Clint Eastwood's Life in Photos

The esteemed actor and director's career has spanned more than 60 years

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American film star and director Clint Eastwood posing bare-chested. (Photo via John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images)
John Kobal Foundation/Getty

Clint Eastwood was born on May 31, 1930, in San Francisco, moving around the state with his parents and younger sister, Jeanne, before settling in Piedmont.

02 of 25
Clint Eastwood in his Army uniform during the Korean War. SHARE IMAGE: Download Image Photo By: Army photo
US Army

Ahead of college — and his acting career — Eastwood was drafted into the Army, though didn't face combat, and instead worked as a swimming instructor at California's Ft. Ord, according to military.com.

03 of 25
American actor Clint Eastwood with his first wife Maggie Johnson at their home in the Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, circa 1960. (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images)
Archive Photos/Getty

In 1953 he married model Maggie Johnson; together, they had children Kylie and Alison. They divorced in 1984, though remain friendly: in 2018, Johnson was at Eastwood's side for the premiere of The Mule.

04 of 25
American actor Clint Eastwood (in costume as Rowdy Yates) on the set of an epsiode of the television show 'Rawhide,' late 1950s to mid 1960s. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
Silver Screen Collection/Getty

Eastwood eventually enrolled at Los Angeles City College, but after three semesters, landed a $75-a-week contract with Universal. But he really hit it big in 1959 when he was cast as Rowdy Yates on the hit CBS series Rawhide.

05 of 25
Clint Eastwood, US actor, smoking a cigar, wearing a brown hat and poncho in a publicity portrait issued for the film, 'A Fistful of Dollars', Spain, 1964. The Spaghetti western, directed by Sergio Leone (1929-1989), starred Eastwood as 'The Man with No Name' (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
Silver Screen Collection/Getty

As the series was coming to an end, Italian director Sergio Leone offered him his first Western role (shot, ironically, in Spain): as Joe in A Fistful of Dollars. It was a hit, and was followed by sequels including For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

06 of 25
American actors Shirley MacLaine and Clint Eastwood on the set of Two Mules for Sister Sara, directed by Don Siegel. (Photo by Universal Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)
Universal Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty

Throughout his career, Eastwood shared the screen with other icons of his time, including Shirley MacLaine in Two Mules for Sister Sara.

07 of 25
Clint Eastwood lays on a couch in a scene from the film 'Dirty Harry', 1971. (Photo by Warner Brothers/Getty Images)
Warner Brothers/Getty

After making his directorial debut with the thriller Play Misty for Me, Eastwood went on to direct portions of another 1971 action film, Dirty Harry, in which he also starred. USA Today called it the "most iconic role" of his career.

08 of 25
American actor Clint Eastwood on the set of Escape From Alcatraz, directed by Don Siegel. (Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)
Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty

By 1975, Eastwood — here in 1979's Escape from Alcatraz — was pulling in $1 million per film and had launched his own production company, Malpaso, according to a PEOPLE profile.

09 of 25
American actor, director and producer Clint Eastwood on the set of his movie Pale Rider. (Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)
Warner Bros. Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty

Film critic Roger Ebert said Eastwood "dominates so completely" in 1985's Pale Rider, another film he produced, directed and starred in. He also received his first Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or award nomination for the movie.

10 of 25
Clint Eastwood during Clint Eastwood Puts His Hands and Footprints In Cement at Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California, United States. (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty

The actor couldn't have smiled more at his 1984 hand and footprint ceremony outside Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

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Clint Eastwood proudly holds up a t-shirt proclaiming him as the mayor of Carmel, California, during his acceptance speech on April 9, 1986.
Bettmann

In 1986, Eastwood was elected mayor of his beloved Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, though did not seek re-election after his two-year term.

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Clint Eastwood holds his Cecil B. DeMille award at the annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills, Ca., Jan. 25, 1988. Eastwood was honored for his outstanding contribution to the entertainment industry by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
Reed Saxon/AP

Before winning three best director awards at the Golden Globes, Eastwood was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1988. He also has an honorary Oscar and in 2003, received the Screen Actors Guild Awards' Life Achievement Award.

13 of 25
Credit: Photo by Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock (5885182p) Clint Eastwood Unforgiven - 1992 Director: Clint Eastwood Warner Bros USA Scene Still Western (See F9 Note) Impitoyable
Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock

Eastwood's 1992 Western, Unforgiven, earned him his first Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor nominations — and won him the first two. Still a beloved film today, 25 years after its release, The Ringer declared "the genre hasn't seen a better movie."

14 of 25
American actress Meryl Streep with actor, director and producer Clint Eastwood on the set of his movie The Bridges of Madison County. (Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)
Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty

The famously gruff star took a turn for the sentimental alongside Meryl Streep in 1995's The Bridges of Madison County, which made more than $182 million at the international box office.

