Michael Douglas Biography, Age, Parents, Wife, Son, Movies & Net Worth

Michael Douglas is one of the most accomplished American actors and producers in Hollywood, who has given superior performances in a career that has stretched for over four decades. His father Kirk Douglas, the renowned actor, was an early influence in his life, and after getting to know the inner workings of the movie-making process from his father he studied drama at university before starting off his career as an actor. Michael Douglas started off on television and quickly graduated to films, however it was on television that he first spotted success with this performance in the show ‘The Streets of San Francisco’.

Later on, he produced the iconic film ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoos’ Nest’ and won the accolade as the film went on to win several awards. Douglas’ most famous and noteworthy role remains that of Gordon Gekko in the film ‘Wall Street’ that has become a cult classic for people across generations. Douglas has remained a constant in an industry that changes at a breakneck pace and has evolved his style with the times, which is a sign of an actor who knows his craft.

Wiki/Biodata

Michael Kirk Douglas was born on 25 September 1944 in the city of New Brunswick in New Jersey, the United States to Kirk Douglas and Diana Dill. He was the eldest child of legendary actor Kirk Douglas and his mother was a noted actress as well. He has a younger brother and two half brothers.

Michael Douglas studied at the Allen-Stevenson School located in New York City before going on to Eaglebrook School and finally at the Choate Preparatory School. Right from his childhood, he was interested in the craft of filmmaking and regularly accompanied his father to film sets.

Michael Douglas had always aspired to be an actor and hence he studied drama at the University of California in Santa Barbara. He graduated in the year 1968. He also took lessons at The American Place Theatre located in New York City in order to further hone his acting skills.

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Michael Douglas Net Worth

As of 2023, Michael Douglas’s net worth is estimated to be roughly $350 million dollars, making him one of the wealthiest actors in the world.

Michael owns a valuable real estate portfolio with assets around the globe. One of his most impressive properties is a 250-acre estate on the coast of Spain called S’Estaca which he bought in 1990 for $3.5 million (the same as around $6 million today). At one point in 2014, he listed the property for sale for $60 million but did not find a buyer. In June 2019 he re-listed it for $32 million and even narrated the property’s sales video.

Marriage to Catherine Zeta-Jones

Douglas married Diandra Luker in 1977. They had one son, Cameron, but were separated in 1995 and later divorced. On November 18, 2000, Douglas married Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, his Traffic co-star. The couple welcomed a son, Dylan Michael Douglas, in August 2000, followed by daughter Carys Zeta Douglas in April 2003.

In August 2013, it was confessed that Douglas and Zeta-Jones had separated after more than 12 years of marriage. A spokesperson for the couple told the Huffington Post website that “Catherine and Michael are taking some time apart to evaluate and work on their marriage.” After a brief span apart, they conformed in 2014. Outside of his busy acting career, Douglas is active in building up human rights. His work in this area includes serving as a United Nations messenger of peace.

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Michael Douglas Movies And TV Shows

• Douglas began his Hollywood career as an assistant director on some of his father’s 1960s films. After roles in certain television dramas, he attains the spotlight by co-starring Karl Malden in the 1970s TV series The Streets of San Francisco (1972-1977).
• He also directed two episodes of the show. In 1975, Douglas served as executive producer for Milos Forman‘s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which went on to win five Academy Awards, including one for Best Picture.
• He got involved in the film after his father, who owned the rights to Ken Kesey‘s novel of the same name, couldn’t successfully develop it into a film. Despite the success of the film, it was difficult for Douglas to find work as an actor, having received so much recognition as a producer.
• In 1979, he starred with Jane Fonda and Jack Lemmon in the film The China Syndrome, which he also co-produced.
• Douglas landed his first leading man role in Romancing the Stone (1984), portraying Jack Colton, an Indiana Jones-type adventurer. This successful teaming of Douglas with Danny DeVito and Kathleen Turner led to a sequel, The Jewel of the Nile (1985). The three worked again in The War of the Roses (1989), a dark comedy about an ugly divorce.
• In 1987, Douglas made two films that reflected a much darker side: Fatal Attraction, in which he played an adulterer stalked by an ex-lover played by Glenn Close and Oliver Stone’s Wall Street, in which he played the corporate raider Gordon Gekko, whose trademark slogan is “Greed is good.” For this role, Douglas won an Academy Award for Best Actor. He continued exploring his dark side years later, co-starring with Sharon Stone in the thriller Basic Instinct in 1992.
• In 1988, Douglas formed a production company, Stonebridge Entertainment, Inc., which produced Joel Schumacher’s Flatliners (1990) and Richard Donner’s Radio Flyer (1992).
• In 1993, he produced Made in America, then starred as a s*xually harassed man in Michael Crichton’s Disclosure (1994), and as the titular commander-in-chief in Rob Reiner’s The American President (1995), co-starring Annette Bening.
• In 1994, he signed a development deal at Paramount that included The Ghost and the Darkness (1996), The Game (1997), and A Perfect Murder (1998). He executive produced The Rainmaker (1997), starring Matt Damon, as well as John Woo’s 1997 action film, Face/Off.
• Douglas earned critical acclaim for his starring role as a rumpled novelist and English professor in Wonder Boys (2000). In the fall of 2001, Douglas headlined the thriller Don’t Say a Word, co-starring Brittany Murphy in the film.
• Two years later, he has featured in It Runs in the Family (2003), alongside his famous father, his mother, and his son, Cameron. The film, which fared poorly at the box office, told the story of a multi-generational clan trying to get along.
• Following in his father’s footsteps, in 2004, Douglas was honored as the recipient of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Cecil B. DeMille Award for his “outstanding contribution to the entertainment field.”
• In 2010, Douglas announced that he would be reprising his role as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps. The film, also starring Shia LaBeouf and Carey Mulligan, was released in the United States that September.
• Douglas went on to work on the biopic Behind the Candelabra, starring in the film as the famous 1950s and 1960s entertainer Wladziu Liberace. Damon played his love interest in the critically acclaimed 2013 television movie. Douglas won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of the famed entertainer.
• He also filmed the movie Last Vegas (2013) with several Hollywood legends, including Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Kline. The following year, Douglas starred opposite Diane Keaton in And So It Goes and the thriller Beyond the Reach.
• In 2015, he starred as biochemist Hank Pym in the Marvel superhero action/comedy Ant-Man and reprised his role in the sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018).

Facts

1. He was ranked at number #74 in Empire (UK) magazine’s “The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time” list in October 1997.
2. In 2013, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie” for his role in Behind the Candelabra.
3. Michael’s mother is Angelic whereas his father is a Jew.
4. He got treated with tongue cancer.
5. He used to be a chain smoker which caused him cancer.
6. Douglas loves dogs.
7. His dog’s name is Figaro.

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