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Jack Nicholson, an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director, is a three-time Academy Award winner and 12-time nominee. Nicholson is also notable for being one of two actors - the other being Michael Caine - who have received Oscar nods in every decade from 1960s through the 2000s. Born on April 22, 1937 in Manhattan, New York, Nicholson was raised believing his grandmother was his mother, and his mother, a showgirl, was his older sister. He discovered the truth in 1975 from a Time magazine journalist who was researching a profile on him. Nicholson made his film debut in a B-movie titled The Cry Baby Killer (1958). His rise in Hollywood was far from meteoric, and for years, he sustained his career with guest spots in television series and a number of Roger Corman films, including The Little Shop of Horrors (1960).

Nicholson's first turn in the director's chair was for Drive, He Said (1971). Before that, he wrote the screenplay for The Trip (1967), and co-wrote Head (1968), a vehicle for The Monkees. His big break came with Easy Rider (1969) and his portrayal of liquor-soaked attorney George Hanson, which earned Nicholson his first Oscar nomination. Nicholson's film career took off in the 1970s with a definitive performance in Five Easy Pieces (1970). Nicholson's other notable work during this period includes leading roles in Roman Polanski's noir masterpiece Chinatown (1974) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which he won his first Best Actor Oscar.

The 1980s kicked off with another career-defining role for Nicholson as Jack Torrance in Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's novel The Shining (1980). A string of well-received films followed, including Terms of Endearment (1983) which earned Nicholson his second Oscar; Prizzi's Honor (1985) and The Witches of Eastwick (1987). He portrayed another renowned villain, The Joker, in Tim Burton's Batman (1989). In the 1990s, he starred in such varied films as A Few Good Men (1992), for which he received another Oscar nomination, and a dual role in Mars Attacks! (1996).

Although a glimpse at the darker side of Nicholson's acting range reappeared in The Departed (2006), the actor's most recent roles highlight the physical and emotional complications one faces late in life. The most notable of these is the unapologetically misanthropic Melvin Udall in As Good as It Gets (1997), for which he won his third Oscar. Shades of this persona are apparent in About Schmidt (2002), Something's Gotta Give (2003) and The Bucket List (2007). In addition to his Oscar wins and nominations, Nicholson has seven Golden Globe Awards, and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2001. He also became one of the youngest actors to receive the American Film Institute's Life Achievement award in 1994.

Nicholson has five children: Eldest daughter Jennifer Nicholson (b. 1963), from his marriage to Sandra Knight which ended in 1968; Caleb James Goddard (b. 1970) with Susan Anspach; Honey Hollman (b. 1981) with Danish supermodel, Winnie Hollman; and Lorraine Nicholson (b. 1990) and Ray Nicholson (b. 1992) with Rebecca Broussard. Nicholson's longest relationship was the 16 years he spent with actress Anjelica Huston; it ended when Broussard become pregnant with his child.

Dark sunglasses

Slow drawl and shark's grin

Often plays charming, anti-authoritarian characters

Frequently works with Danny DeVito

Frequently works as a character with mental instability

His somewhat maniacal laugh

Method acting.

Ranked #6 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]

Recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute.

Used to be a messenger boy for MGM's cartoon department.

He was the 2001 John F. Kennedy Center Honors recipient.

Dedicated his Oscar for As Good as It Gets (1997) to J.T. Walsh, his co-star in A Few Good Men (1992) who had died shortly before the Academy Awards in 1998.

In 1994, in an apparent bout of rage, he smashed a man's car window in with a golf club. He expressed remorse for the incident in an interview with US Magazine.

Loves jokes at his expense so much that he showed up at every Academy Awards hosted by Billy Crystal, who in turn would incorporate Nicholson somehow in the telecast.

Lives on famed "Bad Boy Drive" a.k.a. Mulholland Drive in Beverly Hills, California. It's nicknamed so because its residents have included former Hollywood bad boys Warren Beatty, and the late Marlon Brando.

Avid Los Angeles Lakers fan and is often seated next to his good friend Lou Adler. He rarely misses a Lakers home game. Contrary to popular belief, Nicholson never had production companies schedule the filming of a movie he was in to accommodate his attendance at sporting events. Nicholson is also a life-long fan of the New York Yankees.

Was asked, along with Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty, to play the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972).

The Best Lady at his wedding to Sandra Knight was Millie Perkins. The Best Man was Harry Dean Stanton. After their divorce, Nicholson lived, for a time, at Harry Dean Stanton's place.

Long refused to do any televised interviews except for press conferences. But in recent years, he has occasionally agreed to speak briefly when approached by reporters. He has not appeared on a talk show since 1971.

Flew to Cuba and met with Fidel Castro in June 1998. While there, he also met with leaders of the Cuban film industry, enjoyed local restaurants, jazz clubs and visited a famous cigar factory. He left greatly impressed with the country and its Communist dictator, who he described as "a genius", though the luxuries he was treated to on the island are off-limits to most Cuban citizens.

Each one of the films for which he has won an Oscar has also won Best Actress in a Leading Role (Louise Fletcher, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975); Shirley MacLaine, Terms of Endearment (1983); Helen Hunt, As Good as It Gets (1997)).

Has a second home in Aspen, Colorado.

Graduate of Manasquan High School, Manasquan, New Jersey, where he was voted "Class Clown" by the Class of 1954.

Boyhood friend of Danny DeVito. Nicholson's relatives and DeVito's relatives ran a hair salon together.

