Jack Black Biography

Jack Black Jack Black was born as Thomas Black Jr. in Redondo Beach, California, in 1969. His parents, Judith Love Cohen and Thomas Black Sr. constantly fought in their Hermosa Beach home. Interestingly, both of his parents were rocket scientists. The marriage could not be saved and they divorced when Jack was ten, leaving him with emotional scars. After the divorce, Black moved in with his father but continued to visit his mother often.Black's first taste of the show business industry was when he made an appearance in an Atari Pitfall commercial. By the time he entered high school, Black already had a drug problem and would steal money from his mother to buy cocaine. He quickly realized he had a problem and was willing to start therapy to overcome his addiction.During his freshman year in high school Black transferred into the Poseidon School, which was an alternative school designed to help troubled youths. During high school it became apparent that Black excelled in the drama department. Black also attended Crossroads High School for the Arts and Sciences, a private school where Black met his future wife, Hayden.After graduating high school, Black attended UCLA, but dropped out during his sophomore year to pursue his career in the entertainment industry. Black received his first film role from fellow UCLA alumni, Tim Robbins, who cast Jack in Bob Roberts in 1992.This led to a string of other small parts in films including The Cable Guy in 1996, starring Jim Carrey, Matthew Broderick, Ben Stiller, and Leslie Mann. His breakthrough performance was considered to be in High Fidelity in 2000, co-starring John Cusack, Tim Robbins, and Catherine Zeta Jones.In 1994, Black formed the band Tenacious D, with friend Kyle Glass. The band is a blend of rock, folk, and metal genres. To date, the band has only had one album, which was their self-titled debut in 2001. Many of the amusing lyrics are credited to Jack. In 2003 they released a DVD, which contained all of their videos to date and television performances. Black also sang on a hidden track for the Foo Fighters with close friend and lead singer for the band, David Grohl.In 1997, Black began dating actress Laura Kightlinger. While dating, Laura had a small role in Black's film, Shallow Hal. The couple split in 2005 and in January of 2006, Black became engaged to Tanya Haden. The couple eloped in March of 2006 and had their first son, Samuel Jason, in June of 2006.Since then, Black has made a name for himself starring in a string of comedies, including School of Rock in 2003; Shallow Hal in 2001, co-starring Gwyneth Paltrow; and Nacho Libre in 2006, co-starring Penelope Cruz. His reported salary for Shallow Hal was two million dollars.In 2005, Black attempted to make his first cross over into his somewhat dramatic role in King Kong, co-starring Naomi Watts and Adrien Brody. While King Kong failed to meet box office expectations set by Universal Studio, it did receive critical acclaim and came home with three Academy Awards. During filming Black admitted to using ecstasy with another cast member.

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