Michael Caine

Michael Caine married actress Patricia Haines in 1955. Their daughter Dominique was born in 1956. They later divorced in 1962.

On 8 January 1973, he married actress and model Shakira Baksh. They have a daughter named Natasha.

Caine is very proud of his working class background. Although he now lives in Leatherhead, Surrey he also has a small apartment in south east London, near the place where he grew up. In addition, he also has an apartment at the Apogee in Miami Beach, Florida.

Michael Caine was born as Maurice Joseph Micklewhite on 14 March 1933 in London. His father, also named Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, was a porter at the Billingsgate fish market and his mother, Ellen Frances Marie (née Burchell), was a cook and charwoman.

Caine has a younger brother named Stanley Micklewhite. They grew up in Southwark in London. When the World War II broke out his father was drafted in the military and they were evacuated to North Runcton in Norfolk.

On passing his eleven plus examination in 1944 Michael enrolled at Hackney Down Grocers’ School, winning a scholarship to fund his education. However, in 1945, he shifted to Wilson's Grammar School in Camberwell, where under the guidance of his English teacher he began to take interest in literature.

On receiving his School Certificate in 1949 Michael began to work as a filing clerk in a film company. In April 1952, he was drafted into the national service and took active part in the Korean War. He never forgot what he experienced during this war. .

On being discharged from the national service in 1954 Michael first obtained a job of an assistant stage manager at Westminster Repertory in Horsham, Sussex. According to the terms and conditions, he was also required to perform some walk-on parts for the company. Later, he shifted to Lowestoft Repertory in Sufolk.

Some time now, he also realized that to succeed in the entertainment industry he needed to change his name. He first became Michael Scot and then inspired by Humphrey Bogart’s film ‘The Caine Mutiny’ (1954), he changed his name to Michael Caine.

In 1956, Michael Caine made his film debut with ‘Panic in Parlour’. But since he played the part of an un-credited sailor, ‘A Hill in Korea’, also released in 1956, is considered to be his debut film.

Around the same time, he also started appearing in small roles in television series. His first role on the television was in ‘Adventure of Sir Lancelot’. However, in this program he appeared as Michael Scot and therefore ‘The Lark’ episode of BBC Sunday Night Theatre was actually his television debut as Michael Caine.

The first ten years of Caine’s acting life were really hard. He kept appearing in several films, television and radio programs as well as in stage productions. His big break came in 1963, while he was playing Meff in ‘Next Time I'll Sing to You’, a Cockney comedy at Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly.

’The Man Who Would Be King’ (1975), directed by John Houston, is considered to be one of Michael Caine’s early major works. In this film, he costarred with Sean Connery and the duo was much-admired for their lovely double act and clowning. Houston had also praised Caine for his improvisation in this film.

‘The Quiet American’ (2002) is another example of his major works. Set in 1952 in Saigon, the story revolves on a love triangle between Thomas Fowler, a British journalist played by Caine; Alden Pyle; an American aid worker and Phuong, a Vietnamese woman. It also talks about growing American involvement in Vietnam, which later culminated into Vietnam War.

Caine considers ‘Educating Rita’ (1983) to be his best work. In this film, he enacted the role of Dr. Frank Bryant. It not only earned critical acclaim, but also two major awards.