Dustin Lee Hoffman is a prominent American film and television actor who is widely considered one of the finest actors ever produced by Hollywood. Hoffman is also an acclaimed Broadway actor and film director. Hoffman gained international acclaim in 1967. He has received 5 Academy award nominations films for his work in films like ‘The Graduate’, ‘Midnight Cowboy’, ‘Kramer vs Kramer’, ‘Lenny’. He won the Oscar for his performance of Ted Kramer in ‘Kramer vs Kramer’ and Raymond Babbit in ‘Rain Man’.
Hoffman is known for his versatile acting roles and has appeared in several critically and commercially successful films in the six decades of his career. Apart from winning the 2 Academy Awards, Hoffman has also been honoured with 4 BAFTA Awards and 6 Golden Globe Awards. He also received an Emmy Award for his work in the TV movie ‘Death of a Salesman’ based on the play of the same name by Arthur Miller.
Early Life and Education
Hoffman was born on 8th August 1937 in the city of Los Angeles, California, USA in a Jewish Ashkenazi family as the son of home-maker Lillian Gold and prop decorator Harry Hoffman who worked at Columbia pictures. Hoffman’s father later served as a furniture salesman. Hoffman has one sibling, an older brother named Ronald. He has Romanian and Ukrainian ancestry.
Hoffman studied at the Los Angeles High School from where he completed his graduation in 1955. He then attended the Santa Monica College with the aim of studying medicine but dropped out after a year to pursue acting. To this effect, Hoffman joined the Pasadena Playhouse and studied acting at Neighbourhood Playhouse, New York City.
Career Rise
Before becoming a huge film-star, Hoffman had already established himself as a top-notch Broadway actor, which facilitated a smooth transition to the film industry. Hoffman made his feature film debut with the 1967 movie ‘The Tiger Makes Out’. His portrayal of Benjamin Braddock in ‘The Graduate’ earned Hoffman his first Academy Award nomination. Hoffman delivered a powerful performance as Enrico Salvatore “Ratso” Rizzo in the 1969 movie ‘Midnight Cowboy’, earning another Oscar nomination. He delivered strong performances in films like ‘Straw Dogs’, ‘Little Big Man’, ‘Papillon’ ‘All the President’s Men’, ‘Agatha’, ‘Straight Time’, and ‘Lenny’, the latter of which earned him another Oscar nomination.
Hoffman won his First Academy Award for Best Actor in 1979 for portraying Ted Kramer, a father fighting for the custody of his son in the film ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’. He received another Oscar nomination for portraying Michael Dorsy/Dorothy Michaels in the 1982 film ‘Tootsie’. Hoffman won a Golden Globe and Emmy Award for his work in the TV movie ‘Death of a Salesman’ and won another Best Actor Oscar for playing the autistic savant, Raymond Babbit in ‘Rain Man’. Hoffman’s later works include films like ‘Dick Tracy’, ‘Hook’, ‘Mad City, ‘Moonlight Me’, ‘Wag the Dog’, ‘Runaway Jury’ ‘Meet the Fockers’ and Finding Neverland’. He also voices Master Shifu in the Kung Fu Panda films franchise.
Personal Life
Hoffman has been married two times. Hoffman married Anne Byrne in 1969 and fathered a daughter named Bryne Jenna. He also adopted Karina, Bryne daughter form her first marriage. The couple divorced in 1980.
In October 1980, Hoffman married businesswoman Lisa Gottsegen with whom he has four children daughters named Rebecca Lillian and Alexandra Lydia and sons named Jacob Edward and Maxwell Geoffrey.
Hoffman became a subject of controversy in November 2017, after writer Graham Hunter and Wendy Riss Gatsiounis accused him of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct. Hoffman said in his apology that “I have the utmost respect for women and feel terrible that anything I might have done could have put her in an uncomfortable situation. I am sorry. It is not reflective of who I am.”
Dustin Hoffman – Young Pictures
Dustin Hoffman – Net Worth
Hoffman has an estimated net worth of approximately $50 Million.