John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is a retired American actor and filmmaker.[1] Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the great actors of the 20th century, often playing charismatic rebels fighting against the social structure.[2][3][4] Over his five-decade-long career, he receivednumerous accolades, including threeAcademy Awards, threeBritish Academy Film Awards, sixGolden Globe Awards, and aGrammy Award.
John Joseph Nicholson was born on April 22, 1937, inNeptune City, New Jersey,[5][6] the son of ashowgirl, June Frances Nicholson (stage name June Nilson; 1918–1963).[7][8] Nicholson's mother was of Irish, English, German, and Welsh descent. Nicholson has identified as Irish, comparing himself to the playwrightEugene O'Neill, whom he played in the filmReds (1981): "I'm not saying I'm as dark as he was ... but I am a writer, I am Irish, I have had problems with my family."[9] His mother marriedItalian-American showman Donald Furcillo (stage name Donald Rose; 1909–1997) in 1936, before realizing that he was already married.[10]: 8 [11] BiographerPatrick McGilligan stated in his bookJack's Life that Latvian-born Eddie King (originally Edgar A. Kirschfeld),[12] June's manager, may have been Nicholson's biological father, rather than Furcillo. Other sources suggest June Nicholson was unsure of the father's identity.[7]
As June was only 17 and unmarried, her parents[note 1] agreed to raise Nicholson as their own child without revealing his true parentage, with June acting as his sister.[13] In 1974,Time magazine researchers learned, and informed Nicholson, that his "sister", June, was actually his mother, and his other "sister", Lorraine, was really his aunt.[14] By this time, both his mother and grandmother had died (in 1963 and 1970, respectively). On finding out, Nicholson said it was "a pretty dramatic event, but it wasn't what I'd call traumatizing ... I was pretty well psychologically formed".[13]
Nicholson grew up in Neptune City, New Jersey.[10]Before starting high school, his family moved to an apartment inSpring Lake, New Jersey.[10]: 16 [15] "Nick", as he was known to his high school friends, attended nearbyManasquan High School, where he was voted "Class Clown" by the Class of 1954. He was in detention every day for a whole school year.[6] A theatre and a drama award at the school are named in his honor. In 2004, Nicholson attended his 50-yearhigh school reunion accompanied by his aunt Lorraine.[10]
Nicholson first came to California in 1950, when he was 13, to visit his sister. He took a job as an office worker for animation directorsWilliam Hanna andJoseph Barbera at theMGM cartoon studio. They offered him an entry-level job as an animator, but he declined, citing his desire to become an actor.[17] While accepting theCecil B. DeMille Award at the56th Golden Globe Awards, he recalled that his first day as a working actor (onTales of Wells Fargo) was May 5, 1955, which he considered lucky, as 5 was the jersey number of his boyhood idol,Joe DiMaggio.[19] He trained to be an actor with a group called the Players Ring Theater, after which he found small parts performing on the stage and in TV soap operas.[2] He made his film debut in a low-budget teen dramaThe Cry Baby Killer (1958), playing the title role. For the next decade, Nicholson frequently collaborated with the film's producer,Roger Corman. Corman directed Nicholson on several occasions, such as inThe Little Shop of Horrors as undertaker (andmasochistic dental patient) Wilbur Force; inThe Raven;The Terror, where he plays a French officer seduced by an evil ghost; andThe St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Nicholson frequently worked with directorMonte Hellman on low-budget westerns; two of them—Ride in the Whirlwind andThe Shooting—initially failed to interest U.S. film distributors but gained cult success on the French art-house circuit and were later sold to television. Nicholson also appeared in two episodes ofThe Andy Griffith Show, and starred as a rebellious dirt-track race driver in the 1960 filmThe Wild Ride.
With his acting career foundering, Nicholson seemed resigned to a career behind the camera as a writer/director. His first real taste of writing success was the screenplay for the 1967counterculture filmThe Trip (directed by Corman), starringPeter Fonda andDennis Hopper. After first reading the script, Fonda told Nicholson he was impressed by the writing and felt it could become a great film. But Fonda was disappointed with how the film turned out and blamed the editing for turning it into a "predictable" film and said so publicly. "I was livid", he recalls.[20] Nicholson also co-wrote, withBob Rafelson, the movieHead, which starredThe Monkees, and arranged the movie's soundtrack.
