Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE (born May 16, 1953) is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist, who holds both Irish and US citizenship.
Born an only child in Ireland in Drogheda, County Louth, Brosnan lived in nearby Navan, County Meath. He was educated by the Irish Christian Brothers. Brosnan's mother moved to London for work after his father abandoned the family; in 1964, at the age of eleven, he joined her. His mother subsequently divorced his father and married a Scottish World War II veteran who was quickly embraced as a father figure by his young stepson. After school, Brosnan desired to be an artist and started training in commercial illustration. When he was 16 a circus agent saw him busking as a fire eater and hired him. He trained as an actor at the Drama Centre, London. Personal life When Brosnan was in high school, his nickname was 'Irish'. Brosnan married the Australian actress Cassandra Harris in 1980 and adopted her two children, Christopher (b. 1972) and Charlotte (b. 1971), after their father died in 1986. Brosnan and Harris had one son together, Sean (b. 1984). Harris died of ovarian cancer in 1991, after eleven years of marriage; Brosnan was said to have been devastated by her death. In 2001, Brosnan married American journalist Keely Shaye Smith, and they have two sons, Dylan Thomas (b. 1997) and Paris Beckett (b. 2001). During his first wife's illness, he took to painting again in his spare time, producing colorful landscapes and family portraits. Profits from sales of giclée prints of his works are given to a trust to benefit some of his favorite charitable causes. In July 2003, Queen Elizabeth II awarded Brosnan an honorary OBE for his 'outstanding contribution to the British film industry'. As an Irish citizen, he is ineligible to receive the full OBE honour, which is awarded only to a citizen of Britain or of one of the Commonwealth of Nations member countries. On September 23, 2004, Brosnan became a naturalized citizen of the United States, but he has retained his Irish citizenship. He is the father of three American sons, and has lived in the United States for more than twenty years. He currently resides in Malibu, California and has a home in Hawaii. Brosnan supported John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential election, and is a vocal supporter of gun control and same-sex marriage. An outspoken environmentalist, Brosnan was named 'Best-dressed Environmentalist' in 2004 by the Sustainable Style Foundation. In 2006, Brosnan was nominated for a Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, for his work in The Matador. Brosnan, along with producing partner Beau St. Clair, formed a film production company in 1996, entitled Irish DreamTime.