Kris Kristofferson was born in 1936 in Brownsville, Texas. His family moved around a lot when he was younger because his father was an Air Force general. They finally settled down in San Mateo, California where Kristofferson graduated high school. Although his father was pushing him to a career in the military, Kristofferson decided to attend Pomona College first.

He was then awarded the Rhodes scholarship to attend Oxford University in England. While in England, he began writing songs and recording for Top Rank Records.

After obtaining his degree, Kristofferson joined the U.S. Army and eventually obtained the rank of captain. While in the army he became a helicopter pilot. In 1965, after a five year run in the army, he resigned to pursue his songwriting career.

Kristofferson moved to Nashville with the intent of becoming a professional songwriter and ended up sweeping floors at Columbia Studios. At the studio he met Johnny Cash and gave him some demo tapes of his songs. Cash ignored him. Later, Kristofferson would land a helicopter in Johnny’s front yard and hand him some more demo tapes. This time Cash listened.

Singers like Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Stevens, Waylon Jennings, and Bobby Bare began recording songs Kristofferson had written in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. During that time Kristofferson also dated Janis Joplin and wrote the song, Me and Bobby MeGee for her to record. The single became a #1 pop hit in 1971 after her death.

He also released an album in 1970 entitled, Kristofferson. Sales were poor until a year later when he re-released the album under the title, Me and Bobby MeGee. By 1972, Kristofferson released his fourth album, Jesus was a Capricorn, which was a commercial success and also won him several Grammy awards including Song of the Year.

In 1973, Kris married singer, Rita Coolidge. The couple has one child together. They divorced in 1980 reportedly due to Kristofferson’s alcohol problem. At the time he was drinking 1 ½ bottles of Jack Daniels a day. His pilot’s license was revoked for the same reason because he passed out drunk behind the controls of his helicopter. Kristofferson eventually quit drinking alcohol altogether.

In 1976 Kris starred in the movie A Star is Born with Barbra Streisand. It was the second-highest grossing film of 1976.

In 1983, Kris married his third wife, Lisa Meyers. The couple remains married today and have five children together. Kristofferson has said that while he loves music, his children are his true legacy.

By the mid-1980’s both his acting and singing career began to improve. He formed a band with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Johnny Cash called The Highwaymen. Their first album, Highwayman (1985) was a huge success. He has also continued to star in films including, Blade, Blade II, and Blade: Trinity, which also starred Wesley Snipes, Jessica Biel, and Ryan Reynolds.  

In 1977, Kristofferson was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame which was followed by the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985. He was then inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004.