Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson married Robyn Denise Moore, a dental nurse on June 7, 1980 in a Roman Catholic Church in Forestville, New South Wales. Together they have a daughter and six sons. They separated in 2006 after 26 years of marriage and finally got divorced in 2011.

In 2009, he began dating Grigorieva and had a daughter, Lucia with her. They split up a year later.

The 'Gay & Lesbian Alliance Defamation' levelled serious charges of him being a homophobic after his comments on homosexuals in an interview on December 1991.

Mel Gibson was born on January 3, 1956 in Peekskill, New York, USA to Hutton Gibson and Anne Patricia. He was the sixth born child of the couple and had 10 other siblings.

Hutton was a railroad brakeman. In the year 1964, he suffered a major accident and lost his job. The New York Central Railroad compensated him with US $145,000. He also won $21000 in the game show 'Jeopardy'.

Mel was 12 years old during the Vietnam War. Afraid that their sons might be drafted in the war, the family shifted to West Pymble, Sydney, Australia.

He completed his high school education at St. Leo's Catholic College, Wahroonga, and Asquith Boys High School in Asquith. For graduation he went to the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

After graduation, Gibson aspired to be a chef or a journalist. But his sister submitted an application on his behalf at the 'National Institute of Dramatic Art' (NIDA) in Sydney. He auditioned and got selected. After graduating in 1977, he went to the 'Southern Australian Theater Company'.

His big screen debut was an un-credited role in the movie "I Never Promised You A Rose Garden'. He did another low-budget movie called 'Summer City' and a television show called 'The Sullivans', all in 1977.

The doors to fame opened in 1979 after his portrayal of Max Rockatansky in the movie 'Mad Max' and as a mentally disabled man in 'Tim'.

In 1981 he returned with 'Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior'. The movie made him an international star. He received critical praise for 'The Year of Living Dangerously'(1982) and 'The River'(1984). He worked with stars like Laurence Olivier, Edward Fox, Liam Neeson and Daniel Day-Lewis in 'The Bounty'(1984).

In 1985, he received his first million dollar salary with the 'Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome', the third sequel of the series.

Gibson has acted in 43 films, most noteworthy being the 'Mad Max'-series and the 'Lethal Weapon'-series. .

He has directed four films. Among which 'Braveheart' and 'The Passion of the Christ' became huge hits. 'Braveheart' got him his first two Academy awards.