Nicholson's first big acting break came when a role opened up in Fonda and Hopper'sEasy Rider (1969). He played alcoholic lawyer George Hanson, for which he received his first Oscar nomination. The film cost only $400,000 to make, and became a blockbuster, grossing $60 million.[21] BiographerJohn Parker writes that Nicholson's interpretation of his role placed him in the company of earlierantihero actors, such asJames Cagney andHumphrey Bogart, while promoting him into an "overnight number-one hero of the counter-culture movement".[21] The part was a lucky break for Nicholson. The role had been written forRip Torn, who withdrew from the project after an argument with Hopper.[22] Nicholson later acknowledged the importance of being cast inEasy Rider: "All I could see in the early films, beforeEasy Rider, was this desperate young actor trying to vault out of the screen and create a movie career."[23]Stanley Kubrick, who was impressed by his performance inEasy Rider, cast Nicholson asNapoleon in a film about his life, and although production on the film commenced,the project fizzled out, partly due to a change in ownership at MGM.[24]
In 1970, Nicholson starred inFive Easy Pieces alongsideKaren Black in what became his persona-defining role. Nicholson and Black were nominated for Academy Awards for their performances. Nicholson played Bobby Dupea, an oil rig worker, and Black played his waitress girlfriend. Black noted that Nicholson's character in the film was very subdued and very different from Nicholson's real personality. She said that the now-infamous restaurant scene was partly improvised by Nicholson, and was out of character for Bobby, who would not have cared enough to argue with a waitress.[25] "I think that Jack really has very little in common with Bobby. I think Bobby has given up looking for love. But Jack hasn't, he's very interested in love, in finding out things. Jack is a very curious, alive human being. Always ready for a new idea."[26]Nicholson himself said as much, telling an interviewer, "I like listening to everybody. This to me is the elixir of life."[27]
Black later admitted that she had a crush on Nicholson from the time they met, although they dated only briefly. "He was very beautiful. He just looked right at you ... I liked him a lot ... He really sort of wanted to date me but I didn't think of him that way because I was going withPeter Kastner ... Then I went to doEasy Rider, but didn't see him because we didn't have any scenes together ... At the premiere, I saw him out in the lobby afterward and I started crying ... He didn't understand that, but what it was was that I really loved him a lot, and I didn't know it until I saw him again, because it all welled up."[26]: 36
Within a month after its release that September,Five Easy Pieces became a blockbuster, making Nicholson aleading man and the "new American anti-hero", according to McDougal.[10] Critics began speculating as to whether he might become anotherMarlon Brando orJames Dean. His career and income skyrocketed. He said, "I have [become] much sought after. Your name becomes a brand image like a product. You become Campbell's soup, with thirty-one different varieties of roles you can play."[10]He told his new agent, Sandy Bresler, to find him unusual roles so he could stretch his acting skill: "I like to play people that haven't existed yet, a 'cusp character'", he said, "I have that creative yearning. Much in the wayChagall flies figures into the air: once it becomes part of the conventional wisdom, it doesn't seem particularly adventurous or weird or wild."[10]: 130
Also in 1970, Nicholson appeared in the film adaptation ofOn a Clear Day You Can See Forever, although most of his performance was left on thecutting room floor. His agent turned down a starring role inDeliverance when the film's producer and director,John Boorman, refused to pay what Nicholson's agent wanted.[10]In 1971, Nicholson starred inCarnal Knowledge, a comedy-drama directed byMike Nichols and co-starringArt Garfunkel,Ann-Margret, andCandice Bergen. He was nominated for aGolden Globe Award for Best Actor. Nichols felt few actors could handle the role, saying, "There is James Cagney, Spencer Tracy, Humphrey Bogart, and Henry Fonda. After that, who is there but Jack Nicholson?"[28] During the filming, Nicholson struck up what became a lifelong friendship with Garfunkel. When he visited Los Angeles, Garfunkel stayed at Nicholson's home in a room Nicholson jokingly called "the Arthur Garfunkel Suite".[10]: 127
