Clooney was raised a strictRoman Catholic[22] but said in 1998 that he did not know if he believed "in Heaven or even God".[23] He has said, "Yes, we were Catholic, big-time, whole family, whole group."[24] He began his education at the Blessed Sacrament School inFort Mitchell, Kentucky. He attended St. Michael's School inWorthington, Ohio; then Western Row Elementary School (a public school) inMason, Ohio, from 1968 to 1974; and St. Susanna School in Mason, where he served as an altar boy. The Clooneys moved back to Kentucky when George was midway through the seventh grade.[25] In middle school, Clooney developedBell's palsy, a medical condition that partially paralyzes the face. The malady went away within a year. In an interview withLarry King, he stated that "yes, it goes away. It takes about nine months to go away. It was the first year of high school, which was a bad time for having half your face paralyzed."[24] He also described one positive outcome of the condition: "It's probably a great thing that it happened to me because it forced me to engage in a series of making fun of myself. And I think that's an important part of being famous. The practical jokes have to be aimed at you."[26]
After his parents moved toAugusta, Kentucky, Clooney attendedAugusta High School. He has stated that he earned all As and a B in school,[12] and played baseball and basketball. He tried out to play professional baseball with theCincinnati Reds in 1977, but he did not pass the first round of player cuts and was not offered a contract.[27] He attendedNorthern Kentucky University from 1979 to 1981, majoring in broadcast journalism, and very briefly attended theUniversity of Cincinnati, but did not graduate from either.[28] He earned money selling women's shoes, selling insurance door to door, stocking shelves, working in construction, and cutting tobacco.[23][29]
Career
Early work (1978–1993)
Clooney in 1995
Clooney's first role was as anextra in the television miniseriesCentennial in 1978, which was based on thenovel of the same name byJames A. Michener and was partly filmed in Clooney's hometown of Augusta, Kentucky.[30][31] Clooney's first major role came in 1984 in the short-livedCBS sitcomE/R (not to be confused withER, the long-running medical drama). He played a handyman on the seriesThe Facts of Life and appeared as Bobby Hopkins, a detective, on an episode ofThe Golden Girls. In 1986, Clooney made his theater debut in the playVicious aboutSex Pistols musicianSid Vicious.[32]
Clooney's first prominent role was a semi-regular supporting role in the sitcomRoseanne, playingRoseanne Barr's supervisor Booker Brooks, followed by the role of a construction worker onBaby Talk, a co-starring role on the CBS dramaBodies of Evidence as Detective Ryan Walker, and then a year-long turn as Det. James Falconer onSisters. In 1988, Clooney played one of the lead roles in the comedy-horror filmReturn of the Killer Tomatoes.[33] In 1990, he starred in the short-livedABC police dramaSunset Beat.[34] During this period, Clooney was a student at theBeverly Hills Playhouse acting school for five years.[35]
Breakthrough and stardom (1994–1999)
Original cast ofER (1994–1995), with Clooney third from the left
WhileER was a hit, he expanded to form two production companies. The first production company he founded was Mirador Entertainment in February 1996, with formerABC vice president Deborah Leoni later serving as partner in July 1996, of which the company signed a two-year deal withNBC via theNBC Studios production company.[51] The second he founded was Maysville Pictures (formerly Left Bank Productions, which was renamed due to a conflict with the music management firm),[52] named for his home town, with partnerRobert Lawrence, and signed a three-year deal withWarner Bros. Pictures in November 1996.[51] In 1998, the NBC deal was replaced by a new TV deal for Maysville Pictures withWarner Bros. Television andCBS, shortly before leavingER, and rendered Mirador Entertainment defunct.[53] In order to expand Maysville into the television business, the company hired Ben Cosgrove, Pam Williams (who runs the TV side) and Kevin Field to run the company.[54] In September 1999, Clooney split from producer Robert Lawrence in the Maysville partnership.[51]
