Megan Denise Fox was born on May 16, 1986,[2][5] inOak Ridge, Tennessee,[6][7] to parents Gloria Darlene (née Cisson) and Franklin Thomas Fox.[8] She spent her early childhood in nearbyRockwood.[9] Fox's father, a parole officer, and her mother divorced when Fox was three years old.[6] Her mother later remarried, and Fox and her sister[10] were raised by her mother and her stepfather, Tony Tonachio.[11][12][13] She was raised "very strictlyPentecostal," but later attended Catholic school for 12 years.[14][15] She said that her parents were "very strict" and that she was not allowed to have a boyfriend[16] or invite friends to her house.[10] Fox described her stepfather as being "verbally, mentally, and emotionally abusive" until his death.[17] She revealed in an interview that she developed an eating disorder in her adolescence and struggled withmanic depression, the latter of which "[ran] in my family, so there was definitely some wrestling with chemical imbalance going on."[18] Fox lived with her mother until she made enough money to support herself.[16]
Fox began her training in dance and drama at age five, inKingston, Tennessee.[19] She attended a dance class at the community center there and was involved in Kingston Elementary School's chorus and the Kingston Clippers swim team. At age 10, after moving toSt. Petersburg, Florida, Fox continued her training.[20][21] When she was 13 years old, Fox began modeling after winning several awards at the 1999 American Modeling and Talent Convention inHilton Head, South Carolina.[22] Fox attended high school at Morningside Academy inPort St. Lucie[23] until her junior year when she attendedSt. Lucie West Centennial High School.[24] When she was 17, she tested out of school via correspondence to move to Los Angeles, California.[10][16]
Fox spoke freely about her time in school, stating that in middle school she was bullied and had to eat lunch in the bathroom to avoid being "pelted with ketchup packets." She said that the problem was not her looks, but that she had "always gotten along better with boys" and that "rubbed some people the wrong way."[25] Fox also said that she was never popular in high school, and that "everyone hated me, and I was a total outcast, my friends were always guys, I have a very aggressive personality, and girls didn't like me for that. I've had only one great girlfriend my whole life." In the same interview, she mentions that she hated school and has "never been a big believer in formal education" and that "the education I was getting seemed irrelevant. So, I was sort of checked out on that part of it."[25]
In 2001, Fox made her acting debut in the romantic comedyHoliday in the Sun, as spoiled heiress Brianna Wallace and rival of Alex Stewart (Ashley Olsen), which was released direct-to-DVD on November 20, 2001. In the next several years, she guest-starred on the sitcomsWhat I Like About You andTwo and a Half Men. Fox also appeared as an uncreditedextra in the action filmBad Boys II (2003).
In 2004, Fox made her feature film debut oppositeLindsay Lohan in the musical comedyConfessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, playing the supporting role of Carla Santini, a rival of Lola (Lohan). She was also cast in a regular role on theABC sitcomHope & Faith, in which she portrayed Sydney Shanowski, replacingNicole Paggi. Fox appeared in the second and third seasons, until the series was canceled by ABC in May 2006.[26]
In 2007, Fox won the lead female role ofMikaela Banes in the 2007 live-action filmTransformers, based on the toy and cartoon saga of the same name. Fox played the love interest ofShia LaBeouf's character Sam Witwicky. Fox was nominated for anMTV Movie Award in the category of "Breakthrough Performance", and was also nominated for threeTeen Choice Awards.[26] She had signed on for two moreTransformers sequels,[26][27] reprising her role as Mikaela inTransformers: Revenge of the Fallen. There was controversy surrounding Fox's appearance while filming the sequel whenMichael Bay, the film's director, ordered the actress to gain ten pounds.[28] The film was released worldwide on June 24, 2009, to box office success.[29]
Fox was to star in the third installment,Transformers: Dark of the Moon, but was not included because ofher statements comparing working under director Bay to working forHitler. She confessed on GQ Magazine that she had lost approximately 30 pounds during filming due to consuming a primary diet of water and vinegar,[citation needed] and reportedly had a dispute over her visible loss of weight with the director on set.[30][31] Bay stated in June 2009 that Fox was fired on orders of executive producerSteven Spielberg,[32] a claim Spielberg denied.[33]
