Michael Douglas is an American film actor and producer, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern Hollywood. He is the son of legendary actor Kırk Douglas and achieved international acclaim both in front of and behind the camera.

Michael Douglas was born on September 25, 1944, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States. His full name is Michael Kirk Douglas. His father, Kırk Douglas, was a New York–born actor of Belarusian Jewish descent, and his mother, Diana Dill, was a Bermudian-born actress. Douglas grew up in Connecticut and attended the prestigious Choate Rosemary Hall before enrolling at the Black Fox Military Institute.

He later studied drama at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and continued his acting education at the Neighbourhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York.

Michael Douglas began his Hollywood career in the 1960s, initially working as an assistant director on his father’s films. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he appeared in several films portraying idealistic young men, including Hail, Hero! (1969), Adam at 6 A.M. (1970), and Summertree (1971).

His major breakthrough came with the television series The Streets of San Francisco (1972–1977), where he starred alongside Karl Malden. The ABC crime drama brought Douglas widespread recognition and established him as a leading actor.

In 1975, Michael Douglas made his debut as a film producer with Miloš Forman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The film was a massive critical and commercial success, winning five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Douglas shared the Oscar for Best Picture with producer Saul Zaentz.

He continued producing high-profile films such as The China Syndrome (1979), in which he also starred alongside Jane Fonda and Jack Lemmon. Although initially known more as a producer, Douglas proved his acting range with the adventure hit Romancing the Stone (1984), co-starring Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito. The trio later reunited for The Jewel of the Nile (1985) and The War of the Roses (1989).

Michael Douglas reached the peak of his acting career in 1987 with his portrayal of Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone’s Wall Street, a role that earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor. The same year, he starred opposite Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction. In 1992, he further cemented his stardom with Basic Instinct, playing detective Nick Curran alongside Sharon Stone.

In 1998, Douglas founded Stonebridge Entertainment, producing films such as Flatliners (1990) and Radio Flyer (1992). He also contributed to the revival of the Victorine Studios in Nice, France.

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Michael Douglas delivered notable performances in films such as Disclosure (1994), The Game (1997), A Perfect Murder (1998), Traffic (2000), and Wonder Boys (2000). In 2013, he won critical acclaim and major awards for his portrayal of Liberace in Behind the Candelabra.

In his personal life, Michael Douglas married Diandra Luker in 1977, with whom he has a son, Cameron Douglas. The couple divorced in 2000. Later that year, he married actress Catherine Zeta-Jones. They have two children, Dylan Michael Douglas and Carys Zeta Douglas. Despite announcing a separation in 2013, the couple later reconciled.

Beyond cinema, Michael Douglas is an outspoken advocate for nuclear disarmament. He supports the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and serves on the board of the Ploughshares Fund. In 1998, he was appointed a United Nations Messenger of Peace by then–UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

On December 11, 2003, Douglas co-hosted the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo when the award was presented to Shirin Ebadi. In 2006, he received an honorary degree from the University of St Andrews.

Over his career, Michael Douglas has received numerous prestigious awards, including multiple Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and Emmy Awards, solidifying his legacy as both a distinguished actor and an influential producer in world cinema.

Awards
1975 – GG (Golden Globe), Best Motion Picture – Drama, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
1975 – Oscar (Academy Award), Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
1980 – Genie Award, Best Performance by a Foreign Actor, Running
1984 – NATO Producer of the Year Award
1987 – Oscar (Academy Award), Best Actor, Wall Street
1987 – Golden Globe, Best Actor, Wall Street
1987 – National Board of Review Award, Best Actor, Wall Street
1996 – People’s Choice Award, Special Tribute (for achievements as actor and producer)
1998 – César Award, Honorary Award (for contributions to cinema)
1998 – Crystal Globe Award, Honorary Award (for contributions to world cinema)
2013 – 65th Primetime Emmy Awards, Best Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie, Behind the Candelabra
2014 – 71st Golden Globe Awards, Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film, Behind the Candelabra

Filmography

As Producer
2020 – Rollover (Feature Film)
2020 – Starman (Feature Film)
2020 – Ratched (TV Series)
2028 – We Have Always Lived in the Castle (Feature Film)
2014 – Beyond the Reach (Feature Film)
2001 – One Night at McCool’s (Feature Film)
1996 – The Ghost and the Darkness (Feature Film)
1985 – The Jewel of the Nile (Feature Film)
1984 – Romancing the Stone (Feature Film)
1979 – The China Syndrome (Feature Film)
1975 – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Feature Film)