The following year he would work with Soderbergh yet again in thescience fiction dramaSolaris (2002) an adaptation of theacclaimed 1972 film directed byAndrei Tarkovsky.Roger Ebert praised the film and Clooney, writing: "Clooney has successfully survived being namedPeople magazine'ssexiest man alive by deliberately choosing projects that ignore that image. His alliance with Soderbergh, both as an actor and co-producer, shows a taste for challenge."[60] That same year Clooney made his directorial debut in the 2002 filmConfessions of a Dangerous Mind, based on the autobiography of TV producerChuck Barris. The film premiered out of competition at theCannes Film Festival to critical acclaim. Though the film did not do well at the box office, critics stated that Clooney's directing showed promise.[61]
In 2003, Clooney reunited with theCoen brothers in the romantic comedyIntolerable Cruelty oppositeCatherine Zeta-Jones. Elvis Mitchell ofThe New York Times praised their chemistry and the casting of Clooney in the role writing, "the good work comes from George Clooney, who happens to have theArt Deco profile fit for a 1930s comedy. He scores with his willingness to mock his above-average charisma level and the chiseled chin, cover-guy good looks".[62]
Clooney next appeared inThe Good German (2006), afilm noir directed by Soderbergh that is set in post-World War II Germany. In August 2006, Clooney and Heslov started the production companySmokehouse Pictures. In October 2006, Clooney received theAmerican Cinematheque Award, which honors someone in the entertainment industry who has made "a significant contribution to the art of motion pictures".[65] On January 22, 2008, Clooney was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor forMichael Clayton (2007) losing toDaniel Day-Lewis who won forPaul Thomas Anderson's dramaThere Will Be Blood (2007).
Later that year, he directed his third film,Leatherheads, in which he also starred. On April 4, 2008,Variety reported that Clooney had quietly resigned from theWriters Guild of America over a dispute concerningLeatherheads. Clooney, who is the director, producer and star of the film, claimed that he had contributed in writing "all but two scenes" of it, and requested a writing credit alongside Duncan Brantley andRick Reilly, who had worked on the screenplay for 17 years. Clooney lost an arbitration vote 2–1, and withdrew from the union over the decision. He became a "financial core status" non-member, meaning he no longer has voting rights, and cannot run for office or attend membership meetings, according to the Writers Guild of America's constitution.[66]
In 2013, Clooney co-foundedCasamigos Tequila withRande Gerber andMichael Meldman.[72] It was sold toDiageo for $700 million in June 2017, with an additional $300 million possible depending on the company's performance over the next ten years.[73] According to theForbes annual ranking, he was the world's highest-paid actor for 2017–2018, earning $239 million between June 1, 2017, and June 1, 2018.[74]
Focus on directing and Broadway debut (2014–present)
In 2014, Clooney co-wrote, directed and starred inThe Monuments Men, an adaptation ofThe Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History byRobert M. Edsel.[75] The film starred an ensemble cast of A-list stars includingMatt Damon,Cate Blanchett,Bill Murray,John Goodman andBob Balaban, as well as European starsHugh Bonneville andJean Dujardin. The film was a critical misfire and a box-office failure.[76] Many historians were critical of the film for its historical inaccuracies.The Guardian's film critic Andrew Pulver panned the film, writing that the film was "filled with unearned patriotic sentiment, sketchy to the point of inanity, and interrupted every few minutes with neurotic self-justification".[77] In the same year Clooney producedAugust: Osage County (2013), an adaptation ofthe play of the same title. The film starsMeryl Streep andJulia Roberts.[78]
His next film wasTomorrowland (2015), a science fiction adventure film in which he played Frank Walker, an inventor.[79] Later in the year, he was featured as himself in theNetflix Christmas musical comedyA Very Murray Christmas, starringBill Murray.[80] The following year, he starred inHail, Caesar!, a comedy from theCoen brothers set in the Hollywood film industry in the 1950s, which premiered in February 2016. Clooney portrayed Baird Whitlock, aRobert Taylor-type film star who is kidnapped during the production of a film.Josh Brolin co-starred asfixerEddie Mannix.[81] Clooney reunited withJulia Roberts for theJodie Foster-directed thrillerMoney Monster (2016), playing the host of a television show that investigates conspiracies oncommerce andWall Street, who is taken hostage by a bankrupt viewer given a bad tip.[82]