In 2009, Fox had her first lead role since theTransformers series; she portrayed the title character inJennifer's Body, written byAcademy Award–winning screenwriterDiablo Cody.[citation needed] The film initially earned mixed to average reviews upon its release, with Fox's performance earning praise.[34] However, the film grew a cult following over time and was critically reassessed as a "forgotten feminist classic".[35] According to Cody, the film was marketed incorrectly by executives who focused their efforts on the young male audience.[36]
In April 2009, she began filming the western superhero filmJonah Hex, in which she portrayedTallulah Black / Leila, a gun-wielding beauty and Jonah Hex's (Josh Brolin) love interest. The film was released on June 18, 2010.[37] Despite receiving top billing, Fox described her role in the film as being acameo.[38]Jonah Hex was a critical and commercial failure in the US, with its international distribution canceled after its poor performance.[39] The film was named the "worst picture of the year" by theHouston Film Critics Society.[40]
In January 2013, Fox was featured in a Brazilian television commercial forBrahma beer.[46] In February 2013, Fox set aside her differences with her former director Michael Bay and worked again with him on his reboot ofTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), starring as the lead human character ofApril O'Neil.[47]
In 2015, Fox was cast in the role of Amelia Delthanis in thePlarium video game,Stormfall: Rise of Balur.[48] In October 2015, it was confirmed that Fox would be temporarily replacingZooey Deschanel in the television sitcomNew Girl, following Deschanel's maternity leave.[49][50] She starred as Reagan Lucas, appearing in thefifth andsixth seasons of the series. Her performance earned positive reviews from critics.[51][52][53] In 2016, Fox reprised her role as April O'Neil in the sequelTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.
In 2020, Fox starred oppositeJosh Duhamel in the family comedy filmThink Like a Dog, which was released onvideo on demand on June 9, 2020.[59] Also that year, she starred in the lead role of the action filmRogue, which was released on August 28, 2020.[60]
In 2023, Fox was featured on the cover of theSports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.[66] Fox played crime boss Alana in the 2023 thriller filmJohnny & Clyde with Tyson Ritter.[67] Fox played Gina in the fourth Expendables film,Expend4bles, and voiced Nitara in the video gameMortal Kombat 1, both released in September of the same year.
In November 2023, Fox released her first book, titledPretty Boys Are Poisonous, a collection of her own poetry.[68] Fox starred as Alice, a lifelike artificially intelligent android, inSubservience, which was released in September 2024.[69] In December 2025, Fox voiced Toy Chica in the filmFive Nights at Freddy's 2.
Public image
Status and persona
Chris Lee of theLos Angeles Times called Fox a "sex symbol of the highest order" and said she was "the first bona fide sex symbol of the 21st century."[3] Craig Flaster ofMTV stated, "Transformers broke Fox into the mainstream, immediately turning her into a household name and international sex symbol."[70] She has been featured on various magazine covers and "hottest" and "most beautiful woman" lists throughout the years, such asMaxim's Hot 100 lists and whenFHM readers voted her the "Sexiest Woman in the World" in 2008.[3][4][71]People named her one of 2012's and 2017's Most Beautiful at Every Age.[72][73] Scholar Marc DiPaolo stated that Fox achieved instant fame as Mikaela inTransformers because a "highly sexualized, erotically idealized figure draped over a car or motorcycle invariably evokes lust in the heterosexual male onlooker" and Fox did this by leaning over aCamaro while wearing "a flimsy pink belly shirt" and short skirt, which read as "an unequivocal sex invite" to male viewers.[74] The editors ofMen's Health also credited the Camaro scene with contributing to Fox's fame.[75]
Fox at the 7th Annual HollywoodLife Magazine Breakthrough Awards on December 9, 2007
Fox said all women in Hollywood are known and marketed as sex symbols, but this is okay if the woman knows how to use the status.[76][77] She created a character for her public image because she was unwilling to sacrifice her true self to the world.[76][6] ScholarsWheeler Winston Dixon andGwendolyn Audrey Foster disagreed that every woman in Hollywood is marketed as a sex symbol, and stated that Fox's "celebrity is based on what she admits is an entirely artificial construct designed for dissemination in the Internet age, a 21st-century media personality in every sense of the word."[76] Part of her persona included making outlandish comments,[6][78] which she said helped her reach her level of fame versus being "a typical starlet" who "said all the right things".[6] Her tattoos, which she began getting at age 19 as a form of self-expression,[79] helped popularize tattoo fashion.[80] She had over nine known tattoos, including a picture ofMarilyn Monroe's face on her right forearm and a quote on her shoulder.[81] Author John Tehranian argued that Fox's Monroe tattoo enhanced her "implicit claims to Monroe's legacy as Hollywood's leading sex symbol."[82] Fox ended up removing the Monroe tattoo in a series oflaser surgeries[83] because she felt that Monroe's life was full of negativity and she did not want to emulate it.[84]
