Christian Bale

He tied the marital knot with Sandra "Sibi" Blazic, a former model and make-up artist. The couple has been blessed with a daughter Emmeline.

He is a philanthropist and an activist and actively supports environmental groups such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund.

Christian Bale was born in a family of mixed heritage. His mother, Jenny a circus performer, was English, while his father, David Charles Howard Bale an entrepreneur, commercial pilot, and talent manager by profession, was South African born. He has two sister siblings.

Much of his early years were spent in England, Portugal and United States. He attended Bournemouth School for preliminary education. His mother had an overpowering influence on young Bale who took a keen interest in performing arts.

A child prodigy, he made his debut in front of the camera for a commercial for the fabric softener Lenor in 1982. Thereafter, there was no looking back as he was flooded with assignments.

He made a formal debut on stage opposite Rowan Atkinson for the play ‘The Nerd’ in 1984. Two years later, he made his big screen debut playing the character of Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich for the film, ‘Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna’.

A couple of more performances followed, before he achieved his breakthrough with the Steven Spielberg movie, ‘Empire of the Sun’ in 1987. The movie was a runaway success at the box office, with him earning several awards for his perfect portrayal of the character of Jim Graham.

The overnight stardom and mounting expectations of people backfired as he found it difficult to adjust with the newly-found fame and star status. However, he soon calmed his nerves and featured in Kenneth Branagh’s ‘Henry V’ in 1989.

The following year, he was cast for the role of Jim Hawkins for the TV adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson's classic book, ‘Treasure Island’. He starred opposite Charlton Heston.

‘American Psycho’ was a breakthrough movie in the career of this prolific actor. The movie was a resounding success at the box office, drawing about US$34 million. The movie gained a cult status and so did he for portraying the role of Patrick Bateman with deep perfection.

The ‘Batman’ franchise is his magnum opus in his long list of filmography. Each of the movies in the trilogy was a stunning success and a major hit both in US and overseas. While the first film grossed US$370 million worldwide, the second in the series did a business of more than US$1000 million, setting three new U.S. box office records. The third film too was highly successful and gained about US$1084 million at the box office.

‘The Fighter’ is yet another star film in his filmography. The movie was extremely well received by both the audience and the critics alike. It drew US$129 million at the box office, which is five times the cost of its production. Additionally, the movie won the prestigious Academy Award and Golden Globe award.