Portrait of George Clooney

Birthday profile

George Clooney

George Clooney, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

Born
May 6, 1961
Age in 2026
65
Zodiac sign
Taurus
Birth year
1961

About George Clooney

George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for his leading man roles on screen in both blockbuster and independent films, Clooney has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award and four Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award. His honors include the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2015, the Honorary César in 2017, the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2018, and the Kennedy Center Honor in 2022. Clooney's breakthrough came with his role as Dr. Doug Ross in the NBC medical drama ER (1994–1999), for which he received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He established himself as a film star with roles in From Dusk till Dawn (1996), Out of Sight (1998), Three Kings (1999), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), and the Ocean's film series (2001–2007). He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing a CIA officer in Syriana (2005). He was Oscar-nominated for his roles in Michael Clayton (2007), Up in the Air (2009) and The Descendants (2011). He has also starred in Burn After Reading (2008), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), Gravity (2013), Hail, Caesar! (2016), and Jay Kelly (2025). Clooney has directed nine feature films including the spy film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), the historical drama Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), the political drama The Ides of March (2011), the war film The Monuments Men (2014), and the coming-of-age film The Tender Bar (2021) starring Ben Affleck. He received the Academy Award for Best Picture for co-producing the political thriller Argo (2012). He made his Broadway debut portraying Edward R. Murrow in the play adaptation of his 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck (2025), for which he earned a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. Clooney was included on Time's annual Time 100 list, which identifies the most influential people in the world, every year from 2006 to 2009. He is also noted for his political and economic activism, and has served as one of the United Nations Messengers of Peace since 2008. Clooney is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He has been married since 2014 to human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, with whom he has two children. His maternal fourth great-grandmother, Mary Ann Sparrow, was the half-sister of Nancy Lincoln, mother of President Abraham Lincoln, making Clooney and President Lincoln half-first cousins five times removed. Clooney's first role was as an extra in the television miniseries Centennial in 1978, which was based on the novel of the same name by James A. Clooney's first major role came in 1984 in the short-lived CBS sitcom E/R (not to be confused with ER, the long-running medical drama).

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

George Clooney timeline

  1. Clooney's first role was as an extra in the television miniseries Centennial in 1978, which was based on the novel of the same name by James A.
  2. Clooney's first major role came in 1984 in the short-lived CBS sitcom E/R (not to be confused with ER, the long-running medical drama).
  3. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing a CIA officer in Syriana (2005).

The world when George Clooney was born

George Clooney was born in 1961. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1961

  • #1 song"Tossin' and Turnin'" – Bobby Lewis
  • Top movieWest Side Story
  • Top TV showGunsmoke
  • Best-selling bookCatch-22 – Joseph Heller

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentRoger Maris hits 61 home runs, breaking Babe Ruth's record
  • Top headlineYuri Gagarin becomes the first person in space
  • Technology milestoneYuri Gagarin becomes first human in space
  • Defining fadSurfing culture
  • Notable inventionValium
  • World population3.08 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderJohn F. Kennedy
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
  • U.S. population183.7M

1961 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in George Clooney's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19612026
Gas$0.31$3.45/gal
Average home$12,500$435,000
Average income$7,600$67,500
Minimum wage$1.15$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.69$11.95
Postage stamp$0.04$0.73
Population183.7M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.