Vince Vaughn

Biography

Early life

Vaughn was born to Vernon Lindsay Vaughn (a salesman) and Sharon Eileen DePalmo (a Canadian-born broker once ranked as one of the United States' top money managers by Bloomberg Wealth Manager magazine) He has two older sisters, Valerie and Victoria. Vaughn's father was Protestant and his mother was Catholic, and he was raised in a mixture of both denominations; he has English, Irish, German, Italian and Lebanese ancestry. Vaughn's parents divorced in 1991. He grew up in Buffalo Grove, Illinois and then Lake Forest, Illinois, where he graduated from Lake Forest High School in 1988, with the likes of famous sports agent Rob Pelinka (Kobe Bryant), writer Dave Eggers, renowned international photographer Michael Stahlschmidt and Mr. T's daughter, Lisa. Vaughn developed an interest in theater at a young age and although he planned to pursue a career as an athlete (water polo), he decided to become an actor in 1987, after being involved in a car accident which derailed his chance at athletic success. It has been rumored that in said car accident, one of Vaughn's hands had been brutally disfigured. This is a subject of great controversy since there has been an apparent total media blackout on the subject.

Career

In 1988, Vaughn was cast in a Chevrolet television commercial, and subsequently moved to Hollywood. Although he appeared in the 1989 season of the television series, China Beach and in three CBS Schoolbreak Specials (in 1990), he became a struggling actor and faced many rejections. His first film role was 1993's Rudy, but Vaughn did not receive wider success until after his role in 1996's Swingers. While filming Rudy, Vaughn met Jon Favreau, who was working on the original draft for Swingers.

Swingers was released in July of 1996, and became a successful independent film. Afterwards, director Steven Spielberg cast Vaughn in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, which gave him an amount of exposure. From there, Vaughn went on to appear in several films of varied success, including playing Norman Bates in the 1998 remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. In 2000, he starred in The Cell with Jennifer Lopez and in 2001 appeared in Made, another film penned by Favreau. Vaughn also appeared in Dwight Yoakam's directorial debut movie South of Heaven, West of Hell. Vaughn had appeared in a Dwight Yoakam music video "These Arms." Since Vaughn's role in the successful 2003 comedy, Old School, his profile has skyrocketed and he is now considered a bigger star. In 2004, he appeared alongside Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson in the hit films Starsky & Hutch and Dodgeball, and had roles in 2005's Be Cool, Thumbsucker and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Also in 2005, Vaughn starred alongside Owen Wilson in the comedy Wedding Crashers, which grossed over $200 million at the United States box office. After this series of roles, Vaughn has been dubbed as one of the Hollywood Frat Pack, a group of actors who frequently co-star in film comedies. In 2006, Vaughn starred with Jennifer Aniston in the comedy-drama The Break-Up. He will be starring with Canadian breakout actor Shawn B. Waters in a named Ben Stiller film in 2007.

Personal life

Vince Vaughn dated two of his The Break-Up co-stars: actress Joey Lauren Adams during the filming of 1999's A Cool, Dry Place and Jennifer Aniston between 2005 and 2006. His relationship with Aniston began the summer after her separation from husband Brad Pitt and the media firestorm surrounding it and Pitt's relationship with Angelina Jolie; thus, Vaughn and Aniston's relationship was showered with tabloid attention. Rumors about the relationship include the couple moving to Australia, and that they were engaged. In the fall of 2006, Vaughn filed a lawsuit against three tabloid magazines, accusing them of falsely claiming that he had been unfaithful to Aniston, thus tacitly confirming their relationship. By December 2006, both Vaughn's and Aniston's reps have confirmed that they have broken up.

Vaughn has shown a tendency towards violence in the past. In 2001, while filming Domestic Disturbance, he got into a bar fight with a local man. Costar Steve Buscemi attempted to break up the fight and was stabbed in the face. Buscemi has a scar on his cheek from the wound.

Vaughn's weight has oscillated significantly in the last few years, often in response to changes in his smoking habits. He quit smoking sometime in 2005 around the time he was shooting Wedding Crashers, and gained weight as a result. He started smoking again after the filming of The Break-Up and ended up losing the weight. Then, he broke his foot playing racquetball, and this caused him to gain back 20 pounds.

Vaughn is also an avid fan of the Chicago Cubs.

Salary

Wedding Crashers (2005) $3,000,000

Selected filmography