Charlie Sheen
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Charlie Sheen was born Carlos Irwin Estévez on September 3, 1965, in
New York City. His father, actor Martin Sheen (born Ramon Antonio Gerard Estevez), was at the time just breaking into the business, with performances on Broadway. His mother, Janet Sheen (née
Templeton), was a former New York art student who had met Charlie's
father right after he had moved to Manhattan. Martin and Janet had
three other children, Emilio Estevez,
Renée Estevez, and
Ramon Estevez, all of whom became actors.
His father is of half Spanish and half Irish descent, and his mother,
whose family is from Kentucky, has English and Scottish ancestry.
At a young age, Charlie took an interest in his father's acting career.
When he was nine, he was given a small part in his dad's movie
The Execution of Private Slovik (1974).
In 1977, he was in the Philippines where his dad suffered a near-fatal
heart attack on the set of
Apocalypse Now (1979).
While at Santa Monica High School, Charlie had two major interests:
acting and baseball. Along with his friends, which included
Rob Lowe and
Sean Penn, he produced and starred in
several amateur Super-8 films. On the Vikings baseball team, he was a
star shortstop and pitcher. His lifetime record as a pitcher was 40-15.
His interest and skill in baseball would later influence some of his
movie roles. Unfortunately, his success on the baseball field did not
translate to success in the classroom, as he struggled to keep his
grades up. Just a few weeks before his scheduled graduation date,
Charlie was expelled due to poor attendance and bad grades.
After high school, Charlie aggressively pursued many acting roles. His
first major role was as a high school student in the teen war film
Red Dawn (1984). He followed this up
with relatively small roles in TV movies and low-profile releases. His
big break came in 1986 when he starred in
Oliver Stone's Oscar winning epic
Platoon (1986). He drew rave reviews for
his portrayal of a young soldier who is caught in the center of a moral
crisis in Vietnam.
The success of Platoon (1986) prompted
Oliver Stone to cast Charlie in his
next movie Wall Street (1987)
alongside his father and veteran actor
Martin Sheen. The movie with its "Greed is
Good" theme became an instant hit with viewers.
Shortly after, Stone approached Charlie about the starring role in his
next movie,
Born on the Fourth of July (1989).
When Tom Cruise eventually got the part,
Sheen ended up hearing the news from his brother
Emilio Estevez and not even getting as
much as a call from Stone. This led to a fallout, and the two have not
worked together since.
The fallout with Stone, however, did nothing to hurt Charlie's career
in the late 1980s and early '90s, as he continued to establish himself
as one of the top box office draws with a string of hits that included
Young Guns (1988),
Major League (1989), and
Hot Shots! (1991). However, as the
mid-'90s neared, his good fortune both personally and professionally,
soon came to an end.
Around this time, Charlie, who had already been to drug rehab, was
beginning to develop a reputation as a hard-partying, womanizer. In
1995, the same year he was briefly married to model Donna Peele, he was
called to testify at the trial of Hollywood madam
Heidi Fleiss. At the trial, while under
oath he admitted to spending nearly $50,000 on 27 of Fleiss'
$2,500-a-night prostitutes.
His downward spiral continued the following year when his ex-girlfriend
Brittany Ashland filed charges claiming
that he physically abused her. He was later charged with misdemeanor
battery to which he pleaded no contest and was given a year's suspended
sentence, two years' probation and a $2,800 fine. He finally hit rock
bottom in May 1998 when he was hospitalized in Thousand Oaks,
California, following a near-fatal drug overdose. Later that month, he
was ordered back to the drug rehab center, which he had previously left
after one day.
During this stretch, Charlie's film career began to suffer as well. He
starred in a series of box office flops that included
The Arrival (1996) and
Shadow Conspiracy (1997).
However as the 1990s came to end, so did Charlie's string of bad luck.
In 2000, Charlie, now clean and sober, was chosen to replace
Michael J. Fox on the ABC hit
sitcom Spin City (1996). Though his
stint lasted only two seasons, Charlie's performance caught the eye of
CBS executives who in 2003 were looking for an established star to help
carry their Monday night lineup of sitcoms that included
Everybody Loves Raymond (1996).
The sitcom
Two and a Half Men (2003)
starred Charlie as a swinging, irresponsible womanizer whose life
changes when his nephew suddenly appears on his doorstep. The show
became a huge hit, breathing much needed life into Charlie's fading
career.
Charlie's personal life also appeared to be improving. In 2002, he
married actress Denise Richards,
whom he first met while shooting the movie
Good Advice (2001). In March 2004,
they had a daughter, Sam, and it was announced shortly after that
Denise was pregnant with the couple's second child. By all reports, the
couple seemed to be very happy together. However, like all of Charlie's
previous relationships, the stability did not last long. In March of
2005, Denise, who was six-months pregnant, filed for divorce, citing
irreconcilable differences. She gave birth to a second daughter, Lola,
in June of that same year. Their divorce became final in late 2006.
