William Baldwin Biography

American actor William Billy Baldwin was born on February 21, 1963, in Massapequa, New York. Baldwin attended Alfred G. Berner High School along with his brothers, playing on the school's football, baseball, and wrestling teams. He excelled at the latter sport, and became an all-county wrestler. After graduating from Binghamton University with a degree in political science, Baldwin followed in his brother, Stephen Baldwin's footsteps by modeling for Calvin Klein. He also worked as a bartender at the same time, while continuing to scope out acting gigs.In 1989, Baldwin landed his first role in the made-for-TV movie The Preppie Murder. Also that year, he made his feature film debut, landing a small part in Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July, alongside Tom Cruise, Tom Cruise, Kyra Sedgwick, and Willem Dafoe. Two years later, Baldwin got his first big break starring in Backdraft, alongside Robert de Niro and Kurt Russell. In preparation for his role as a firefighter, Baldwin rode with the Chicago Fire Dept.'s Squad 5. Also in 1991, Baldwin met and began dating singer Chynna Phillips of the band Wilson Phillips.The mid-90s were a busy time for Baldwin, both professionally and personally. In 1994, he starred opposite Sharon Stone in the movie Sliver, which garnered him a Most Desirable Male award from the MTV Movie Awards. In 1995, he starred alongside supermodel Cindy Crawford in her feature film debut, Fair Game. Also in 1995, Baldwin became the last of the Baldwins to settle down when he married Chynna Phillips, making him son-in-law of John Phillips and Michelle Phillips, and half-brother-in-law of Bijou Phillips and Mackenzie Phillips.In addition to acting, Baldwin also co-owns a Greenwich Village restaurant, Alaia's, with younger brother Stephen. He is also an inductee of the Amateur Wrestling Hall of Fame, joining past recipients, actor Kirk Douglas; writer John Irving; former secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld; and General Norman Schwarzkopf. In 2004, Baldwin lent his voice to helping to save the wrestling program at State University of New York at Binghamton.In 2000, Baldwin and his wife welcomed the birth of their first baby, a daughter named Jameson Leon. A son, Vance Alexander, followed one year later; and most recently, another daughter, Brooke, was born in 2004. The family lives in New York with their dog, Thurman, named after New York Yankees Thurman Munson. Despite Baldwin's enthusiasm for the New York Yankees, he did not get to name one of his sons Gehrig after New York Yankees Lou Gehrig, as he had once hoped.