Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty may now be a devoted husband and father, but for decades he was the personification of a Hollywood playboy. He rightfully earned his reputation by getting involved with many of co-stars including Natalie Wood, his leading lady in his first film, 1961’s Splendor in the Grass. He continued this trend for 30 years until he met and fell for Annette Bening, one of his co-stars in 1990’s Dick Tracy. The two wed in 1992 and have four children. Warren Beatty was born Henry Warren Beatty on March 30, 1937 in Richmond Virginia. Raised by two educators, his father was a psychology professor and his mother was a teacher, his own education came to an end when he dropped out of Northwestern University after one year. He left school to study acting and pursue a career on stage and in film. Warren Beatty’s sister, Shirley MacLaine, is also a well known actress. Before making it on the big screen, Warren Beatty had roles in television shows such as The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and Playhouse 90. He then moved on to Broadway where he earned a Tony nomination for his role in A Loss of Roses. At age 24 he headed to Hollywood to film Splendor in the Grass. At the time he was romantically linked to the glamorous Joan Collins, but he began an affair with his co-star Natalie Wood who was married to Robert Wagner. Natalie Wood left her husband, but the two would remarry later and remain married until her tragic death in 1981.
For the past 35 years Warren Beatty has been a major force in Hollywood as an actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He’s been nominated for 14 Academy Awards. In 1979 he was nominated in four categories, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Picture and Best Screenwriting for the movie Heaven Can Wait, but was passed over in all four categories. Again, in 1981 he was nominated for the same four categories for the movie Reds, this time walking away with the Oscar for Best Director. His other films include classics such as Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Shampoo (1973), Dick Tracy (1990), Bugsy (1991), and Bullworth (1998) and the classic flops Ishtar (1987) and Town and Country (2001). In his 40 plus years of show business Warren Beatty has starred in 22 movies, produced 10 films, written 7 screen plays, and directed 4 movies. He was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award at the 2000 Academy Awards for his lifetime of achievement. With all of his achievements and with over 15 years of a marriage that is still going strong under his belt, many people still associate Warren Beatty with being a lady killer. He’s been linked to Leslie Coran (his co-star in 1965’s Promise Her Anything), Julie Christie, Diane Keaton (his co-star in Reds), Bridgette Bardot, Goldie Hawn, Candice Bergen, Britt Ekland, and Madonna (his co-star in Dick Tracy). It’s difficult to listen to Carly Simon’s hit song, Your So Vain, without thinking of Warren Beatty. It’s rumored that she wrote the song about him after their relationship although she has never confirmed that as fact. |
