Jeff Bridges Biography, Life, Interesting Facts

Early Years and Education

Jeffrey Leon Bridges was born 4th December 1949, to Lloyd and Dorothy Bridges. He was born in Los Angeles, California, in the United States. He came from a family ensconced in the entertainment industry.

His father was an actor; his mother was an actress and writer. As youngsters, Bridges and his older brother, Beau, both made regular appearances on Sea Hunt (1958 to 1961), which was their father’s show. They also appeared regularly on another of their father’s shows, The Lloyd Bridges Show (1962 to 1963).

Jeff Bridges had three siblings– a brother who died at an early age from sudden infant death syndrome, a younger sister, and an older brother, Lloyd, who also became a talented actor.

He studied at University High School, and he graduated in 1967. He then toured with his father in a stage production called Anniversary Waltz. Bridges then moved to New York City to study acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio.

Career

Although Jeff Bridges had done television work as a boy, his adult career didn’t start until 1969 on television, and 1970 in the film. Between 1969 and 2017, Bridges appeared on ten different television series, including, Lassie (1969), Saturday Night Live (1983 and 2010), and The Jonathan Ross Show (2017). He was also in four television movies.

From 1970 to 2000, Jeff Bridges was in 44 movies. Some of the movies included Thunderbolt & Lightfoot (1974), King Kong (1976) and Blown Away (1994). One of his best-known performances was in Tron (1982), in the science fiction genre. Jeff Bridges was also nominated for an Academy Award for his role in Starman (1984). His most famous role, however, was as The Dude in a movie by the Coen brothers called The Big Lebowski (1998).

Over the years, Bridges was also involved with music. He had learned piano when he was young, and he played guitar. In January 2000, he released his first studio album, Be Here Soon.

As well as continuing to act in the movies, Jeff Bridges also performed with his music, and in 2011 he signed a recording contract with Blue Note Records, through the EMI Music Group, and released his second album that same year, called Jeff Bridges. His third album was released in 2015, and it was a spoken-word album called Sleeping Tapes. This was a charity album, and all proceeds went to his charity called No Kid Hungry.

Between 2001 and 2018, Bridges was in a further 28 movies, including, Seabiscuit (2003), Iron Man (2008), and True Grit (2010).

Jeff Bridges is a keen photographer, and in 2003 he released a book of some of his photographs. The book is called Pictures: Photographs by Jeff Bridges.

In 2013, Bridges released a book he wrote with Bernie Glassman, called The Dude and the Zen Master.

Awards and Honors

Jeff Bridges has been nominated for over 60 awards, and he has won 15 of them. His wins include one Academy Award, one Golden Globe, and one Screen Actors Guild Award.

Personal

In 1977, Jeff Bridges married Susan Geston. When they met, Gaston was a waitress. The couple has three daughters.

Charitable Works

Jeff Bridges is active in working to help underprivileged children. In 1984, he established the End Hunger Network in conjunction with others from the entertainment industry. The Network supports action to end childhood hunger.

In 2010, he became a spokesperson for the No Kid Hungry campaign, which works towards getting rid of childhood hunger in the U.S.

In 2015, Jeff Bridges was an advocate for the End Childhood Hunger by 2015 initiative by President Barak Obama.