Philip Seymour Hoffman

Hoffman had a longtime partner - costume designer Mimi O'Donnell. The couple was together for 14 years and had three children: one son, Cooper Alexander and two daughters, Tallulah and Willa.

In 2006, Hoffman revealed that he suffered from drug abuse during his time at the University but he went into rehabilitation at the age of 22 and was sober for the next 23 years of his life.

He had a relapse with prescription drugs and began using heroin again. He was found dead in his Manhattan apartment on February 2014 - the death was said to have been caused by acute mixed drug intoxication.

Hoffman was born in Rochester suburb of Fairport, New York to Marilyn O’Connor and Gordon Hoffman. His father worked for a company called Xerox Corporation and his mother was a judge.

His parents divorced when he was 9; he was raised by his mother. He was drawn towards sports from childhood. Unfortunately, due to a neck injury at the age of 14 he had to give up his athletic aspirations.

Hoffman was equally attracted to theatre, courtesy the stage adaptation of Arthur Miller’s ‘All My Sons’ that he saw when he was young. At 17, he was accepted into the New York State Summer School of the Arts.

After graduating, Hoffman worked in off-Broadway theater and did brief screen roles in ‘Law & Order’ episode, ‘Leap of Faith (1992)’, ‘Scent of a Woman (1992)’, Money for Nothing (1993)’, ‘My Boyfriend’s Back (1993)’, etc.

It was in ‘Scent of a Woman’ in 1992 that Hoffman was first recognized for his acting abilities. He starred in the movie with Al Pacino and Chris O’Donnell. The recognition helped him get various supporting roles.

Throughout the 1990s, Hoffman did movies like: ‘When a Man Loves a Woman (1994) with Andy Garcia, ‘Nobody’s Fool (1994)’ with Paul Newman, ‘Twister (1996)’ with Bill Paxton, ‘Boogie Nights (1997)’ with Mark Walberg and, Todd Solondz’s ‘happiness (1998)’, etc.

By now, Hoffman was famous for his raw performance and an exceptional ability to play any character with an amazing convincing power. He was critically acclaimed for his portrayal of upper-class oppressor in ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ in 1999.

In 1999, he played a male nurse in Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘Magnolia’. The following year, he took to Broadway and appeared in a renewal of Sam Shepard's ‘True West’. He received a Tony Award nomination.

Hoffman’s true artistic skills and ability to portray a variety of roles made him that most coveted supporting actor of his times but it was his lead role in ‘Capote’ in 2005 that established him as a prominent actor.