Other Nicholson roles includedHal Ashby'sThe Last Detail (1973), withRandy Quaid, for which Nicholson wonBest Actor at theCannes Film Festival and was nominated for his third Oscar and a Golden Globe. Television journalistDavid Gilmour writes that one of his favorite Nicholson scenes from all his films was the often censored one in this film, when Nicholson slaps his gun on the bar yelling hewas the Shore Patrol.[29][30] CriticRoger Ebert called it a very good movie, but credited Nicholson's acting as the main reason: "He creates a character so complete and so complex that we stop thinking about the movie and just watch to see what he'll do next."[31] In 1974, Nicholson starred inRoman Polanski's noir thrillerChinatown, and was again nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Actor for his role as Jake Gittes, a private detective. The film co-starredFaye Dunaway andJohn Huston, and included a cameo role with Polanski. Ebert called Nicholson's portrayal sharp-edged, menacing, and aggressive, a character who knew "how to go over the top", as he did inOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. That edge keptChinatown from becoming a typical genre crime film.[32] Ebert also notes the importance of the role for Nicholson's career, seeing it as a major transition from the exploitation films of the previous decade. "As Jake Gittes, he stepped into Bogart's shoes", says Ebert. "As a man attractive to audiences because he suggests both comfort and danger ... From Gittes forward, Nicholson created the persona of a man who had seen it all and was still capable of being wickedly amused."[33]
Nicholson had been friends with Polanski long before themurder of Polanski's wife,Sharon Tate, by theManson Family, and supported him in the days following her death.[10]: 109–110 [34] After Tate's death, Nicholson began sleeping with a hammer under his pillow[10] and took breaks from work to attend Manson's trial.[17]
In 1977, three years afterChinatown, Polanski was arrested at Nicholson's home for thesexual assault of 13-year-old Samantha Geimer, who was modeling for Polanski during a magazine photo shoot around the pool. At the time, Nicholson was out of town making a film, but his steady girlfriend, actressAnjelica Huston, had dropped by unannounced to pick up some items. She heard Polanski in the other room say, "We'll be right out."[35] Polanski then came out with Geimer and introduced her to Huston, and they chatted about Nicholson's two large dogs, which were sitting nearby. Huston recalled Geimer was wearing platform heels and appeared quite tall.[35] After a few minutes of talking, Polanski had packed up his camera gear and Huston saw them drive off in his car. Huston told police the next day, after Polanski was arrested, that she "had witnessed nothing untoward" and never saw them together in the other room.[35]
Geimer learned afterward that Huston herself was not supposed to be at Nicholson's house that day, since they had recently broken up, but stopped over to pick up some belongings. Geimer described Nicholson's house as "definitely" a guy's house, with lots of wood and shelves crowded with photos and mementos.[36]
One of Nicholson's successes came in 1975, with his role asRandle P. McMurphy inOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The movie was an adaptation ofKen Kesey's novel of thesame name, and was directed byMiloš Forman and co-produced byMichael Douglas. Nicholson plays an anti-authoritarian patient at a mental hospital where he becomes an inspiring leader for the other patients. Playing one of the patients wasDanny DeVito in an early role. Nicholson learned afterward that DeVito grew up in the same area of New Jersey, and they knew many of the same people.[37] The film received nine nominations at the Academy Awards, and won five, including Nicholson's first forBest Actor.[38] The role seemed perfect for Nicholson, with biographer Ken Burke noting that his "smartass demeanor balances his genuine concern for the treatment of his fellow patients with his independent spirit too free to exist in a repressive social structure".[39][40] Forman allowed Nicholson to improvise throughout the film, including most of the group therapy sequences.[17] ReviewerMarie Brenner notes that his bravura performance "transcends the screen" and continually inspires the other actors by lightening their mental illnesses with his comic dialogue.