New York City. His father, actor Martin Sheen (born Ramon Antonio Gerard Estevez), was at the time just breaking into the business, with performances on Broadway. His mother, Janet Sheen (née
Templeton), was a former New York art student who had met Charlie's
father right after he had moved to Manhattan. Martin and Janet had
three other children, Emilio Estevez,
Renée Estevez, and
Ramon Estevez, all of whom became actors.
His father is of half Spanish and half Irish descent, and his mother,
whose family is from Kentucky, has English and Scottish ancestry.
At a young age, Charlie took an interest in his father's acting career.
When he was nine, he was given a small part in his dad's movie
The Execution of Private Slovik (1974).
In 1977, he was in the Philippines where his dad suffered a near-fatal
heart attack on the set of
Apocalypse Now (1979).
While at Santa Monica High School, Charlie had two major interests:
acting and baseball. Along with his friends, which included
Rob Lowe and
Sean Penn, he produced and starred in
several amateur Super-8 films. On the Vikings baseball team, he was a
star shortstop and pitcher. His lifetime record as a pitcher was 40-15.
His interest and skill in baseball would later influence some of his
movie roles. Unfortunately, his success on the baseball field did not
translate to success in the classroom, as he struggled to keep his
grades up. Just a few weeks before his scheduled graduation date,
Charlie was expelled due to poor attendance and bad grades.
After high school, Charlie aggressively pursued many acting roles. His
first major role was as a high school student in the teen war film
Red Dawn (1984). He followed this up
with relatively small roles in TV movies and low-profile releases. His
big break came in 1986 when he starred in
Oliver Stone's Oscar winning epic
Platoon (1986). He drew rave reviews for
his portrayal of a young soldier who is caught in the center of a moral
crisis in Vietnam.
The success of Platoon (1986) prompted
Oliver Stone to cast Charlie in his
next movie Wall Street (1987)
alongside his father and veteran actor
Martin Sheen. The movie with its "Greed is
Good" theme became an instant hit with viewers.
Shortly after, Stone approached Charlie about the starring role in his
next movie,
Born on the Fourth of July (1989).
When Tom Cruise eventually got the part,
Sheen ended up hearing the news from his brother
Emilio Estevez and not even getting as
much as a call from Stone. This led to a fallout, and the two have not
worked together since.
The fallout with Stone, however, did nothing to hurt Charlie's career
in the late 1980s and early '90s, as he continued to establish himself
as one of the top box office draws with a string of hits that included
Young Guns (1988),
Major League (1989), and
Hot Shots! (1991). However, as the
mid-'90s neared, his good fortune both personally and professionally,
soon came to an end.
Around this time, Charlie, who had already been to drug rehab, was
beginning to develop a reputation as a hard-partying, womanizer. In
1995, the same year he was briefly married to model Donna Peele, he was
called to testify at the trial of Hollywood madam
Heidi Fleiss. At the trial, while under
oath he admitted to spending nearly $50,000 on 27 of Fleiss'
$2,500-a-night prostitutes.
His downward spiral continued the following year when his ex-girlfriend
Brittany Ashland filed charges claiming
that he physically abused her. He was later charged with misdemeanor
battery to which he pleaded no contest and was given a year's suspended
sentence, two years' probation and a $2,800 fine. He finally hit rock
bottom in May 1998 when he was hospitalized in Thousand Oaks,
California, following a near-fatal drug overdose. Later that month, he
was ordered back to the drug rehab center, which he had previously left
after one day.
During this stretch, Charlie's film career began to suffer as well. He
starred in a series of box office flops that included
The Arrival (1996) and
Shadow Conspiracy (1997).
However as the 1990s came to end, so did Charlie's string of bad luck.
In 2000, Charlie, now clean and sober, was chosen to replace
Michael J. Fox on the ABC hit
sitcom Spin City (1996). Though his
stint lasted only two seasons, Charlie's performance caught the eye of
CBS executives who in 2003 were looking for an established star to help
carry their Monday night lineup of sitcoms that included
Everybody Loves Raymond (1996).
The sitcom
Two and a Half Men (2003)
starred Charlie as a swinging, irresponsible womanizer whose life
changes when his nephew suddenly appears on his doorstep. The show
became a huge hit, breathing much needed life into Charlie's fading
career.
Charlie's personal life also appeared to be improving. In 2002, he
married actress Denise Richards,
whom he first met while shooting the movie
Good Advice (2001). In March 2004,
they had a daughter, Sam, and it was announced shortly after that
Denise was pregnant with the couple's second child. By all reports, the
couple seemed to be very happy together. However, like all of Charlie's
previous relationships, the stability did not last long. In March of
2005, Denise, who was six-months pregnant, filed for divorce, citing
irreconcilable differences. She gave birth to a second daughter, Lola,
in June of that same year. Their divorce became final in late 2006.