James Spader

James Todd Spader married Victoria Kheel in 1987 whom he met at a yoga studio while working there as a yoga instructor. The couple has two sons - Elijah and Sebastian. The filed for divorce in 2004.

He began dating Leslie Stefanson in 2002. Their son Nathaneal was born in August 2008.

James Todd Spader was born on February 7, 1960, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Stoddard Greenwood "Todd" Spader and Jean Spader as their third child and the only son.

Both his parents were teachers. He studied in ‘The Pike School’ where his mother was an art teacher and also in ‘Brooks School’ where his father was a teacher.

He later joined the ‘Philips Academy’ but left it in the eleventh grade. Though his family line included professors and scholars, his contrasting interest in acting made him forego his formal education and enrol in New York’s ‘Michael Chekhov School’ to pursue acting.

During his training in ‘Michael Chekhov School’, he supported himself by doing various jobs including being a busboy, a yoga instructor, a railroad car loader and a truck driver before coming into full-time acting.

Though his first film was ‘Team-Mates’ (released in 1978), ‘Endless Love’ (released in 1981) is considered his first major film where he played a vital role of Keith Butterfield.

In 1983, he began his television career with ‘The Family Tree’ and went on to work in several other series.

His film career continued with ‘Cocaine: One Man's Seduction’ (1983), ‘A Killer in the Family’ (1983), ‘Family Secrets’ (1984), ‘The New Kids’ (1985) and ‘Starcrossed’ (1985). His first film with a starring role was ‘Turf Turf’ (released in 1985).

Even though he had done several films, he rose to stardom with his 1986 film ‘Pretty in Pink’ where he essayed the character of Steff, a wealthy and arrogant playboy.

In 1987, four of his films namely ‘Mannequin’, ‘Less Than Zero’, ‘Baby Boom’ and ‘Wall Street’ were released. The last two films saw him in supporting roles.