Jack Nicholson

Biography

Jack Nicholson (John Joseph Nicholson, born April 22, 1937, Neptune City, New Jersey) is an American retired actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century. He was raised by his maternal grandparents, believing his grandmother was his mother and his mother, showgirl June Frances Nicholson, was his older sister — a secret revealed to him in 1974 by a TIME magazine reporter. He attended Manasquan High School, was voted "Class Clown," and moved to California after graduation, where he took a job in MGM's animation department before breaking into acting. He is a three-time Academy Award winner — Best Actor for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and As Good as It Gets (1997), and Best Supporting Actor for Terms of Endearment (1983) — and one of only two actors, alongside Michael Caine, to receive an Oscar nomination in every decade from the 1960s through the 2000s. He was married to Sandra Knight from 1962 to 1968; they have a daughter, Jennifer. He has six children in total. His last film role was How Do You Know (2010), and in October 2026 Michael Douglas confirmed he has "disappeared" from public life and is not working anymore. His notable film credits include Easy Rider (1969) (Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper), Five Easy Pieces (1970) (Karen Black, Randy Quaid), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) (Michael Douglas, Louise Fletcher), Chinatown (1974) (Faye Dunaway, John Hillerman), The Shining (1980) (Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers), Reds (1981) (Meryl Streep, Woody Harrelson), Prizzi's Honor (1985) (Kathleen Turner, Don Ameche), Battery (1980) (Blythe Danner, Chris Sarandon), The Departed (2006) (Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon), Something's Gotta Give (2003) (Katherine Hepburn, Keanu Reeves), As Good as It Gets (1997) (Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear), The Last King of Scotland (2006) (Forest Whitaker, Geraldine Chaplin), Charlie Wilson's War (2007) (Julia Roberts, Thomas Haden Church), and How Do You Know (2010) (Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd). He also directed Gloria Gordon (1980) and The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012, uncredited involvement), and wrote and directed Drive, He Said (1988).