Bridges was born on December 4, 1949, inLos Angeles, the son of actorLloyd Bridges (1913–1998)[2] and actress and writerDorothy Bridges (née Simpson; 1915–2009). He is one of four children: older brotherBeau Bridges (born December 9, 1941), who is also an actor; a younger sister Lucinda; and a brother named Garrett, who died ofsudden infant death syndrome in 1948. His maternal grandfather was an immigrant fromLiverpool, England.[3]
Jeff Bridges acted alongside his father,Lloyd Bridges, inSea Hunt andThe Lloyd Bridges Show
Bridges made his first screen appearance in an uncredited role inThe Company She Keeps (1951); the film was released shortly after his first birthday.[7] In his youth, Bridges and his brother Beau made occasional appearances on their father's showSea Hunt (1958–1961) and theCBSanthology seriesThe Lloyd Bridges Show (1962–1963).[8] In 1965, he played a supporting role alongside his father in an episode ofThe Loner. In 1969, he playedJob Corps crew member Cal Baker in theLassie episode "Success Story".[8]
In 1982, Bridges starred in thescience fiction filmTron, in which he played Kevin Flynn, a videogame programmer. CriticRoger Ebert described the film as "brilliant" and compared it toThe Empire Strikes Back (1980), writing, "This movie is a machine to dazzle and delight us...[and] in a technical way maybe it's breaking ground for a generation of movies in which computer-generated universes will be the background for mind-generated stories about emotion-generated personalities".[19] Also in 1982 he voiced Prince Lir in the animated fantasy filmThe Last Unicorn alongsideAlan Arkin,Mia Farrow, andAngela Lansbury[20] and starred in the romantic comedyKiss Me Goodbye directed byRobert Mulligan, acting alongsideSally Field.[21]
Bridges hostedVH1'sTop 100 Greatest Albums of Rock and Roll series in 2001. Bridges narrated the documentaryLost in La Mancha (2002), about the making of a Terry Gilliam retelling ofDon Quixote, tentatively titledThe Man Who Killed Don Quixote, which would have starredJohnny Depp asSancho Panza andJean Rochefort as the quixotic hero. Bridges also narrated the documentariesNational Geographic'sLewis & Clark: Great Journey West (2002,IMAX),Discovery Channel'sRaising the Mammoth (2000), andABC'sHeroes of Rock and Roll (1979).[citation needed] He voiced the character Big Z in the animated filmSurf's Up (2007). Bridges has performed TV commercial voiceover work as well, includingHyundai's 2007 "Think About It" advertising campaign,[45] and theDuracell advertisements in the "Trusted Everywhere" campaign.[46]
In 2009, he acted in the satirical comedyThe Men Who Stare at Goats alongsideGeorge Clooney,Ewan McGregor, andKevin Spacey.[53] In 2010 he reprised his role as Kevin Flynn inTron: Legacy acting withGarrett Hedlund andOlivia Wilde.[54] Bridges received his sixth Academy Award nomination for his role inTrue Grit, a collaboration with the Coen brothers in which he starred alongsideMatt Damon,Josh Brolin,Barry Pepper, andHailee Steinfeld. Both the film and Bridges' performance asRooster Cogburn were critically praised. Bridges lost toColin Firth, whom he had beaten for the Oscar in the same category the previous year. On December 18, 2010, Bridges hostedNBC'sSaturday Night Live; he had hosted the show before in 1983 with his brother, Beau. With the December 18, 2010, episode, Bridges beatSigourney Weaver's record for longest gap between hosting appearances onSNL. (Weaver had a 24-year gap between her first time hosting in 1986 and her second time hosting in 2010, while Bridges had a 27-year gap between his first appearance in 1983 and his most recent one, also in 2010.)[citation needed]
Referring to his career as an actor and his passion for music, Bridges says, "I dug what an actor did, but it took me a while to feel it, to truly appreciate the craft and the preparation. Plus, I was still playing music a lot, and I guess I had a hard time choosing: was I an actor or a musician, or could I be both?"[73] Bridges studied piano at a young age, strongly encouraged by his mother.[74] Before his first lead role as an actor he already sold two songs to the musician and composerQuincy Jones, who used his "Lost in Space" for the soundtrack of the 1970 filmJohn and Mary and let Bridges contribute the vocals.[75] While working on the 1980 filmHeaven's Gate, he often played guitar with his co-star, singer-songwriterKris Kristofferson, between takes.[76] His character inCrazy Heart, Bad Blake, was later based partly on Kristofferson. In 1982, he voiced the character of Prince Lír in the animated filmThe Last Unicorn, and in that role sang on two songs, including a duet withMia Farrow. He released his debut albumBe Here Soon on January 1, 2000. In 2005, Bridges, known as "The Dude" in the filmThe Big Lebowski, showed up at aLebowski Fest in Los Angeles singing and playing the film's theme song written byBob Dylan, "Man in Me".
