Vincent Anthony Vaughn, better known by his screen name Vince Vaughn is a multi talented artist who works in the Hollywood film industry. An actor, producer, screenwriter, comedian and activist rolled into one, Vaughn started his acting career by appearing in various TV series during the late 1980s before he rose to fame with a brilliant performance in the 1996 comedy-drama film, Swingers. After appearing serious roles in films like The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), and Return to Paradise (1998), post 2000s, the actor appeared mainly in comic roles in films like, Old School (2003), Wedding Crashers (2005), Fred Claus (2007), The Watch (2012), and The Internship (2013).
Early Life
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Vince Vaughn is the son of Vernon Lindsay Vaughn who worked as a salesman for a toy company and Sharon Eileen who was once ranked as one of the stockbrokers in the United States by Bloomberg Wealth Manager Magazine. As a child, the actor was raised both as a Protestant and Catholic, his mother was a Catholic and his father was a Protestant. The actor grew up with two older sisters, Victoria and Valerie. After his parents divorced in 1991, Vaughn and his sisters along with their mother moved to Buffalo Grove, Illinois. While in school, although Vaughn described himself as an average guy and unathletic, he played football and baseball in school.
In 1998, Vaughn moved to Lake Forest, where the finished his schooling from Lake Forest High School. The actor had an affinity to the theater from a very young age and he decided to become an actor in 1987. Talking about his career, he says, his mother is his biggest inspiration and quoted, “I saw her overcome stuff, and I thought if you worked had at something you would give yourself a chance.”
Personal Life
Vince Vaughn started dating the Hollywood actress, Jennifer Aniston, his co-star in The Break-up in 2005. However, the relationship did not last long and after dating for about one year, the duo parted ways in November 2006. Three years later, in March 2009, it was reported that Vaughn was engaged to Kyla Weber, a Canadian realtor and in January 2009, the couple announced that they got married at the historic Armour House in Lake Forest, Illinois. The duo has two children, a daughter named Locklyn Kyla Vaughn and a son named Vernon Lindsay Vaughn.
Movie Career
As an Actor
Vince Vaughn moved to Hollywood in 1988 and after appearing in TV series’ like China Beach (1989), CBS School Break Special (1990) and ABC Afterschool Specials (1990), the actor made his first big screen appearance in 1991. He starred in an uncredited role in the comedy-drama film For the Boys starring Bette Midler, James Caan, and George Segal. Following his first feature film, the actor played small and supporting roles in his debut film, Rudy (1993) and At Risk (1994).
Vaughn got his first major role in 1996 as director Doug Liman cast him alongside Jon Favreau, Ron Livingston, and Patrick Van Horn in his comedy-drama Swingers. The film was a huge commercial and critical hit and it propelled Vaughn to stardom. The following year, Vaughn appeared in American science-fiction adventure film, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, the second installment in the Jurassic Park series. The film directed by the acclaimed director Steven Spielberg, despite receiving mixed critical reviews emerged to be a massive commercial success. His other film of the year, The Locusts, an American drama film co-starring Kate Capshaw, Jeremy Davies, Paul Rudd and Ashley Judd garnered mostly negative reviews.
In 1998, Vaughn had a mixed year, whilst two of his releases, Clay Pigeons, and Psycho failed at the box office, his other film of the year, Return to Paradise, an American drama thriller received positive critical reviews and performed well at the box office. The film directed by Joseph Ruben was the remake of the 1998 French film, Force majeure. The actor’s next major hit came in 2001 as he starred in the Ben Stiller directed American comedy film, Zoolander. The film co-starring Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, Owen Wilson, Christine Taylor and Milla Jovovich and Jon Voight received generally positive critical reviews and emerged to be a hit at the box office.
Continuing his run with comedy films, Vince Vaughn shared the screen with Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, Jeremy Penn and Ellen Pompeo in the Old School (2003), an American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips. The film got mostly positive reviews and performed well at the box office; it grossed 87 million USD. In 2005, the actor starred in the American action comedy film, Mr. and Mrs. Smith starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The film, which was based on a married couple who live a secret life as assassins was a huge box office hit. The same year, the actor collaborated with director David Dobkin for his romantic comedy film, Wedding Crashers (2005) co-starring Owen Wilson, Christopher Walken, Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher and Bradley Cooper. Despite the star-studded cast, Vaughn stood out and for his brilliant performance, the won a nomination at the MTV Movie Awards for Best Comedic Performance. The film won wide critical acclaim and it helped revive the popularity of the R-rated comedy films.
In his solitary release of 2006, the actor starred in The Break-Up alongside Jennifer Aniston. The film directed by Peyton Reed received mostly mixed reviews but it grossed huge numbers of at the box office. Vaughn for his role in the film received a nomination at the Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor – Comedy. The following year, the actor starred in the critically acclaimed film, Into the Wild, an American biographical drama film, which was based on Jon Krakauer’s non-fiction book of the same name. The film co-starring Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Jena Malone, Catherine Keener and Zach Galifianakis. The multiple award-winning film featured in several film critics’ top 10 best films of 2007.
Following the huge success Into the Wild, Vaughn next appeared in the David Dobkin-directed fantasy comedy film Fred Claus (2007). The film, which was loosely based on the poem ‘A legend of Santa and his brother Fred’ written by Donald Henkel also featured Paul Giamatti, Miranda Richardson, John Michael Higgins, Rachel Weisz and Elizabeth Banks in pivotal roles. Over the next few years, the actor appeared in films like Couples Retreat (2009), The Watch (2012), A Case of You (2013) and Unfinished Business (2015). In 2016, Vaughn had two releases, viz. Term Life and Hacksaw Ridge. Whilst the former did not perform well at the box office, the latter was highly critically acclaimed. The directed by Mel Gibson was a biographical war drama film about World War II. The film co-starring Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, and Teresa Palmer received several laurels including six nominations at the 89th Academy Awards and it won the Golden Globe nomination for Best Director, Best Actor and Best Picture.
As a Producer
Apart from acting, Vince Vaughn has also produced films; he made his production debut in 2001 with the American crime comedy film Made directed by Jon Favreau. The film, which also marked Favreau’s directorial debut received positive critical reviews. Vaughn’s next production venture was the 2006 hit film, The Break-Up, which also marked his debut as a writer. The actor, subsequently produced several films in which he starred like Four Chirstmases (2008), Couples Retreat (2009), The Internship (2013), and Term Life (2016).
TV Career
Vince Vaughn started his acting career by appearing in the then popular TV series, 09China Beach in 1989 where he played the role of a motor pool driver in a single episode titled The Unquiet Earth. Following his debut TV appearance, in the same year, the actor featured in one of the episodes of 21 Jump Street, an American police procedural series. The next year, the actor mostly appeared in singular episodes of ABC Afterschool Specials and CBS Schoolbreak Special where he played three different characters in three different episodes.
ost-1990, Vaughn had started to work in film and although he had attained stardom soon, he never gave up acting in TV series. In 1998, he lent his voice to the character, ‘Loki’ in one of the episodes of the popular American animated TV series Hercules. The same year, he appeared on Saturday Night Live and The Larry Sanders Show. His other popular TV series’ appearance includes Sex and the City (2000), Pursuit of the Truth (2013), and True Detective (2015).