Nicholson is everywhere; his energy propels the ward of loonies and makes of them an ensemble, a chorus of people caught in a bummer with nowhere else to go, but still fighting for some frail sense of themselves. ... There are scenes inCuckoo's Nest that are as intimate—and in their language, twice as rough—as the best moments inThe Godfather ... [and] far above the general run of Hollywood performances.
Also in 1975, Nicholson starred inMichelangelo Antonioni'sThe Passenger (1975), which co-starredMaria Schneider. Nicholson plays a journalist, David Locke, who during an assignment in North Africa decides to quit journalism and disappear by taking on a new hidden identity. Unfortunately, the dead person whose identity he takes on turns out to have been a weapons smuggler on the run. Antonioni's unusual plot included convincing dialogue and fine acting, states film criticSeymour Chatman.[42] It was shot in Algeria, Spain, Germany, and England. The film received good reviews and revived Antonioni's reputation as a great director.[42] He said he wanted the film to have more of a "spy feeling [and] be more political".[42] Nicholson began shooting the film from an unfinished script, notesJudith Crist,[43] yet upon its completion he thought so highly of the film that he bought the world rights and recorded a reminiscence of working with Antonioni.[42]
Critic and screenwriterPenelope Gilliatt provides an overview of Nicholson's role, "The Passenger is an unidealized portrait of a drained man whose one remaining stimulus is to push his luck. Again and again, in the movie, we watch him court danger. It interests him to walk the edge of risk. He does it with passivity as if he were taking part in an expressionless game of double-dare with life. Jack Nicholson's performance is a wonder of insight. How to animate a personality that is barely there.[17]: 443
Nicholson in 1976
Nicholson continued to take more unusual roles. He took a small role inThe Last Tycoon oppositeRobert De Niro. He took a less sympathetic role inArthur Penn's westernThe Missouri Breaks (1976), specifically to work withMarlon Brando. Nicholson was especially inspired by Brando's acting ability, recalling that in his youth, as an assistant manager at a theater, he watchedOn the Waterfront about 40 times. He once stated, "Marlon Brando influenced me strongly. Today, it's hard for people who weren't there to realize the impact that Brando had on an audience. ... He's always been the patron saint of actors".[28][44] "I'm part of the first generation that idolized Marlon Brando", he said.[45]
Nicholson has observed that while both De Niro and Brando were noted for their skill asmethod actors, he himself has seldom been described as one, a fact he sees as an accomplishment: "I'm still fooling them", he toldSean Penn. "I consider it an accomplishment because there's probably no one who understands Method acting better academically than I do—or actually uses it more in his work. But it's funny, nobody really sees that. It's perception versus reality, I guess."[27]
His work is always interesting, clearly conceived, and has the X-factor, magic. Jack is particularly suited for roles that require intelligence. He is an intelligent and literate man, and these are almost impossible to act. InThe Shining you believe he's a writer, failed or otherwise.
Although he garnered noAcademy Award forStanley Kubrick's adaptation ofStephen King'sThe Shining (1980), his role in the film as writerJack Torrance remains one of his more significant. He was Kubrick's first choice to play the role, although the book's author, Stephen King, wanted more of an "everyman". Kubrick won the argument and called Nicholson's acting "on a par with the greatest stars of the past, likeSpencer Tracy andJimmy Cagney".[46] In preparation for the role, Nicholson drew upon his own experiences as a writer and slept short hours to help remain in an agitated state during the shoot. His co-starShelley Duvall recalled that she and Nicholson spent many hours discussing their characters, with Nicholson maintaining that his character be cold to her from the start.[47] On the set, Nicholson always appeared in character and if Kubrick felt confident that Nicholson knew his lines well enough, he encouraged him to improvise beyond the script.[46] For example, Nicholson improvised his now-famous "Here's Johnny!" line,[46] along with a scene in which he unleashes his anger on his wife when she interrupts his work.[46] There were also extensive takes of scenes, due to Kubrick's perfectionism. Nicholson shot a scene with the ghostly bartender 36 times.[48] He said, "Stanley's demanding. He'll do a scene fifty times, and you have to be good to do that."[49]: 38
In 1982, Nicholson starred as an immigration enforcement agent inThe Border, directed byTony Richardson. It co-starredWarren Oates, who played a corrupt border official.[50] Richardson wanted Nicholson to play his role less expressively than he had in his earlier roles. "Less is more", he told him, and wanted him to wear reflecting sunglasses to portray what patrolmen wore.[17] Richardson recalled that Nicholson worked hard on the set:
