Kurt Russell Age, Height, Partner, Net Worth & Biography

Kurt Russell is an American actor who has worked in film since he was a child, from Disney films in the 1960s to action films with John Carpenter in the 1980s and to Marvel films in the 2010s. Born on March 17, 1951, in Springfield, Massachusetts, Russell, 75, is best known as Snake Plissken in Escape from New York, as R.J. MacReady in The Thing, and as Wyatt Earp in Tombstone.

Quick Facts

Who Is Kurt Russell?

Kurt Russell is an actor whose career has lasted for more than six decades, and who has never seemed to age out of a role. He began as a child actor in Disney films, played a professional baseball player in the minor leagues, and then became one of the most popular action stars of the 1980s, working with the director John Carpenter in Escape from New York (1981), The Thing (1982) and Big Trouble in Little China (1986). In Escape from New York, he played Snake Plissken, a one-eyed former soldier sent into a prison-city to rescue the president, a role that became iconic and that he returned to in Escape from L.A. (1996). In The Thing, he played R.J. MacReady, a helicopter pilot facing an alien in Antarctica, a film that was not a success on its release but is now regarded as one of the great horror films.

Russell has also played Wyatt Earp in Tombstone (1993), a film about the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, in which he starred opposite Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday, and he has played Ego, the Living Planet, in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), a role that introduced him to a new generation of Marvel fans. He has worked in comedies, in dramas and in thrillers, and he has shown a willingness to take on roles that are both heroic and flawed. He is also known for his long-term relationship with the actress Goldie Hawn, with whom he has been together since 1983, although they have never married, a decision they have both spoken about openly.

Early Life & Background

Kurt Vogel Russell was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, the son of Bing Russell, an actor and former professional baseball player, and Louise Julia Crone, a dancer. Growing up in California, Russell appeared as a child actor on television, including in the series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (1963-1964), in which he played the title role, and he signed a ten-year contract with Walt Disney Studios at the age of 13, appearing in films such as The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969) and Now You See Him, Now You Don’t (1972). He was the last actor whom Walt Disney personally signed to a contract, a fact that is often noted in profiles of his career.

After his Disney years, Russell played professional baseball in the minor leagues, for teams in the California Angels organisation, but an injury ended his baseball career and he returned to acting full-time. He worked in television, including in the series The New Land and in the film The Deadly Tower (1975), and he became a leading man in the 1980s, working with John Carpenter and with other directors. He met Goldie Hawn on the set of The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968), although they did not become a couple until they worked together again in Swing Shift (1984).

Career

Russell’s film career in the 1980s included Escape from New York, The Thing, Silkwood (1983), in which he played Drew Stephens, the boyfriend of Meryl Streep’s character, and Big Trouble in Little China, in which he played Jack Burton, a truck driver who becomes involved in a supernatural battle in San Francisco’s Chinatown. He played a baseball player in The Best of Times and a firefighter in Backdraft (1991), and he played Wyatt Earp in Tombstone, a film that is often cited as one of the best westerns of the 1990s.

In recent years, Russell has played in Death Proof (2007), The Hateful Eight (2015), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, The Christmas Chronicles (2018) and The Christmas Chronicles 2 (2020), in which he played Santa Claus, opposite Goldie Hawn as Mrs. Claus, and in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023-2024), a series in which he plays Lee Shaw, a former army officer, alongside his son Wyatt Russell, who plays a younger version of the same character. He has been nominated for a Golden Globe for Silkwood, and he has won the Saturn Award and other honours for his work in science fiction and action films. He is known for his professionalism, for his love of baseball and of flying, and for a career that has lasted for more than sixty years.

Facts About Kurt Russell

• He signed a ten-year contract with Walt Disney Studios at the age of 13, the last actor Walt Disney personally signed.
• He played Snake Plissken in Escape from New York (1981) and R.J. MacReady in The Thing (1982).
• He played Wyatt Earp in Tombstone (1993) and Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017).
• He has been in a relationship with Goldie Hawn since 1983, although they have never married.
• He played professional baseball in the minor leagues before returning to acting full-time.

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