In 2015, he sang on the albumStrangers Again, performing a duet withJudy Collins of the song "Make Our Garden Grow" fromCandide byLeonard Bernstein. The same year, he released anambient/spoken-word album entitledSleeping Tapes.[80] All proceeds from the album go directly to Bridges' charity No Kid Hungry.[81] Bridges plays many guitars, including theGretsch Chet Atkins Country Gentlemen Model G6122-19. In 2020, Bridges partnered with Breedlove Guitars to release his signature Oregon Concerto Bourbon CE with "All In This Together" scrawled across the fretboard.[74] In 2025, he shared a verse and chorus on the song "Men in Bars" from Japanese Breakfast's albumFor Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women).[82]
Bridges has been an amateur photographer since high school. He began taking photographs on film sets duringStarman at the suggestion of co-starKaren Allen in 1984, with his favorite camera, aWidelux F8 that his wife bought him.[83][84] He published many of these photographs online and in a 2003 book entitledPictures: Photographs by Jeff Bridges.[85][86] In 2013, he received an Infinity Award for his photos from theInternational Center of Photography in New York.[87] A follow-up book,Jeff Bridges: Pictures Volume Two, was published in 2019.[87][88]
Bridges has studiedBuddhism and has described himself as "a Buddhistly bent guy".[101] He has co-written a book with theZen masterBernie Glassman on the subject, but doesn't consider himself a Buddhist in terms of formal affiliation, saying he only enjoys the meditation part.[102] On most days, he meditates for half an hour before beginning work on a film set.[101]
On October 19, 2020, Bridges announced that he had been diagnosed withNon-Hodgkin lymphoma and has gone throughchemotherapy.[103] On September 12, 2021, Bridges announced that his cancer was inremission: "My cancer is in remission — the 9" × 12" mass has shrunk down to the size of amarble."[104][105] Bridges also announced he contractedCOVID-19 while in treatment and which he fought for almost five weeks.[104]
He described the long process of recovery from both diseases, relating how large his tumor had grown, yet being unaware it was there. After five weeks in the hospital with COVID, he had months of recuperation at home before he could function again.[106]
In 1984, Bridges and other entertainment industry leaders founded the End Hunger Network aimed at encouraging, stimulating and supporting action to end childhood hunger.[107] He supported presidentBarack Obama's initiative to end childhood hunger by 2015. In November 2010, Bridges became spokesman for the No Kid Hungry campaign of the organizationShare our Strength.[108] Its goal was to present and undertake a state-by-state strategy to end childhood hunger in the United States by 2015.[109] Bridges also supports environmental causes and organizations such as theAmazon Conservation Team.[110][111]
^Russell, Sue (2001)."Jeffrey Bridges".suerussellwrites.com. Hello! magazine, UK. Archived fromthe original on November 6, 2002. RetrievedMarch 30, 2014.Hollywood's quiet family man is happiest at home in Santa Barbara with wife Susan and their three daughters
^SOM Magazine (July 9, 2015)."Jeff Bridges: A Candid Conversation".Guide for Spiritual Living: Science of Mind Magazine. Centers for Spiritual Living. Archived fromthe original on November 15, 2025. RetrievedNovember 15, 2025.Well, technically speaking, I don't consider myself a Zen Buddhist or anything like that. I enjoy all different types of philosophies. But, I'm built sort of "Buddhistically," if that's a word. I meditate. I meditate when I'm working and not working.
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