He's what the Thirties and Forties stars were like. He can come on the set and deliver, without any fuss, without taking a long time walking around getting into it. "What do you want? Okay." And he just does it straight off. And then if you want him to do it another way on the next take, he can adapt to that too.[17]: 318
Nicholson won his second Oscar, anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his role of retired astronaut Garrett Breedlove inTerms of Endearment (1983), directed byJames L. Brooks. It starredShirley MacLaine andDebra Winger. McGilligan claims it was one of Nicholson's most complex and unforgettable characters. He and MacLaine played many of their scenes in different ways, constantly testing and making adjustments. Their scenes together gave the film its "buoyant edge", states McGilligan, and describes Nicholson's acting as "Jack floating like a butterfly".[17]: 330
Nicholson continued to work prolifically in the 1980s, starring in such films as:The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981);Reds (1981), where Nicholson portrays the writerEugene O'Neill with a quiet intensity;Prizzi's Honor (1985);Heartburn (1986);The Witches of Eastwick (1987);Broadcast News (1987); andIronweed (1987). Three Oscar nominations also followed (Reds,Prizzi's Honor, andIronweed).[51][52][53]John Huston, who directedPrizzi's Honor, said of Nicholson's acting, "He just illuminates the book. He impressed me in one scene after another; the movie is composed largely of first takes with him."[54] In the 1989Batman movie, Nicholson played the psychotic villain,the Joker. The film was an international smash hit, and a lucrative deal earned him a percentage of the box office gross estimated at $60 million to $90 million.[55] Nicholson said that he was "particularly proud" of his performance as the Joker: "I considered it a piece ofpop art", he said.[27]
For his role as hot-headed Col. Nathan R. Jessup inA Few Good Men (1992), a movie about a murder in aU.S. Marine Corps unit, Nicholson received yet another Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.[56][57] One review describes his performance as "spellbinding", adding that he portrayed "the essence of the quintessential military mindset".[58] Critic David Thomson notes that Nicholson's character "blazed and roared".[59] The film's director,Rob Reiner, recalls how Nicholson's level of acting experience affected the other actors during rehearsals: "I had the luck of having Jack Nicholson there. He knows what he's doing, and he comes to play, every time out, full-out performance! And what it says to a lot of the other actors is, 'Oooooh, I better get on my game here because this guy's coming to play! So I can't hold back; I've got to come up to him.' He sets the tone."[60]
In 1996, Nicholson collaborated once more withBatman directorTim Burton onMars Attacks!, pulling double duty as two contrasting characters, President James Dale andLas Vegas property developer Art Land. Not all of Nicholson's performances have been well received. He was nominated forRazzie Awards as worst actor forMan Trouble (1992) andHoffa (1992). But his performance inHoffa also earned him aGolden Globe nomination.[61][62] David Thomson states that the film was terribly neglected, since Nicholson portrayed one of his best screen characters, someone who is "snarly, dumb, smart, noble, rascally—all the parts of 'Jack'".[59]Roger Ebert also praised his performance writing, "Nicholson is an actor who can reflect almost anything in his face. One reason his performance is so good as Hoffa is that he reveals almost nothing."[63]
Nicholson admits he initially disliked playing a middle-aged man alongside a much younger Hunt, seeing it as a movie cliché. "But Helen disarmed that at the first meeting", he says, "and I stopped thinking about it." They got along well during the filming, with Hunt saying that he "treated me like a queen", and they connected immediately: "It wasn't even what we said", she said. "It was just some frequency we both could tune into that was very, very compatible."[64] Critic Jack Mathews ofNewsday said Nicholson was "in rare form", adding, "it's one of those performances that make you aware how much fun the actor is having".[64] Author and screenwriter Andrew Horton describes their on-screen relationship as being like "fire and ice, oil and water—seemingly complete opposites".[66]
Nicholson is the Hollywood celebrity who is most like a character in some ongoing novel of our times. He is also the most beloved of stars—not even his huge wealth, his reckless aging, and the public disasters of his private life can detract from this ... For he is still a touchstone, someone we value for the way he helps us see ourselves.
