Warren Beatty is a multiple award-winning American actor and filmmaker known for his roles in such films as Splendor in the Glass (1961), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Heaven Can Wait (1978), Reds (1981), Dick Tracy (1990), and Bugsy (1991). In a career spanning over six decades, Beatty has received 14 Academy Award nominations, including four Best Actor nods. He won Best Director for Reds (1981) and three Golden Globe Awards for Heaven Can Wait in 1978.
Renowned for his charming personality towards women on and off the screen, Warren Beatty has a reputation for his numerous escapades with the ladies. Surprisingly, he has remained married to the same woman for more than three decades. Get to know more intriguing facts about Beatty as you keep reading.
1. Warren Beatty’s Parents and Grandparents Were Educators
Warren Beatty was born on March 30, 1937, in Richmond, Virginia to Ira Owens Beaty (father) and his mother, Kathlyn Corinne (née MacLean). While his mother was a teacher, his father juggled different careers as a teacher, school administrator, and realtor. Ira Owens had a Ph.D. in educational psychology and utilized his skills as an educator. Beatty’s grandparents also worked in the education system as teachers.
While he didn’t uphold his family’s teaching tradition, growing up was interesting for Warren Beatty who moved to numerous cities with his family. From Richmond, they moved to Norfolk followed by Arlington, Waverly, and back to Arlington. In Arlington, Beatty attended Washington-Lee High School where he played football. He was reportedly offered many football scholarships which he turned down, choosing to study liberal arts at Northwestern University. He spent one year in college before moving to New York City to hone his acting skills at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting.
2. He Was Nominated For a Tony Award For His Broadway Debut
Warren Beatty’s acting career took off in 1956 with television roles in shows such as Studio One, Playhouse 90, Suspicion, Look Up and Live, and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. He made his Broadway debut in William Inge‘s A Loss of Roses (1960), earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play. The role also garnered a Theatre World Award given to actors who make outstanding debut stage performances. Unfortunately, Beatty never appeared in any other Broadway production after A Loss of Roses.
3. American Actress, Dancer, and Writer Shirley MacLaine Is His Older Sister
Having Shirley MacLaine as his older sister inspired Warren Beatty to consider acting as a profession. His interest in the performing arts was piqued during his days of accompanying his sister to theaters as a child. Additionally, his sister’s success as an established Hollywood star encouraged him to give acting a shot. Consequently, Beatty secured a job as a stagehand at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. which he did in the summer before his senior year in high school. Beatty’s career choice was also influenced by movies he watched, including Love Affair (1939) and The Philadelphia Story (1940).
4. Warren Beatty Has Been Married To Annette Bening Since 1992
While working on Bugsy (1991) together, Annette Bening captured Warren Beatty’s heart. Bening discovered she was pregnant with their first child shortly after filming and they decided to build a family together. Beatty and Bening exchanged vows on March 3, 1992, and the bond they share has only gotten stronger over the years. While it’s Beatty’s first marriage, Bening previously married choreographer James Steven White on May 26, 1984, but they divorced in 1991. With Bening, Beatty has four children, including Kathlyn Elizabeth who came out as transgender at the age of 14 and now goes by the name Stephen Ira. His other children are Isabel Beaty, Benjamin Beaty, and Ella Beatty who are all actors.
5. Before Marriage, Warren Beatty Was Romantically Linked To Over 100 Female Celebrities
Warren Beatty has quite the reputation among the ladies. Before he settled down with Annette Bening, the Bonnie and Clyde star was romantically linked to several celebrities, including Elle Macpherson, Brigitte Bardot, Julie Christie, Leslie Caron, and Madonna. The latter co-starred with Beatty in Dick Tracy and they dated for 15 months. Madonna confessed to Beatty’s excellent skills as a lover and how his love life inspired her song Vogue which she penned within a few hours. In 2022, Beatty courted bad media when Kristina Charlotte Hirsch sued him for sexually molesting her in 1973. She was 14 at the time while he was 35.
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