Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando’s personal life was highly controversial. He was known to be a womanizer and had been involved with several women and fathered numerous children. He had also been married multiple times.

He married actress Anna Kashfi in 1957 with whom he had a son. The marriage ended in divorce.

In 1960, he married Movita Castaneda, a Mexican-American actress. They had two children, and this marriage too did not last long.

Marlon Brando was born on April 3, 1924 in Omaha, Nebraska, to Marlon Brando, Sr., and his wife Dorothy Julia. His father was a pesticide and chemical feed manufacturer while his mother was an actress. He had two older sisters.

He had an unhappy childhood as both his parents were alcoholics who never cared about the children. His father was very abusive and had the habit of telling the young boy that he would never amount to anything. His parents eventually separated and he went to live with his mother in California. Later he moved to Chicago after his parents reconciled.

His sister Jocelyn Brando went to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Art in New York City. She recognized Marlon’s potential as a future actor and encouraged him to pursue acting as a profession.

On his sister’s advice he moved to New York to study with the acclaimed acting coaches Stella Adler and at Lee Strasberg's Actors' Studio. Adler was his chief mentor, and he was highly inspired by her. He often credited her for the major role she played in his becoming a successful actor.

Marlon Brando started out as a stage actor and received much appreciation for his portrayal of the arrogant and cruel Stanley Kowalski in the 1947 play, ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’. After tasting success on the stage he soon moved to films.

He made his film debut in 1950 by appearing in the movie ‘The Men’ in which he played a bitter paraplegic veteran. The next year, he reprised the role of Stanley Kowalski in the film adaptation of ’A Streetcar Named Desire’, and was much appreciated for this performance.

Over the next few years he appeared in many successful movies including ‘Viva Zapata! ‘(1952), ‘On the Waterfront’ (1954), ‘Guys and Dolls’ (1955), and ‘The Young Lions’ (1958). During the mid-1950s, Brando was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.

In spite of being a major star in the 1950s, his popularity began to decline in the 1960s. By this time he became notorious for his excessive indulgence in food, on-set tantrums, and constant womanizing. His much anticipated movie, ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ (1962) proved to be a box office flop and he failed to give even one major hit in the decade.

His declining career saw a revival in the 1970s. In 1972, he played the role of Don Vito Corleone in the crime film, ‘The Godfather’. His brilliant performance in the movie resurrected his failing career and re-established him as one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. He won many awards and nominations for the movie.

His portrayal of Terry Malloy in the crime drama film ‘On the Waterfront’ is undoubtedly one of his best performances. He played the role of a dockworker whose life is deeply affected by the widespread corruption, extortion, and racketeering on the waterfronts of Hoboken, New Jersey.

Marlon Brando also received much acclaim for his role in the crime film ‘The Godfather’, in which he played the leader of a fictional New York crime family. The movie is regarded as one of the greatest films in world cinema.