The press often compared Fox to actressAngelina Jolie,[3] dubbing her the "next Angelina Jolie", which also affected her image.[6] Amid this and reports that she was to replace Jolie in a newLara Croft film,[85] Fox commented that the comparisons indicate a lack of creativity on the part of the press[77] and attributed them to both her and Jolie being brunette, having tattoos, cursing, and mentioning and joking about sex,[86][87] "which people find outrageous".[87] Lynn Hirschberg ofThe New York Times opined that "the Jolie comparison would probably have been made by the media eventually, but Fox sped up the process" by "linking herself to Jolie" and that she "enjoyed creating entertainingcopy" by telling "tales of darkness and lust."[6]
In 2009, Fox's public image came under scrutiny when an unsigned letter from three crew members ofTransformers defended directorMichael Bay against accusations made by Fox about his on-set behavior, including a comparison withAdolf Hitler.[32][88] In response to the letter alleging that Fox's on-set behavior is unpleasant and differs from her public persona, Bay stated he does not condone the letter or Fox's "outlandish quotes", but that "her crazy quips are part of her crazy charm" and that they still work well together.[32] A production assistant who worked onTransformers also stated that he never saw Fox act inappropriately on set.[88] Fox said the letter's claims were false[6] and that she had spoken privately with the parties involved. She said she was "very fortunate" to be a part of the franchise and was looking forward to continuing her work.[88] DiPaolo concluded that Fox's criticism of the press's sexually objectifying girls and women was in stark contrast to her sex symbol status and that "her defiance of director Michael Bay and frequent outspoken comments" stifled her career.[74]
The increased media exposure was difficult for Fox, who acknowledged being shy and insecure, to adjust to.[78][89] It also positioned her as a potential role model and later led to her beingtypecast. She rejected being a formal role model, but said that she could make young girls feel "strong and intelligent and be outspoken and fight for what they think is right"[90] and that she was a different role model for girls that maybe America was not comfortable with.[91] She considered being typecast as attractive an opportunity to surprise people when she gives a good performance in a film,[90][77] but said she is interested in portraying less sexualized characters.[89] MTV's Craig Flaster said that although Fox has "been typecast as the big-budget sex symbol", she has shown comedic range.[70]
Fox's overexposure in the media led several men's websites, such asAskMen, to boycott her on August 4, 2009,[92] although some refused to do so, feeling that the boycott was a publicity stunt and therefore hypocritical.[93][94] In response to the media attention, Fox told magazineNylon, in September of that year, that "[the studio] wanted to make sure [the film] would make $700 million, so they oversaturated the media with their stars" and that she did not "want to have people get completely sick of [her] before [she's] ever even done something legitimate."[95] She became much less prominent in the media by 2010, after starring in the less commercially successful filmsJonah Hex andPassion Play.[96] That same year, Fox said, "My biggest regret is that I've assisted the media in making me into a cartoon character. I don't regret what has happened to me, but I regret the way I have dealt with it."[97] Dixon and Foster stated, "The problem [Fox] faces is that the [image] construct has replaced the real in the minds of the public; and once established, a media persona is hard to recalibrate."[76]
Personal life
In 2009, Fox was targeted by a group of fashion-motivated criminals known as the "Bling Ring", who robbed her then-boyfriendBrian Austin Green's home for access to Fox's possessions.[98] In 2013, she said that her Christian faith is still very important to her and she believes it keeps her grounded.[99]
Fox and then-husband Green were supporters ofGenerosity Water, and funded the creation of over ten water wells for the organization.[100][101]
Regarding relationships and her sexuality, Fox said that she has a general distrust and dislike of men[102] and that the perception of her as a "wild and crazy sexpot" is false because she isasocial; Fox stated that she would rather stay at home instead of going out,[103][104] and emphasized that she cannot have sex with someone she does not love.[97][103] She isbisexual, and said she believes that "all humans are born with the ability to be attracted to both sexes".[105] She stated in 2009, "I have no question in my mind about being bisexual. But I'm also a hypocrite: I would never date a girl who was bisexual, because that means they also sleep with men, and men are so dirty that I'd never want to sleep with a girl who had slept with a man."[106]
