Vince Vaughn

Vincent Anthony "Vince" Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor, screenwriter, producer and activist. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 comedy-drama movie Swingers. He has appeared in a number of films in the 1990s, including the sports film Rudy (1993), the sci-fi adventure monster film The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), and the drama-thriller Return to Paradise (1998). In the 2000s, he appeared in the comedy Old School (2003), the sports comedy Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004), the romantic comedies Wedding Crashers (2005) and The Break-Up (2006), opposite Jennifer Aniston in the latter, and the Christmas comedy Fred Claus (2007). His films from the 2010s include the romantic comedy Couples Retreat (2010), the sci-fi comedy The Watch (2012) and the comedy The Internship (2013). Early life Vince Vaughn was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His mother, Sharon Eileen (née DePalmo), who was born in Brantford, Ontario, is a real-estate agent and stockbroker who was once ranked as one of the United States' top money managers by Bloomberg Wealth Manager magazine. His father, Vernon Lindsay Vaughn, worked as a salesman for a toy company. His parents divorced in 1991. He has two older sisters, Victoria and Valerie. His paternal grandmother was of Lebanese descent, and his maternal grandfather was of Italian ancestry; his other roots are English, Irish, Scottish, German, Swiss, Canadian, and Dutch. As a child, he was raised "both Protestant and Catholic" by his Catholic mother and Protestant father. Vaughn grew up in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, where he played football, baseball and wrestled, although he has called himself unathletic and "very average" at sports in high school. He then moved to Lake Forest, where he graduated from Lake Forest High School in 1988. He was introduced to musical theater at a young age and decided to become an actor in 1987. He has credited his mother as the inspiration behind his career, saying, "I saw her overcome stuff, and I thought if you worked hard at something you'd give yourself a chance." Career In 1988, Vaughn was cast in a Chevrolet television commercial and subsequently moved to Hollywood. He appeared in the 1989 season of the television series China Beach and in three CBS Schoolbreak Specials in 1990. His first film role was 1993's Rudy playing Jamie O'Hare, where he also struck up a friendship with featured Jon Favreau. Two years later, he was cast in a lead role in a proposed revival of 77 Sunset Strip that was to air on the fledgling WB Television Network, but the project ceased development after initial testing. Vaughn did not receive wider success until his role in 1996's Swingers with Jon Favreau. Swingers was released in July 1996 and became a successful independent film. Vince's father Vernon also did a cameo in this film. Afterwards, director Steven Spielberg cast Vaughn in the blockbuster The Lost World: Jurassic Park which gave him increased exposure. In 1998, he starred in the critically acclaimed drama Return to Paradise with Anne Heche, and starred in Clay Pigeons with Janeane Garofalo and Joaquin Phoenix. In 2000, he starred in The Cell with Jennifer Lopez and in 2001, appeared in Made, another film penned by Favreau. Vaughn also appeared in Dwight Yoakam's directorial debut movie South of Heaven, West of Hell. Vaughn's role in the successful 2003 comedy Old School skyrocketed his popularity. In 2004, he appeared alongside Ben Stiller in the hit films Starsky & Hutch and Dodgeball. After this series of roles, Vaughn was dubbed one of the Hollywood "Frat Pack", a group of actors who frequently co-star in film comedies. He subsequently appeared in 2005's Be Cool, Thumbsucker and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Also in 2005, Vaughn starred alongside Owen Wilson in Wedding Crashers, which grossed over $200 million at the United States box office. In 2006, Vaughn starred with Jennifer Aniston in the comedy-drama The Break-Up. Personal life In 2005, Vaughn began dating Jennifer Aniston, his co-star in The Break-Up. In the fall of 2006, Vaughn filed a lawsuit against three tabloid magazines accusing them of falsely claiming that he had been unfaithful to Aniston. Vaughn and Aniston broke up in November 2006. In March 2009, it was reported that Vaughn was engaged to Canadian realtor Kyla Weber. Vaughn and Weber married on January 2, 2010, in the historic Armour House at Lake Forest Academy, located in Vaughn's hometown of Lake Forest, Illinois. The couple have two children.