Nicholson's next film role saw him reunite withJames L. Brooks, director ofTerms of Endearment,Broadcast News andAs Good as It Gets, for a supporting role for the 2010 filmHow Do You Know starringPaul Rudd,Reese Witherspoon, andOwen Wilson. The film was a financial and critical failure. In a September 2013Vanity Fair article, Nicholson said that he did not consider himself retired, but that he was now less driven to "be out there anymore".[72] As of 2025,How Do You Know remains Nicholson's last film role, and brings his filmography to 80 films.[73] the same year, Nicholson participated in telethon forHaiti after theEarthquake.[74][75] In 2013, Nicholson co-presented theAcademy Award for Best Picture with First LadyMichelle Obama,[76] the eighth time he presented the Academy Award for Best Picture (1972, 1977, 1978, 1990, 1993, 2006, 2007, and 2013).
On February 15, 2015, Nicholson made a special appearance as a presenter onSNL 40, the 40th anniversary special ofSaturday Night Live.[77] After the death of boxerMuhammad Ali on June 3, 2016, Nicholson appeared onHBO'sThe Fight Game withJim Lampley for an exclusive interview about his friendship with Ali.[78] He was reported to be starring in an English-language remake ofToni Erdmann in 2017 oppositeKristen Wiig, his first feature film role sinceHow Do You Know,[79] but the project was later abandoned.[80] In October 2019, with the release ofThe Shining sequelDoctor Sleep, directorMike Flanagan revealed he approached Nicholson for acameo appearance, but Nicholson declined with best wishes.[81] Flanagan also disclosed that Nicholson had previously been approached to appear inSteven Spielberg's science-fiction filmReady Player One (2018).[82]
During an appearance in the November 2, 2023, episode ofMarc Maron's podcast,WTF with Marc Maron, record producerLou Adler, a longtime friend of Nicholson's, related an anecdote pertaining to the unofficial retirement of the actor, who had not done a film in the 13 years sinceHow Do You Know, saying, "A friend of mine wanted to put him in a movie. And he had a conversation with him. But Jack says, 'I don't want to do it.' He goes, 'You know what I did today? I sat under a tree and I read a book.' That sounds like Jack." Adler stated that Nicholson was "doing whatever he really wants to do," adding, "He wants to be quiet. He wants to eat what he wants. He wants to live the life he wants."[73]
On February 16, 2025, Nicholson made a rare appearance onSNL 50, the 50th anniversary special ofSaturday Night Live. He introduced Adam Sandler who performed a tribute song to the show.[83]
OnlyKatharine Hepburn, with four Oscars, won more. Nicholson is an active and voting member of the Academy. In 1990, Nicholson was honored in France byJack Lang, the Minister of Culture, with a Commander of Arts and Letters.[86] In May 2008, the California GovernorArnold Schwarzenegger and First LadyMaria Shriver announced that Nicholson would be inducted into theCalifornia Hall of Fame, located atThe California Museum inSacramento. The induction ceremony took place on December 15, 2008, where he was inducted alongside 11 other Californians.[87][88][89] In 2010, Nicholson was inducted into theNew Jersey Hall of Fame.[90] In 2011, Nicholson received an honoraryDoctor of Fine Arts degree fromBrown University at its 243rd commencement. At the ceremony,Ruth Simmons, Brown University's president, called him "the most skilled actor of our lifetime".[91]
In 2018, the Australian fishing spiderOrnodolomedes nicholsoni was named in his honor for "brilliantly portraying diverse personalities".
