Russell Crowe (b. 1964), actor, was born in Wellington, New Zealand. He moved at the age of four to Australia, where his parents worked as caterers on TV and movie sets. His big-screen debut came in The Crossing (1990), in which he co-starred with his future and former wife Danielle Spencer. He won AFI awards for his work in Proof (1991) and Romper Stomper (1992), and played Jack Thompson’s gay son in The Sum of Us (1994). The following year he moved to Hollywood to make The Quick and the Dead (1995); soon after, he drew rave reviews as the brooding Bud White in L.A. Confidential (1997). The Insider (1999), Gladiator (2000), and A Beautiful Mind (2001) earned him three consecutive Best Actor Oscar nominations: he won for Gladiator (and took out the Golden Globe for A Beautiful Mind). Following Master and Commander, Crowe dominated a series of tough action dramas, including Cinderella Man (2004), 3:10 to Yuma (2007), American Gangster (2007) and Body of Lies (2008). He returned to costume for Robin Hood (2010) and Les Misérables (2012); he starred in the Biblical epic Noah (2014) before the release of his directorial debut, The Water Diviner (2014). In 2016 he starred rather surprisingly in a well-reviewed comedy, The Nice Guys, with Ryan Gosling. From 2006 to 2013 Crowe was a part-owner of the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Crowe commutes regularly between the USA, the north coast of NSW and Sydney.
