John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director and producer.
Nicholson was born in St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City, the son of a showgirl, June Frances Nicholson. Nicholson grew up in Neptune City, New Jersey. He was raised in his mother's Roman Catholic religion. Nick, as he was known to his high school friends, attended nearby Manasquan High School, where he was voted "class clown" by the Class of 1954. A theatre and a drama award at the school are named in his honor. In 2004, Nicholson attended his 50-year high school reunion accompanied by his aunt Lorraine.
When Nicholson first came to Hollywood, he worked as a gofer for animation legends William Hanna and Joseph Barbera at the MGM cartoon studio. Seeing his talent as an artist, they offered Nicholson a starting level position as an animation artist. However, citing his desire to become an actor, he declined. He made his film debut in a low-budget teen drama The Cry Baby Killer, in 1958, playing the title role.
With his acting career heading nowhere, Nicholson seemed resigned to a career behind the camera as a writer/director. His first real taste of writing success was the LSD-fueled screenplay for 1967's The Trip, which starred Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper.
A Best Actor nomination came the following year for his persona-defining role in Five Easy Pieces (1970), which includes his famous "chicken salad" dialogue about getting what you want.
Nicholson earned his first Best Actor Oscar for portraying Randle P. McMurphy in the movie adaptation of Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, directed by Miloš Forman in 1975. His Oscar was matched when Louise Fletcher received the Best Actress Award for her portrayal of Nurse Ratched.
Nicholson would go on to win his next Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Melvin Udall, a neurotic author with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), in the romance As Good as It Gets (1997), again directed by James L. Brooks. Nicholson's Oscar was matched with the Academy Award for Best Actress for Helen Hunt as a Manhattan waitress drawn into a love/hate friendship with Udall, a frequent diner in the restaurant in which she worked.
In 2001, Nicholson was the first actor to receive the Stanislavsky Award at the Moscow International Film Festival for "conquering the heights of acting and faithfulness".
Nicholson is a keen sports fan, regularly to be seen in courtside seats at Los Angeles Lakers basketball games at Staples Center and the former Great Western Forum. In 1999 he appeared on the UK TV chat show Parkinson, where he described himself as a "lifelong Manchester United fan".
He has been romantically linked to numerous actresses and models, including Michelle Phillips, Bebe Buell, and Lara Flynn Boyle. Nicholson's longest relationship was for 16 years with actress Anjelica Huston, from 1973 to 1989, the daughter of film director John Huston. However, the relationship ended when the media reported that Rebecca Broussard had become pregnant with his child. Nicholson and Broussard had two children together, Lorraine Nicholson (born 1990) and Raymond Nicholson (born 1992). Jack's other children are Jennifer Nicholson (born 1963 with Sandra Knight) and Honey Hollman (b. 1981 with Winnie Hollman). Actress Susan Anspach contends that her son, Caleb Goddard (born 1970), was fathered by Jack, but he has never made any public statements about the allegation.
Nicholson lived next door to Marlon Brando for a number of years on Mulholland Drive in Beverly Hills. Warren Beatty also lived nearby, earning the road the nickname "Bad Boy Drive". After Brando's death in 2004, Nicholson purchased his neighbor's bungalow for $6.1 million, with the purpose of having it demolished. Nicholson stated that it was done out of respect to Brando's legacy, as it had become too expensive to renovate the "derelict" building which was plagued by mold.
Nicholson is a collector of twentieth century and contemporary art, including the work of Scottish artist Jack Vettriano.
Though he has not been very public about his political views, Nicholson has considered himself a lifelong Democrat. On February 4, 2008, he announced his endorsement of Senator Hillary Clinton in her race for the President of the United States.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver announced on May 28, 2008 that Nicholson would be inducted into the California Hall of Fame, located at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts. The induction ceremony took place on December 15, 2008 where he was inducted alongside 11 other legendary Californians.