A legend of Hollywood cinema, Clint Eastwood is an American actor, director, musician, and politician. With more than 50 films featuring him as actor or director, he is one of the most popular stars of the American film industry. In his career spanning more than five decades, Eastwood has been nominated and been the recipient of many prestigious awards such as Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Directors Guild of America Awards, and People`s Choice Awards. Best known for his roles as gunfighter & cowboy, Eastwood`s films have grossed over a billion dollars in the American market.
Early Life
Eastwood was born in San Francisco to Clinton Eastwood Sr. and Margaret Ruth Eastwood, on May 31, 1930. Eastwood has a sister who is four years younger to him. Eastwood was raised in a working-class environment, with the family moving often due to his father`s work. Finally, they settled in Piedmont, California, where Eastwood was enrolled in Oakland Technical High School. Even though his drama teachers insisted he participate in school plays, Eastwood refused to do so.

In his teenage years, Eastwood took up odd jobs such as that of a paper carrier, grocery clerk, golf caddy, lifeguard, and forest firefighter. Later, Eastwood enrolled at Seattle University in 1951, before he got drafted into the U.S. Army. He was assigned to Fort Ord in California, and appointed as a swimming instructor & lifeguard.
Personal Life
Clint Eastwood married his first wife, Margaret "Maggie" Johnson whom he had met on a blind date. The couple got married on December 19, 1953, in Pasadena. He reportedly had had a serious relationship with another woman earlier the same year. 11 years later, in 1964, Eastwood had a child, named Kimber Eastwood, with Roxanne Tunis, one of the dancers and stunt-women from Rawhide, his television show with whom he had a long affair of more than 14 years. As per Patrick McGilligan`s biography on Clint Eastwood, Clint: The Life and Legend, Eastwood`s affairs included those with actresses Inger Stevens, Jean Seberg, Jo Ann Harris, Jill Banner, Catherine Deneuve, and Susan St. James, as well as columnist Bridget Byrne, competitive swimmer Anita Lhoest, and singer Keely Smith. All these affairs reportedly happened during his marriage to Johnson. Post a trial separation, the married couple reconciled and had two children together, Kyle Eastwood, born in 1968, and Alison Eastwood, born in 1972.

In 1972, Eastwood got involved with a married actress and later director, Sondra Locke, whom he later moved in with, in 1975. Eastwood and Johnson officially divorced each other in May of 1984, with Johnson, reportedly, receiving $25 million as cash settlement. Unknown to Locke, Clint Eastwood continued to have affairs, one of which was with Jacelyn Reeves, a stewardess. He had two children with her, son Scott Eastwood born in 1986, and daughter Kathryn Eastwood born in 1988. Eastwood`s and Locke`s relationship ended in 1989, with a legal battle that raged on till 1996.

In 1990, Eastwood began a relationship with Frances Fisher. He had a daughter with Fisher, Francesca Eastwood, born in 1993. The two ended their relationship in 1995. While still living with Fisher, Eastwood started dating Dina Ruiz, a TV news anchor. Eastwood married her in 1996 and had a daughter, Morgan Eastwood, born on December 12, 1996, with Ruiz. In December 2014, the couple divorced, with Fisher demanding full custody of their daughter along with spousal support.

Eastwood was linked with Erica Tomlinson-Fisher, a photographer, as well as Christina Sandera, a restaurant hostess. In February 2015, Sandera & Eastwood made their relationship public.
Movie Career
As an Actor
Eastwood faced the camera for the first time in the 1955 film, Revenge of the Creature, in a minor role as a lab technician for which he went uncredited. After a string of uncredited and minor roles, he finally got a noticeable supporting role in the 1958 film, Ambush at Cimarron Pass. Eastwood`s first defining role came in the form of "Joe" in the spaghetti Western genre film, A Fistful of Dollars (1964). Eastwood subsequently acted in two more Sergio Leone directed films, For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), which together with the first film came to be known as the "Dollars" trilogy and catapulted Eastwood to fame and gave him the characteristic image of a gunfighter.

Eastwood`s next big roles came in a series too, the first of which was the 1971 action thriller- Dirty Harry. Directed by Don Siegal, the film saw Eastwood play an SFPD Inspector named Harry "Dirty" Callahan who is in search of a psychopath. The film was followed by four sequels, each retaining Eastwood as the protagonist. The sequels include Magnum Force (1973), The Enforcer (1976), Sudden Impact (1983) which was directed by Eastwood himself, and The Dead Pool (1988). Eastwood`s other major hit during this time included the docudrama prison thriller film, Escape from Alcatraz, based on the real incident of the 1962 prison escape, where he plays prisoner Frank Morris. Eastwood went on to act in other popular films such as In the Line of Fire (1993), The Bridges of Madison County (1995), Absolute Power (1997), True Crime (1999), Blood Work (2002), Gran Torino (2008), Trouble With the Curve (2012). After a few cameo roles, he then played an elderly drug smuggler in The Mule (2018), which he also produced and directed.

As a Director
Clint Eastwood`s directorial journey started with his 1971 film, Play Misty for Me. He won his first Academy Award for `Best Director` for his 1993 film, Unforgiven. The film also won in the `Best Picture` category at the awards and the film earned Eastwood a nomination for `Best Actor in a Leading Role` too. For his 2004 directorial, Mystic River, Eastwood was nominated for `Best Director` at the Academy Awards. His film, Million Dollar Baby, where he played the underappreciated boxing trainer to Hilary Swank`s character of an amateur boxer, won the `Best Picture` & `Best Director` award at the 2005 Academy Awards, and got him his second nomination for `Best Actor in a Leading Role`.

For his 2007 venture, Letters from Iwo Jima, Eastwood was nominated for yet another `Best Director` Academy Award. His other notable ventures as a director include the Angelina Jolie starrer Changeling which released in 2008, American Sniper (2014), and the Tom Hanks starrer film Sully based on the autobiography of Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the pilot who in 2009, successfully landed a US Airways flight on the frozen Hudson river after a mid-air crisis. His more recent directorial projects include The 15:17 to Paris (2018), The Mule (2018) and Richard Jewell (2019).
TV Career
Clint Eastwood made his first television appearance in a 1955 telefilm titled Allen in Movieland where he played an orderly. His first role as protagonist came in Rawhide, a highly successful TV show which aired for eight seasons from 1959 to 1966.
Other Ventures
Eastwood is the owner of the Mission Ranch inn, in Carmel, California. He also owns the Tehama golf club in Carmel Valley. His other establishments include the Pebble Beach Golf Country Club in Monterey Peninsula of which he is a partial owner. His 2020 release includes Richard Jewell, directed by Clint Eastwood.