In his private life, Nicholson is notorious for his inability to "settle down";[92] he has fathered six children by five women but married only once.[93] Nicholson's marriage was toThe Terror co-starSandra Knight from 1962 to 1968, though they separated in 1966.[94] The couple had one daughter, Jennifer (b. September 13, 1963).[95]
Five Easy Pieces co-starSusan Anspach contended that her son Caleb (b. September 26, 1970), whose legal father wasMark Goddard, was actually Nicholson's biological son.[96][97] In 1984, Nicholson said he was not convinced of this,[98] but in 1996, Caleb said that Nicholson had recognized him as his son in private.[99][100] By 1998, Nicholson publicly acknowledged Caleb as his son and said that they got along "beautifully now".[101]
In 1971 and 1972, Nicholson was in a relationship with singerMichelle Phillips, the ex-wife of his best friendDennis Hopper, during which time she suffered a miscarriage.[102][103] Nicholson's longest relationship was with actressAnjelica Huston, from 1973 until 1990. Their on-again, off-again romance included several periods of overlap with other women, notably former Bond girlJill St. John[104] and Danish model Winnie Hollman, with whom Nicholson had a daughter, Honey Hollman (born January 26, 1982).[105] In 1999, it was discovered that Honey's biological father is producerLou Adler.[106] Despite this, Honey later stated she has a “normal father-daughter relationship” with Nicholson.[107]
The relationship with Huston ended amid actressRebecca Broussard's first pregnancy by Nicholson. He and Broussard had two children,Lorraine (b. April 16, 1990) andRaymond (b. February 20, 1992).[105][108] The pair split up in 1994. That same year, Nicholson reportedly had a daughter, Tessa (b. August 15, 1994), with waitress Jeannine Gourin.[93] Nicholson has never publicly acknowledged Tessa as his child.[109]
Beginning in the late 1990s, Nicholson was involved with actressLara Flynn Boyle. The two initially broke up in 2000, later reuniting before splitting permanently in 2004, after which Nicholson was linked to English supermodelKate Moss.[110] In 2006, Nicholson dated actressPaz de la Huerta.[111]
Nicholson has said that children "give your life a resonance that it can't have without them ... As a father, I'm there all the time. I give unconditional love".[27] He has also lamented that he "didn't see enough of my eldest daughter because I was trying to make a career".[112]
In a criminalcomplaint filed on February 8, 1994, Robert Blank stated that Nicholson, then 56, approached Blank'sMercedes-Benz while he was stopped at a red light inNorth Hollywood. After accusing Blank of cutting him off in traffic, Nicholson used a golf club to bash the roof and windshield of Blank's car.[113] A witness confirmed Blank's account of the incident andmisdemeanor charges of assault and vandalism were filed against Nicholson. Charges were dropped after Nicholson apologized to Blank, and the two reached an undisclosed settlement, which included a reported $500,000 check from Nicholson.[114][115]
In 1996, a lawsuit was brought against Nicholson alleging that he promised a woman named Catherine Sheehan $1,000 for sex and then assaulted her when she asked for the money. Sheehan received a settlement of about $40,000, but filed another lawsuit against him, arguing that the settlement was insufficient to cover the injuries inflicted upon her, includingbrain trauma, which she said were "actually killing her."[116] The case was dismissed.[117]
Nicholson lived next door toMarlon Brando for a number of years onMulholland Drive inBeverly Hills, California.Warren Beatty also lived nearby, earning the road the nickname "Bad Boy Drive". After Brando's death in 2004, Nicholson purchased his bungalow for $6.1 million, with the purpose of having it demolished. Nicholson said he did so out of respect for Brando's legacy, as it had become too expensive to renovate the "derelict" building, which was plagued by mold.[118]
Nicholson's friendship with author-journalistHunter S. Thompson is described in Thompson's autobiographyKingdom of Fear (2003).[119] After Thompson died in 2005, Nicholson and fellow actorsJohnny Depp,John Cusack, andSean Penn attended his private memorial service in Colorado.[120] Nicholson was also a close friend ofRobert Evans, the producer ofChinatown, and after Evans lost Woodland, his home, as the result of a 1980s drug bust, Nicholson and other friends of Evans bought Woodland to give it back to him.[121] Nicholson is also friends with fellow New JerseyansDanny DeVito andJoe Pesci.[122]