As Actor
2020 – The God Committee (Feature Film)
2019 – Avengers: Endgame (Hank Pym) (Feature Film)
2018–2019 – The Kominsky Method (Sandy Kominsky) (TV Series)
2018 – Ant-Man and the Wasp (Dr. Hank Pym) (Feature Film)
2018 – Animal World (Feature Film)
2016 – Unlocked (Eric Lasch) (Feature Film)
2015 – Ant-Man (Hank Pym) (Feature Film)
2014 – Beyond the Reach (Madec) (Feature Film)
2014 – Hollywood Banker (Himself – archive footage) (Feature Film)
2014 – And So It Goes (Dylan) (Feature Film)
2013 – Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon (Himself) (Feature Film)
2013 – Last Vegas (Billy Gerson) (Feature Film)
2013 – Behind the Candelabra (Liberace) (Feature Film)
2011 – Haywire (Feature Film)
2010 – The Oprah Winfrey Oscar Special (Himself) (TV Program)
2010 – Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (Gordon Gekko) (Feature Film)
2010 – America: The Story of Us (Himself) (TV Series – 3 Episodes)
2010 – AFI Life Achievement Award (Himself) (TV Film)
2009 – Solitary Man (Ben) (Feature Film)
2009 – Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (Uncle Wayne) (Feature Film)
2009 – Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (Feature Film)
2009 – 81st Annual Academy Awards (Himself) (TV Film)
2008 – 80th Annual Academy Awards (Himself) (TV Film)
2007 – Trumbo (Himself) (Feature Film)
2007 – King of California (Charlie) (Feature Film)
2007 – Dinosaurs Alive! (Narrator) (Feature Film)
2006 – You, Me and Dupree (Mr. Thompson) (Feature Film)
2006 – The Sentinel (Pete Garrison) (Feature Film)
2005 – I Love the ’90s: Part Deux (Himself – archive footage) (TV Series)
2004 – 76th Annual Academy Awards (Himself) (TV Film)
2004 – Tell Them Who You Are (Himself) (Feature Film)
2004 – The Country Bears (Feature Film)
2003 – It Runs in the Family (Steve Tobias) (Feature Film)
2003 – Fathers and Sons (Alex Gromberg) (Feature Film)
2001 – Don’t Say a Word (Dr. Nathan R. Conrad) (Feature Film)
2001 – One Night at McCool’s (Mr. Burmeister) (Feature Film)
2001 – In Search of Peace (Narrator) (Feature Film)
2000 – Traffic (Robert Wakefield) (Feature Film)
2000 – Wonder Boys (Professor Grady Tripp) (Feature Film)
1999 – The Directors (Himself) (TV Series)
1999 – Get Bruce (Himself) (Feature Film)
1998 – 70th Annual Academy Awards (Himself) (TV Film)
1998 – A Perfect Murder (Steven Taylor) (Feature Film)
1997 – The Game (Nicholas Van Orton) (Feature Film)
1996 – The Ghost and the Darkness (Charles Remington) (Feature Film)
1995 – The American President (President Andrew Shepherd) (Feature Film)
1994 – Disclosure (Tom Sanders) (Feature Film)
1993 – Falling Down (William Foster) (Feature Film)
1992 – The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (Himself) (TV Program – 8 Episodes)
1992 – Basic Instinct (Nick Curran) (Feature Film)
1992 – Shining Through (Ed Leland) (Feature Film)
1989 – Black Rain (Nick Conklin) (Feature Film)
1989 – The War of the Roses (Oliver Rose) (Feature Film)
1987 – Fatal Attraction (Dan Gallagher) (Feature Film)
1987 – Wall Street (Gordon Gekko) (Feature Film)
1985 – The Jewel of the Nile (Jack Colton) (Feature Film)
1985 – A Chorus Line (Zach) (Feature Film)
1984 – Cinema 3 (Himself) (TV Series – 2 Episodes)
1984 – Romancing the Stone (Jack T. Colton) (Feature Film)
1983 – Running (Michael Andropolis) (Feature Film)
1980 – It’s My Turn (Ben Lewin) (Feature Film)
1979 – The China Syndrome (Richard Adams) (Feature Film)
1978 – Coma (Dr. Mark Bellows) (Feature Film)
1972 – The Streets of San Francisco (Steve Keller) (TV Series)
1972 – Napoleon and Samantha (Danny) (Feature Film)
1971 – Summertree (Jerry) (Feature Film)
1970 – Adam at 6 A.M. (Adam Gaines) (Feature Film)
1969 – Hail, Hero! (Carl Dixon) (Feature Film)
1966 – Cast a Giant Shadow (Driver) (Feature Film)

Source: Biyografiler.com