Clooney has also made humorous statements againstRepublican Party figures. In 2006, Clooney sarcastically thankedJack Abramoff at the63rd Golden Globe Awards before concluding with "Who would name their kid 'Jack' with 'off' at the end? No wonder the guy's screwed up."[110] Clooney has also described Republican donorSteve Wynn as an "asshole" and a "jackass", after the two had a heated disagreement over theAffordable Care Act.[111]
Relationship with Joe Biden
Clooney endorsedJoe Biden for the2020 presidential election,[112] and he hosted a virtual fundraiser for Biden together with Obama in July 2020.[113] In a July 2024op-ed forThe New York Times, Clooney called for Biden to withdraw from the2024 presidential election after a debate in which Biden had underperformed, with many critics citing his age as a significant factor. Clooney wrote of his friendship with Biden, saying: "I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As a vice president and as president. I consider him a friend, and I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals. In the last four years, he's won many of the battles he's faced." However, he stated that, "I saw Biden three weeks ago at my fundraiser for him. It's devastating to say it, but he is not the same man he was, and he won't win this fall." In the piece he called for there to be a new nominee, citing a possible primary at theDemocratic National Convention.[114][115][116]
In 2025, while promoting hisBroadway playGood Night, and Good Luck, Clooney stated that he stood by his choice in writing the op-ed, saying: "I was raised to tell the truth. I feel as if there was a lot of profiles in cowardice in my party. I was not proud of that. I also believed I had to tell the truth."[117]
Humanitarian work
Clooney inAbéché,Chad, in January 2008 with the United Nations
On August 7, 2020, George and Amal Clooney donated $100,000 to three Lebanese charities after the capital, Beirut, was left devastated by a deadly explosion. They donated money to the LebaneseRed Cross, Impact Lebanon, and Baytna Baytak. The blast claimed the lives of at least 145 people and injured more than 5,000.[126]
Clooney has advocated a resolution of theDarfur conflict.[127] He spoke at a 2006Save Darfur rally inWashington, D.C. In April 2006, he spent ten days in Chad and Sudan with his father to make the TV specialA Journey to Darfur reflecting the situation of Darfur's refugees, and advocated for action. The documentary was broadcast on American cable TV as well as in the UK and France. In 2008, it was released on DVD, with the sale proceeds being donated to theInternational Rescue Committee.[128][129][130][131] In September of the same year, he spoke to the UN Security Council with Nobel Prize-winnerElie Wiesel to ask the UN to find a solution to the conflict and to help the people of Darfur.[132] In December, he visited China and Egypt with Don Cheadle and two Olympic winners to ask both governments to pressure Sudan's government.[133]
On March 25, 2007, he sent an open letter to German ChancellorAngela Merkel, calling on theEuropean Union to take "decisive action" in the region given the failure of Sudan PresidentOmar al-Bashir to respond to UN resolutions.[134] He narrated and was co-executive producer of the 2007 documentarySand and Sorrow.[135] Clooney also appeared in the documentary filmDarfur Now, a call-to-action film released in November 2007 for people all over the world to help stop the Darfur crisis.[136] In December 2007, Clooney and fellow actor Don Cheadle received the Summit Peace Award from the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates in Rome. In his acceptance speech, Clooney said that "Don and I ... stand here before you as failures. The simple truth is that when it comes to the atrocities in Darfur ... those people are not better off now than they were years ago."[137] On January 18, 2008, the United Nations announced Clooney's appointment as a UN messenger of peace, effective January 31.[7][8]
Clooney discussesSudan with PresidentBarack Obama at the White House in October 2010
Clooney conceived of and, withJohn Prendergast—human rights activist, co-founder of theEnough Project, and Strategic Advisor for Not on Our Watch Project—initiated theSatellite Sentinel Project (SSP), after an October 2010 trip toSouth Sudan. SSP aims to monitor armed activity for signs of renewed civil war between Sudan and South Sudan, and to detect and deter mass atrocities along the border regions there.[138]
Clooney and Prendergast co-wrote aWashington Post op-ed piece in May 2011, titled "Dancing with a dictator in Sudan", arguing that:
PresidentOmar al-Bashir has been indicted by theInternational Criminal Court forgenocide, is escalating bombing and food aid obstruction in Darfur, and he now threatens the entire north-south peace process ... the evidence shows that incentives alone are insufficient to changeKhartoum's calculations. International support should be sought immediately for denyingdebt relief, expanding the ICC indictments, diplomatically isolating the regime, suspending all non-humanitarian aid, obstructing state-controlled bank transactions and freezing accounts holding oil wealth diverted by senior regime officials.[139]
On March 16, 2012, Clooney was arrested outside the Sudanese Embassy forcivil disobedience.[140][141] He intended to be arrested when he planned the protest.[141] Several other prominent participants were also arrested, includingMartin Luther King III.[141] Clooney has been described as one of the most strident critics of Omar al-Bashir.[142]
Armenian genocide recognition
Clooney supportsrecognition of the Armenian genocide. He is one of the chief associates of the 100 Lives Initiative, a project which aims to remember the lives lost during the event.[143] As part of the initiative, Clooney launched theAurora Prize, which awards to those who risk their lives to prevent genocides and atrocities.[143][144] Clooney had also urged various American government officials to support the United States' recognition of the Armenian Genocide.[144] He also visitedArmenia to commemorate the 101st anniversary of the event in April 2016.[145]
Syrian refugees
In May 2015, Clooney told theBBC that theSyrian conflict was too complicated politically to get involved in, and he wanted to focus on helpingthe refugees.[146] In March 2016, he and his wifeAmal met with Syrian refugees living inBerlin to mark the fifth anniversary of the conflict, before meeting with German chancellorAngela Merkel to thank her for Germany's open-door policy.[147]
Clooney is a supporter ofLGBTQ rights.[149] On March 28, 2019, Clooney wrote an open letter calling for the boycott of theSultan of Brunei's hotels over a new law that came into force on April 3, 2019, that punishes homosexual sex and adultery with death bystoning. Clooney lists nine hotels includingThe Dorchester, 45 Park Lane,Coworth Park,The Beverly Hills Hotel,Hotel Bel-Air,Le Meurice,Hotel Plaza Athenee, Hotel Eden and Hotel Principe di Savoia and asks readers to consider how "we are putting money directly into the pockets of men who choose to stone and whip to death their own citizens for being gay or accused of adultery."[150][151]
Personal life
Relationships
George andAmal Clooney at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival in Germany in 2016
Clooney dated actressKelly Preston from 1987 to 1989. During this relationship, he purchased aVietnamese pot-bellied pig named Max as a gift for Preston, but when their relationship ended, Clooney kept the pig for an additional 18 years until Max died in 2006. He has jokingly referred to Max as the longest relationship he had ever had.[152]
Clooney became engaged to British-Lebanese human rights lawyerAmal Alamuddin on April 28, 2014.[169][170] He subsequently said they forged a strong bond because of their interest in campaigning work, and particularly over the issue of theElgin Marbles, when she was acting for the government ofGreece in support of their return from theBritish Museum and he, while promoting his filmThe Monuments Men, had argued for this and been criticised by theMayor of London,Boris Johnson.[171]
In July 2014, Clooney publicly mocked British tabloid newspaper theDaily Mail after it claimed his fiancée's mother opposes their marriage on religious grounds.[172] When the tabloid apologized for its false story, Clooney refused to accept the apology. He called the paper "the worst kind of tabloid. One that makes up its facts to the detriment of its readers."[173] On August 7, 2014, Clooney and Alamuddin obtained marriage licenses at theRoyal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea of the United Kingdom.[174] Alamuddin and Clooney were officially married on September 27, 2014, atCa' Farsetti.[175] They were married by Clooney's friendWalter Veltroni, the former mayor of Rome.[176]
In 2015, Clooney and Alamuddin adopted a rescue dog, aBasset Hound named Millie, from the San Gabriel Valley Humane Society.[177]
On February 9, 2017, it was reported by the CBS talk show,The Talk, that Amal was pregnant, and that they were expecting twins.[178] On June 6, 2017, Amal gave birth to a daughter, Ella, and a son, Alexander.[179] In 2020, Clooney revealed toJimmy Kimmel andGraham Norton on theirrespectivetalk shows that the twins can speak Italian fluently, despite neither Clooney nor Alamuddin speaking the language.[180] In 2025, Clooney announced that he would be raising his children on a farm in France.[181]
