Biography Source: http://www.netglimse.com/celebs/pages/sean_penn/index.shtml Sean Justin Penn Birth Date : August 17, 1960 Birth Place : Santa Monica, California, USA Height : 5' 10 Education : Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California (studied Auto Mechanics and Speech) Occupation : Actor, director, writer Nationality : American Relationship : Susan Sarandon (actress; born on October 4, 1946; dated briefly in 1984), Elizabeth McGovern (actress; born on July 18, 1961; engaged in 1983; separat Claim to fame : as Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) Sean Penn was born in Burbank, California, on August 17, 1960. His father, Leo Penn, was a director and his mother, Eileen Ryan, an actress. In high school he rubbed shoulders with Martin Sheen's boys, Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez, and after graduation, joined the Los Angeles Repertoire Theater Company. He then appeared in several TV productions, including an episode of "Barnaby Jones", before landing the part of an overzealous cadet in the hit Taps (1981). Soon thereafter, his turn as pothead surfer Joe Spicolo in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) made him an overnight sensation. His next project was 1983's disturbingly violent prison drama Bad Boys, followed by Crackers (1984) and the WWII-era Racing with the Moon (1984). While the latter was not a box office hit, Penn got great reviews for playing a young man on the verge of shipping out. Then, according to the critics, Penn outdid himself again in the espionage thriller The Falcon and the Snowman (1985). After his tumultuous marriage to and divorce from Madonna, which included his infamous roughing up of the paparazzi and the disappointment of Shanghai Surprise (1987), Penn would resurface with Colors (1988), a timely, riveting story set in L.A.'s gang-ridden neighborhoods. Sean Penn the actor has at times stepped aside for Sean Penn the director. His films to date include The Indian Runner (1991), The Crossing Guard (1995) and The Pledge (2001); Penn's directorial efforts are light on action but heavy on the emotion, with actors given plenty of room to flex their thespian muscles. It was for 1995's Dead Man Walking that Sean Penn received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Actor. Though he did not win, his performance as a racist, hate-filled death row inmate was brave and heartrending. Then would come celebrated turns in 1997's She's So Lovely alongside wife Robin Wright Penn, Hurlyburly (1998), The Thin Red Line (1998) and Woody Allen's Sweet and Lowdown (1999). In 2002, he received his second Best Actor Oscar® nod, for I Am Sam, in which he played a mentally-handicapped man fighting for custody of his daughter. His latest outing was in Mystic River (2003), a Clint Eastwood drama set in Boston. Filmography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Penn As Actor: * Taps (1981) * Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) * Summerspell (1983) * Bad Boys (1983) * Crackers (1984) * Racing with the Moon (1984) * The Falcon and the Snowman (1985) * At Close Range (1986) * Shanghai Surprise (1986) * Cool Blue (1988) (Cameo) * Colors (1988) * Judgment in Berlin (1988) * Casualties of War (1989) * We're No Angels (1989) * State of Grace (1990) * Snow White Rose Red (1991) (documentary) * Cruise Control (1992) (short subject) * The Last Party (1993) (documentary) * Carlito's Way (1993) * Dead Man Walking (1995) * Loved (1997) * She's So Lovely (1997) * U Turn (1997) * The Game (1997) * Hugo Pool (1997) * Hurlyburly (1998) * The Thin Red Line (1998) * Being John Malkovich (1999) (Cameo) * Sweet and Lowdown (1999) * A Constant Forge (2000) (documentary) * Up at the Villa (2000) * Before Night Falls (2000) * The Weight of Water (2000) * Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001) (documentary) (narrator) * The Beaver Trilogy (2001) (documentary) * Scene Smoking: Cigarettes, Cinema & the Myth of Cool (2001) (documentary) * See How They Run (2001) (documentary) * I Am Sam (2001) * It's All About Love (2003) * Mystic River (2003) * 21 Grams (2003) * The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004) * The Interpreter (2005) * All the King's Men (2006) As Director: * The Indian Runner (1991) * The Crossing Guard (1995) * The Pledge (2001) * 11'9''01 September 11 (2002) (documentary) * Loved (1998)