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Dina Eastwood and Clint Eastwood, winner Best Picture and Best Director for "Million Dollar Baby" (Photo by J. Vespa/WireImage)
J. Vespa/WireImage

In 1996, Eastwood married Dina Ruiz, with whom he has daughter Morgan. Dina and Morgan, plus Eastwood's daughter Francesca (from his previous relationship with Frances Fisher), were the stars of the 2012 E! reality series Mrs. Eastwood & Company, which chronicled their lives and Dina's career. Eastwood and Ruiz divorced in 2014.

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Clint Eastwood with his wife Dina Ruiz, Clint's children and his former wife Frances Fisher (Photo by Chris Weeks/WireImage)
Chris Weeks/WireImage

Ruiz, Fisher and several of Eastwood's children joined him in 2002 for the premiere of Blood Work.

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FRANCE - MAY 23: 56th International Cannes Film Festival: Stairs of "Mystic River" in Cannes, France on May 23, 2003 - Clint Eastwood, Laura Linney, Kevin Becon, Tim Robbins. (Photo by Pool BENAINOUS/CATARINA/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
BENAINOUS/CATARINA/Gamma-Rapho via Getty

In 2003, Eastwood's Mystic River — costarring Laura Linney, Kevin Bacon and Tim Robbins, among others — racked up numerous honors, including Best Picture and Best Director nods for the star.

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Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman during Warner Bros private screening of "Million Dollar Baby" at Museum of Modern Art in New York, New York, United States. (Photo by Sylvain Gaboury/FilmMagic)
Sylvain Gaboury/FilmMagic

The 2004 hit Million Dollar Baby, which starred Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman, was a one-in-a-million success for Eastwood, who won Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture that year and also earned a Best Actor nomination.

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Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) Director CLINT EASTWOOD and KEN WATANABE on the set
Merie W. Wallace/Warner Bros.

The moving 2007 war film Letters from Iwo Jima (starring Ken Watanabe, right) earned Eastwood his fourth, and most recent, Best Director Oscar nomination and fifth Golden Globe nomination in the same category.

20 of 25
Paris, FRANCE: French President Jacques Chirac (R) pins the medal of the Legion of Honour on the jacket of US actor and director Clint Eastwood, 17 February 2007, during a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris. The 76-year-old Hollywood star's acclaimed latest work, "Letters from Iwo Jima", received its European premiere at the 57th Berlin Film Festival last Sunday. AFP PHOTO / POOL AP / REMY DE LA MAUVINIERE (Photo credit should read REMY DE LA MAUVINIERE/AFP via Getty Images)
REMY DE LA MAUVINIERE/AFP via Getty

French President Jacques Chirac awarded Eastwood with the medal of the Legion of Honour in February of 2007. Three years later, President Barack Obama honored the star with the Arts and Humanities award, though Eastwood was unable to attend the ceremony.

21 of 25
Editorial use only. No book cover usage. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock (5885116o) Clint Eastwood Gran Torino - 2008 Director: Clint Eastwood Warner Bros USA Scene Still Drama
Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock

Eastwood starred in and directed 2008's Gran Torino, in which he coined the iconic phrase, "Get off my lawn."

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LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 08: Director Clint Eastwood and Christina Sandera attend a screening of "Sully" at Directors Guild Of America on September 8, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Since 2014, Eastwood has been dating Christina Sandera.

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NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 15: Clint Eastwood and Bradley Cooper attend the 'American Sniper' New York Premiere at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 15, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic)
Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic

Eastwood has directed Bradley Cooper in two films: 2018's The Mule and 2014's American Sniper, for which they both earned Oscar nominations.

"I love Clint Eastwood and I look up to him so much," Cooper told Entertainment Weekly in 2018. "And I always had in my mind, 'Well, he was 41 when he made Play Misty For Me.' So I always thought when I get around that age then I gotta just [direct]."

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LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 08: (L-R) Actress/model Francesca Eastwood, director/actor/producer Clint Eastwood, and actor/model Scott Eastwood attend the screening of Warner Bros. Pictures' 'Sully' at Directors Guild Of America on September 8, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)
Emma McIntyre/Getty

The actor was joined by daughter Francesca and son Scott, from his previous relationship with Jacelyn Reeves, at the 2016 premiere of Sully.

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TELLURIDE, CO - SEPTEMBER 03: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE) Director Clint Eastwood and actor Tom Hanks speak during a Q&A after a screening of "Sully" at the Telluride Film Festival 2016 on September 3, 2016 in Telluride, Colorado. (Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images)
Vivien Killilea/Getty

In 2016, Eastwood directed Tom Hanks in the biopic Sully, about "Miracle on the Hudson" pilot Chesley Sullenberger.

"When [Clint]'s in charge he says in a really quiet soft voice, 'all right, go ahead.' And instead of shouting 'cut,' he says 'that's enough of that,' " Hanks said of Eastwood's beind-the-camera style in a 2016 interview with Graham Norton. "It's intimidating as hell."

Though Eastwood kept a low profile through the COVID-19 pandemic, he returned to work again with 2021's Cry Macho and appeared at the February 2022 AT&T Pro-Am at Pebble Beach.

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