Alec Baldwin was born April 3, 1958, in New York to Alexander Rae Baldwin II and Carol Newcomb Martineau. He has three younger brothers, also actors, Daniel Baldwin, Stephen Baldwin, and William Baldwin (aka Billy Baldwin), as well as sisters Jane and Elizabeth.

The American actor broke into the profession with a role as Billy Aldrich in the relatively unknown TV soap opera The Doctors in 1981, which was cancelled a year later. He continued working on television series into the 1980s before his film debut with a minor role in She’s Having a Baby in 1988 with Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern. He went on to star in hits Beetlejuice with Geena Davis, Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton, and Working Girl in the late 1980s with Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, Melanie Griffith and Joan Cusack. But his real popularity didn’t come until his portrayal of Jack Ryan in The Hunt for Red October in 1990, a film directed by John McTiernan and co-starring Sean Connery, which was a huge success at the box office, grossing more than one hundred million dollars.

Alec Baldwin went on to play both leading and supporting roles in many films, including The Marrying Man in 1991, starring opposite ex-wife Kim Basinger; The Getaway, also with Basinger in 1994; The Shadow in 1994, with John Lone and Penelope Ann Miller; The Edge; The Juror, with Demi Moore; Mercury Rising; Pearl Harbor, also starring Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, and Kate Beckinsale; and The Aviator, among many others, including flicks he narrated and did voice-overs for. Alec Baldwin has also guest starred in many popular television shows, such as Saturday Night Live, Will & Grace, Nip/Tuck, Friends, The Simpsons, and Las Vegas.

In 1993 Alec Baldwin married actress Kim Basinger, and seven years later they separated, filing for divorce in early 2001. Their very bitter separation and divorce was a widely publicized ordeal, with huge amounts of money spent, accusations from Basinger of Baldwin’s alleged abuse and anger problems, and custody battles over their daughter Ireland Baldwin, born in 1995. Alec has since been romantically linked to actresses Kristin Davis and Tatum O Neal.

Alec Baldwin is also known for his strong political views and for his controversial political statements that receive much hype and media attention. These include a skit on Conan O Brien where Baldwin talked about stoning Representative Henry Hyde, public derogatory comments about Bush and his government’s administration, and terrorist remarks. Alec Baldwin allegedly wants to quit acting at some point and get more involved in politics.

YUDDY