Nicholson is a fan of theNew York Yankees andLos Angeles Lakers. He became a Lakers season ticket holder in1970, and held courtside seats next to the opponent's benches both atThe Forum andStaples Center. He was described as a "fixture" at the games, though his regular attendance had stopped by 2021, as he withdrew from public appearances.[123] Nicholson occasionally argued with game officials and opposing players, and even walked onto the court.[124] He was almost ejected from a Lakers playoff game in May 2003 after yelling at a referee.[125] After the death of former Lakers starKobe Bryant in ahelicopter crash in January 2020, Nicholson gave a rare phone interview to Los Angeles stationKCBS-TV expressing his grief.[126] He attended a2023 playoff game, which media outlets noted was his first appearance at a Lakers game in nearly two years.[127]
Nicholson supportssolar energy,decriminalizing drugs,monopoly laws, and raising teachers' pay.[135] Although personally againstabortion, he ispro-choice. He has said, "I'm pro-choice but against abortion because I'm an illegitimate child myself, and it would be hypocritical to take any other position. I'd be dead. I wouldn't exist." He has also said that he has "nothing but total admiration, gratitude, and respect for the strength of the women who made the decision they made in my individual case".[137]
Nicholson was raisedRoman Catholic and has expressed admiration for the religion, calling it "the only officialdogma training I've had. I liked it. It's a smart religion."[115] It has been asserted that some of Nicholson's 1970s movie roles were influenced by Catholicism.[138] In a 1992Vanity Fair interview, Nicholson said, "I don't believe in God now. I can still work up an envy for someone who has faith. I can see how that could be a deeply soothing experience."[139]
^John Joseph Nicholson (1898–1955, a department store window dresser inManasquan, New Jersey) and Ethel May (née Rhoads; 1898–1970, a hairdresser, beautician and amateur artist in Manasquan)
^Dennis McDougal,Five Easy Decades: How Jack Nicholson Became the Biggest Movie Star in Modern Times (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2008), p. 229
^abcdefghijkMcDougal, Dennis (October 2007).Five Easy Decades: How Jack Nicholson Became the Biggest Movie Star in Modern Times. Wiley.ISBN978-0-471-72246-5.
^McDougal, Dennis (October 2007).Five Easy Decades: How Jack Nicholson Became the Biggest Movie Star in Modern Times. Wiley. pp. 8, 278.ISBN978-0-471-72246-5.
^abCrane, Robert.Jack Nicholson: The Early Years, Univ. Press of Kentucky (2012)
^abcdD'Agostino, Ryan.Esquire the Meaning of Life: Wisdom, Humor, and Damn Good Advice from 64 Extraordinary Lives, Sterling Publishing (2009) pp. 97–99
^abcdEliot, Marc.Nicholson: A Biography, Random House (2013) Title page
^Gilmour, David.The Film Club: A Memoir, Hachette Book Group (2008) e-book
^"The 48th Academy Awards | 1976".Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. October 4, 2014.Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. RetrievedJuly 20, 2022.
^Browne, Ray B; Browne, Pat; Hilt, Michael L (2001). Burke, Ken (ed.).The Guide to United States Popular Culture. Bowling Green, Kentucky: Bowling Green State University Popular Press. p. 578.ISBN978-0879728212.
^"Jack Nicholson Interview".Rolling Stone. March 29, 1984. p. 18.Archived from the original on August 27, 2013. RetrievedAugust 15, 2011.I yearn for honesty in life. I'd tell anybody any living thing about me.
^McDougal, Dennis (2008).Five Easy Decades: How Jack Nicholson Became the Biggest Movie Star in Modern Times. New York City:John Wiley & Sons. p. 351.ISBN978-0471722465.
^Cooper, Michelle (September 29, 2010)."September 29".Vogue.Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. RetrievedJuly 14, 2021.
^Smith, Warren Allen (2002).Celebrities in Hell. Fort Lee, NJ: Barricade Books.ISBN978-0557666058.I don't believe in God now", Nicholson told a 1992 Vanity Fair interviewer. But: "I can still work up an envy for someone who has faith. I can see how that could be a deeply soothing experience.
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