother?s native Australia was for economic reasons, and because Hutton thought the Australian Defence Forces would reject his oldest son for the draft during the Vietnam War.

Gibson was educated by members of the Congregation of Christian Brothers at St Leo?s Catholic College in Wahroonga, New South Wales, during his high school years.

Gibson gained very favourable notices from film critics when he first entered the cinematic scene, as well as comparisons to several classic movie stars. Gibson?s roles in the "Mad Max" series of films, Peter Weir?s Gallipoli, and the "Lethal Weapon" series of films earned him the label of "action hero". Later, Gibson expanded into a variety of acting projects including human dramas such as Hamlet, and comedic roles such as those in Maverick and What Women Want. He expanded beyond acting into directing and producing, with: The Man Without a Face, in 1993; Braveheart, in 1995; The Passion of the Christ, in 2004; and Apocalypto, in 2006.

Sean Connery once suggested Gibson should play the next James Bond to Connery?s M. Gibson turned down the role, reportedly because he feared being typecast.

Gibson met Robyn Denise Moore in the late 1970s soon after filming Mad Max when they were both tenants at a house in Adelaide. At the time, Robyn was a dental nurse and Mel was an unknown actor working for the South Australian Theatre Company. On 7 June 1980, Mel and Robyn Gibson were married in a Roman Catholic church in Forestville, New South Wales. They have one daughter, six sons, and two grandchildren.

After 26 years of marriage, Mel and Robyn Gibson separated on 29 July 2006. In a 2011 interview, Gibson stated that the separation began the day following his arrest for drunk driving in Malibu. Robyn Gibson filed for divorce on 13 April 2009, citing irreconcilable differences. In a joint statement, the Gibsons declared, "Throughout our marriage and separation we have always strived to maintain the privacy and integrity of our family and will continue to do so." The divorce filing followed the March 2009 release of photographs appearing to show him on a beach embracing Russian pianist Oksana Grigorieva.

On 28 April 2009, Gibson made a red carpet appearance with Grigorieva. She (who had previously had a son with actor Timothy Dalton), gave birth to Gibson?s daughter Lucia in 2009. In April 2010, it was made public that Gibson and Grigorieva had split.

Gibson is a property investor, with multiple properties in Malibu, California, several locations in Costa Rica, a private island in Fiji and properties in Australia. In December 2004, Gibson sold his 300-acre Australian farm in the Kiewa Valley for $6 million. Also in December 2004, Gibson purchased Mago Island in Fiji from Tokyu Corporation of Japan for $15 million. Descendants of the original native inhabitants of Mago, who were displaced in the 1860s, have protested the purchase. Gibson stated it was his intention to retain the pristine environment of the undeveloped island.

In early 2005, he sold his 45,000-acre Montana ranch to a neighbour. In April 2007 he purchased a 400-acre ranch in Costa Rica for $26 million, and in July 2007 he sold his 76-acre Tudor estate in Connecticut (which he purchased in 1994 for $9 million) for $40 million to an unnamed buyer. Also that month, he sold a Malibu property for $30 million that he had purchased for $24 million two years before. In 2008, he purchased the Malibu home of David Duchovny and Tea Leoni.