Fox toldInStyle in July 2021: "A girl would come up to me and be like: 'You had a lot to do with me, like identifying and understanding that I was gay or understanding that I was bisexual...' And that, of course, is by far, like, the most moving, rewarding thing that I have experienced in my life! To be a part of something that helped people figure that out, or helped people deal with that, or feel better about that. One of my favorite things that I get called, is being like, a bi icon and that is one of the things I am the most proud of!"[107]
She has several tattoos, including the Chinese symbol for "strength" drawn on the back of her neck, a quote from theWilliam Shakespeare playKing Lear that reads "We will all laugh at gilded butterflies", theyin and yang symbol on her left wrist, and a crescent moon entwined with a star on her ankle. Fox also has a poem tattooed near her breast that reads "There once was a little girl, who never knew love until a boy broke her heart" and another on her back that quotesFriedrich Nietzsche: "And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." She claimed that she had it drawn in honor of herPassion Play costarMickey Rourke but later clarified that it is "not necessarily a homage to him."[108] She also once had her ex-husbandBrian Austin Green's first name tattooed on her hip, but later had it covered. She removed the portrait ofMarilyn Monroe that was tattooed on her right forearm, stating "It is a negative character, as she suffered from personality disorders and was bipolar. I do not want to attract this kind of negative energy in my life."[109][110] She also has a tattoo on her left collarbone that reads "the gunman" in Spanish, as well as numerous flowers and one snake on her abdomen. Fox has numerous smaller tattoos splayed across her fingers, some of which include dots, numbers, and a crescent moon.[111]
In her bookPretty Boys Are Poisonous, Fox revealed that shemiscarried her pregnancy with what would have been her fourth child and her first with Machine Gun Kelly.[114] She also shared that she had experienced anectopic pregnancy in the past.[115]
Fox began dating actorBrian Austin Green in 2004, after meeting on the set ofHope & Faith; she was 18 years old and he was 30.[116][117] According to Fox, Green was initially hesitant to enter a relationship with her due to the age difference, stating, "I had to convince him that I was slightly more responsible and well-spoken and had other things to bring to the table besides being 18." She disclosed that she has "fallen in love with other people all the time" throughout their relationship since she was 18.[118][119]
Fox and Green became engaged in November 2006.[120] In February 2009, they ended their engagement,[120] but were reported to have become re-engaged on June 1, 2010.[121] Fox maintained that she and Green had been continuously engaged since 2006.[122]
Fox and Green married on June 24, 2010, in a private ceremony at theFour Seasons resort on theisland of Hawaii.[123][124][125] Together, they have three sons, born in 2012,[126] 2014,[127] and 2016.[128] Fox also became a stepmother to Green's son from a previous relationship.[129] Fox filed for divorce on August 21, 2015, a few days after she and Green announced their separation.[130][131] By early 2016, they were back together and expecting their third child.[132] On April 25, 2019, Fox filed to dismiss the divorce in Los Angeles, California.[133]
In May 2020, Green announced that he and Fox had separated after nearly 10 years of marriage,[134][135] and in November 2020, Fox filed for divorce from Green for a second time.[136] The divorce was finalized on October 15, 2021.[137]
In June 2020, Fox and singerMachine Gun Kelly went public about their relationship, several weeks after the release of Machine Gun Kelly's song "Bloody Valentine", whose music video features Fox.[138] On January 12, 2022, Fox announced that the two were engaged.[139] However, on March 21, 2024, she announced their engagement had been called off.[140][141] In November 2024, Fox announced on Instagram that she was expecting a child with him.[142][143] On March 27, 2025, Fox gave birth to a daughter.[144][145]
^Fox in"Megan Fox Interviewed by Scott Feinberg". September 10, 2011. Event occurs at 00:20.Archived from the original on September 6, 2014. RetrievedJanuary 14, 2017 – via YouTube.I was born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee...
^Caplan, David (June 28, 2010)."Megan Fox Marries Brian Austin Green in Hawaii".People. RetrievedNovember 17, 2024.Reports the couple were married at the Four Seasons Hotel resort last weekend while vacationing on thebig island of Hawaii were confirmed to 'People' early Tuesday. 'Yes they are married,' a rep for Fox says.
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