Dustin Hoffman

In 1969, Hoffman married Anne Byrne. Byrne had a daughter, Jenna, from her previous marriage and the couple adopted a girl, Karina. The used to live in Greenwich Village but got divorced after staying together for 11 years.

He married for the second time to a businesswoman, Lisa Hoffman, in 1980. They have four children together: Jacob Edward, Rebecca Lillian, Maxwell Geoffrey and Alexandra Lydia.

Dustin Hoffman was born in Los Angeles to Lillian and Harry Hoffman. His father was a prop supervisor at Columbia Pictures and a furniture salesman. He was brought up in a humble Jewish family who were neither religious nor observant.

Hoffman went to Los Angeles High School and later attended the Santa Monica College to pursue medicine but he quickly changed his mind and instead enrolled himself at the Pasadena Playhouse to make a career in acting.

At the Pasadena Playhouse, Hoffman acquainted with the famous actor, but struggling like him at the time, Gene Hackman. Both the aspiring actors moved to New York but Hoffman did not get many opportunities, owing to his unconventional looks.

During the 60s, Hoffman earned a few opportunities to act in Off-Broadway productions and side by side, he studied method acting at Actors Studio. It was finally in 1966 that he performed in a big production, ‘Eh?’ by Henry Livings.

In 1967, he acted in his first theatrical film, ‘The Tigers Make Out’ and directed the productions ‘Two for the Seesaw’ and ‘The Time of Your Life’ for the Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre, for which he received $1000.

In the same year, Mike Nichols took his screen test for ‘The Graduate’. He landed the role and it became the biggest sensation in American cinema. His unconventional looks and brilliant acting skills established him as a star.

Although, Hoffman’s career had now kick started in Hollywood, he returned back to the Broadway in 1968 to act in ‘Jimmy Shine’. His acting was thoroughly appreciated and he received a Drama Desk Award for it.

Hoffman’s major work is still considered to be ‘The Graduate (1967)’ as it changed the direction of his career as well as his portrayal of ‘Benjamin Braddock’ proved to be a breath of fresh air for the American film industry.

‘Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)’ was another milestone in his career in Hollywood. He acted in the movie opposite Meryl Streep and it earned him his first Academy Award. The movie was a huge hit and received 5 Oscars in total.