Presented the Best Picture Oscar seven times (1972, 1977, 1978, 1990, 1993, 2006 and 2007), more than any other actor or actress. Though he was a relative new comer and lacked the status typically associated with Best Picture presenters, the then-two-time nominee took on the assignment in 1972 when many better-known celebrities balked at the job, worried that they would be tainted if Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971) won the top gong and they were seen by the public as linked to the controversial picture. Nicholson, who early on declared publicly that he loved the Oscar (when the sentiment wasn't chic), happily obliged. In addition to presenting the Best Actress trophy in 1999, he also presented the Thalberg Award to Warren Beatty in 2000 and an honorary award to Michelangelo Antonioni in 1995.

Batman creator Bob Kane personally recommended him for the role of the Joker in Batman (1989).

His mother, June Frances (Nicholson), had English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, and Pennsylvania Dutch (German) ancestry. Jack never knew his biological father, and was raised by his maternal grandparents. He was led to believe that June was his older sister and his grandparents were his parents. It was not until 1974, when a Time magazine reporter researched his life, that he learned the truth. An Italian immigrant named Donald Furcillo, who was married briefly to June, may have been Jack's biological father. It is also possible that Jack's biological father was Edgar A. Kirschfeld, a Latvian-born entertainer (known as "Eddie King"). Nicholson has chosen not to investigate further.

Turned down the role of Johnny Hooker in The Sting (1973) to play Billy "Bad Ass" Buddusky in The Last Detail (1973), which was written by his close friend Robert Towne, as he did not want to appear in a purely commercial picture just then. Robert Redford eventually played the part. Both Nicholson and Redford were nominated for Best Actor of 1973 at the Academy Awards, losing to Jack Lemmon for Save the Tiger (1973).

Turned down the lead role of Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), even though he knew the movie would be a hit as he felt that the special effects would overwhelm any actor in the movie.

Appeared in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and Tommy (1975). Both of those films were nominated for Best Actress Oscars. "Cuckoo" star Louise Fletcher won.

Has been nominated for an acting Oscar in five different decades (1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s).

In 2004, he attended his 50th high school reunion at Manasquan High School in Manasquan, New Jersey. Needless to say, his classmates were surprised and delighted that he attended.

Is one of only a few actors to win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar after winning a Best Actor Oscar.

The character Shipwreck from the animated GI Joe series of the 1980s was partly based on him (and partly based on Popeye the Sailor Man).

Claims his personal favorite performances are his works in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), Batman (1989), Hoffa (1992) and As Good as It Gets (1997).

With his seventh Best Actor nomination for As Good as It Gets (1997) , he surpassed Laurence Olivier as the most nominated actor ever with 11 total nominations (Nicholson had four Best Supporting Actor nominations in 1970, 1982, 1984 and 1991; Olivier had nine Best Actor (tied for the most in that category with Spencer Tracy) and one Best Supporting Actor nominations. Nicholson extended the lead with his eight Best Actor nod for About Schmidt (2002), which tied him with Paul Newman for second place in Best Actor nominations. (Newman also has one Supporting Actor nomination).

An 12 time acting nominee (eight times as Best Actor, four times as Best Supporting Actor), he ties Katharine Hepburn's 12 nominations (all in the Best Actress category) and only Meryl Streep with 14 (10 in the Best Actress category) has more acting nominations. ('Bette Davis' was nominated 10 times for an Academy Award, all of them Best Actress nods.).

After presenting the Best Picture Oscar at the The 78th Annual Academy Awards (2006) to Crash (2004), he told the press he was surprised as he thought Brokeback Mountain (2005) would win. Nicholson then told the press that he himself had voted for Brokeback Mountain (2005).

His performance as "Badass" Buddusky in The Last Detail (1973) is ranked #12 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).

His performance as Randle Patrick McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) is ranked #47 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).

The song "Santa Baby" in the film, Party Monster (1998) was recorded as a gift for the actor by the actress and recording artist, Cynthia Basinet, as were many other songs, including "Haunted Heart" and "Someone To Watch Over Me". She was later nominated for a shared Nobel in '05.

Was in attendance at Chris Penn's funeral

Along with Marlon Brando, Nicholson eagerly sought the role of Dr Martin Dysart in Sidney Lumet's film adaptation of Sir Peter Shaffer's play Equus (1977). The part went instead to Richard Burton, who received his seventh and final Oscar nomination for his performance.

His performance as Jack Torrance in The Shining (1980) is ranked #82 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

His performance as Jake 'J.J.' Gittes in Chinatown (1974) is ranked #37 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

His performance as Randle Patrick McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) is ranked #14 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

Turned down the role of Caligula in the infamous Bob Guccione film Caligula (1979). The role eventually went to Malcolm McDowell.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) is ranked #17 on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time.

He turned down the role of Richard Nixon in Nixon (1995).

Turned down the role of Willie in Bad Santa (2003).

His performance as Jack Torrance in The Shining (1980) is ranked #25 on the American Film Institute's 100 Heroes & Villains.

His performance as The Joker in Batman (1989) is ranked #45 on the American Film Institute's 100 Heroes & Villains.

Premiere Magazine ranked him #16 on a list of The Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in their Stars in Our Constellation feature (2005).

Was considered for the role of Allie Fox in The Mosquito Coast (1986). The part went to Harrison Ford instead.

He is a fan of professional wrestling

Demolished his neighbor Marlon Brando's bungalow, which he bought for £3.4 million following the actor's death in 2004.

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