Real estate
Clooney has property in Los Angeles. He purchased the 7,354-square-foot (683.2 m2) house in 1995 through his George Guilfoyle Trust. His home in Italy is in the village ofLaglio, onLake Como,[182] near the former residence of Italian authorAda Negri.[183] Clooney also owns a home inLos Cabos, Mexico, that is next door to the home ofCindy Crawford andRande Gerber.[184] In 2014, Clooney and his wife Amal Alamuddin bought the Grade IIlisted[185] Mill House on an island in theRiver Thames atSonning Eye inOxfordshire, England[186] at a cost of around £10 million.[187] In May 2021,The Economic Times reported Clooney plans to buy a vineyard near the village ofBrignoles, in France, which includes an 18th-century manor with its own swimming pool and a tennis court.[188]
Motorcycle accidents
On September 21, 2007, Clooney and then-girlfriend Sarah Larson were injured in a motorcycle accident inWeehawken, New Jersey, when his motorcycle was hit by a car. The driver of the car reported that Clooney attempted to pass him on the right,[189] while Clooney said that the driver signaled left and then decided to make an abrupt right turn and clipped his motorcycle. On October 9, 2007, more than two dozen staff atPalisades Medical Center were suspended without pay for looking at Clooney's medical records in violation of federal law.[190]
On July 10, 2018, Clooney was hit by a car while riding a motorcycle to a film set inSardinia. He was hospitalized with minor injuries.[191][192]
In November 2021, Clooney wrote an op-ed to British tabloidThe Daily Mail, petitioning them to stop publishing photos of his children, highlighting that his wife is an international lawyer who works "confronting and putting on trial terrorist groups" and that the tabloid was endangering their lives. In 2014, Clooney had rejected an apology from theDaily Mail for printing a false story, calling theMail the "worst kind of tabloid."[197]
In the media
Clooney has appeared in commercials outside the U.S. forFiat,Nespresso,Martini vermouth,Omega,Warburtons andDNB ASA Eiendom (a Norwegian bank and real estate agency).[198][199][200][201][202][203] Clooney was named one ofTime's 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2007, 2008 and 2009.[204][205][206] He is sometimes described as one of the most handsome men in the world.[207][208] In 2005,TV Guide ranked Clooney No. 1 on its "50 Sexiest Stars of All Time" list.[209] The cover story in a February 2008 issue ofTime was headlined with: "George Clooney: The Last Movie Star".[210]
^Breznican, Anthony (October 22, 2020)."George Clooney: Keep Fighting For Kentucky and Other Red States".Vanity Fair.Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. RetrievedFebruary 13, 2021.Growing up as a Democrat in Kentucky helped George Clooney get used to fighting impossible battles. With the presidential election fast approaching, the activist and actor says progressives should not give up on fighting for deep red states—even if the challenge seems insurmountable [...] "I've always been involved in Democratic politics since I was raised a Democrat in Kentucky. So imagine how much fun it was for me," said the actor, whose mother was active in city politics while his father ran unsuccessfully for congress in 2004, in an interview withVanity Fair about his upcoming film,The Midnight Sky.
^Kristof, Nicholas (February 21, 2009)."Sisters, Victims, Heroes".The New York Times.Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. RetrievedMay 3, 2010.
^"AmericanLife TV Network (ALN) Donates Proceeds From "A Journey to Darfur" DVD to the International Rescue Committee". Archived from the original on January 13, 2009. RetrievedJanuary 13, 2009. "In addition to premiering on AmericanLife TV Network, "A Journey to Darfur" has aired on The Community Channel in England and France 2. The documentary has also been shown at festivals and schools around the world, including, The second Refugee Film Festival in Tokyo presented by the UNHCR, Ilaria Alpi Journalistic Television Award based in Riccione, Italy, Milano Doc Festival, and the Human Rights Nights Film Festival in Bologna, Italy."
^"For George Clooney, life will never be the same".Reno Gazette-Journal. September 24, 1995.Archived from the original on July 31, 2021. RetrievedDecember 15, 2020.Dr. Ross also will date a variety of women this fall, Wells says. That's not unlike Clooney's past year, when he was linked to Frances Fisher (Unforgiven) and Cameron Diaz (The Mask), to name two.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
