Biography for
Kim Basinger More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

8 December 1953, Athens, Georgia, USA

Birth Name

Kimila Ann Basinger

Height

5' 7½" (1.71 m)

Mini Biography

Kim Basinger was born December 8, 1953, in Athens, Georgia, the third of five children. Both her parents had been in entertainment, her dad had played big-band jazz, and her mother had performed water ballet in several Esther Williams movies. Kim was introspective, from her father's side. As a schoolgirl, she was very shy. To help her overcome this, her parents had Kim study ballet from an early age. By the time she reached sweet sixteen, the once-shy Kim entered the Athens Junior Miss contest. From there, she went on to win the Junior Miss Georgia title and traveled to New York to compete in the national Junior Miss pageant. It was in 1969 when she did her first modeling job, for a shampoo ad. Kim, who had blossomed to a 5' 7" beauty, was offered a contract on the spot with the Ford Modeling Agency. At the age of 20, Kim was a top model, commanding $1,000 a day. Throughout the early 1970s, she appeared on dozens of magazine covers and in hundreds of ads, most notably as the Breck girl. Kim took acting classes at the Neighborhood Playhouse, performed in various Greenwich Village clubs, and sang under the stage name Chelsea.

In 1976, Kim moved to Los Angeles, ready to conquer Hollywood. Kim broke into television doing episodes of such hit series as "Charlie's Angels" (1976). During this time period, she met Ron Snyder, who would later become her husband from 1980 to 1989. She gained some attention by playing a prostitute in "From Here to Eternity" (1979), but it was her role as Domino in the James Bond film Never Say Never Again (1983) with Sean Connery that made her famous. Kim gave a Golden Globe-nominated performance opposite Robert Redford in The Natural (1984), which led to roles in high-profile films like Nine 1/2 Weeks (1986), Blind Date (1987), Nadine (1987) and My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988). She starred as photojournalist Vicki Vale in Batman (1989), which was a blockbuster hit and took her to a career high.

With perhaps too much disposable income, Kim headed up an investment group that purchased the entire town of Braselton, in her native Georgia, for $20 million (she would later have to sell it). In 1993, Kim married Alec Baldwin, and in 1995 they had a daughter, Ireland Eliesse. Kim took some time off to stay at home with her child. Kim, who loves animals and is a strict vegetarian, devoted energy to animal rights issues and PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), even posing for some ads. Her personal life made headlines in 2001 she filed for divorce from Baldwin, and a long custody battle followed.

Kim gave an Oscar-winning performance as a sophisticated call girl in L.A. Confidential (1997). Her salary for I Dreamed of Africa (2000) was $5,000,000, putting her firmly in the category of big-name movie star. She later played Eminem's mom in the hit film 8 Mile (2002). More recently, Kim has starred in the thrillers Cellular (2004), and The Sentinel (2006), and there are still many great things ahead, in the career of cover girl turned Oscar-winning actress Kim Basinger.

IMDb Mini Biography By: kdhaisch@aol.com

Spouse

Alec Baldwin	(19 August 1993 - 3 September 2002) (divorced) 1 child
Ron Snyder	(12 October 1980 - 1 December 1988) (divorced)

Trade Mark

In her later films, she has often played sexy older women who pursue sexual relationships with younger men (L.A. Confidential, I Dreamed of Africa, 8 Mile, The Door In the Floor, The Informers).

Trivia

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#40). [1995]

Studied ballet from age of 3 to mid-teens.

She describes her father as an introspective, classically trained trumpeter, her mother as a flamboyant, extroverted "Lucy-like" housewife.

Loved the movie My Fair Lady (1964) and the "Loverly" song in it, which prompted her dad to encourage her to enter local Junior Miss pageant and sing the song as her "talent." She didn't win, but later did succeed in competition to become the 'Breck (shampoo) Girl." This led to career as Ford model, then to acting.

Went to high school with Keith Strickland of 'The B-52's' .

Daughter, Ireland, with Alec Baldwin, born. [October 23, 1995]

Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1984" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 36. [1984]

When she reneged on her verbal agreement to star in Boxing Helena (1993), the producers sued her for breach of contract. A jury ordered her to pay over $8 million, which forced Basinger to declare bankruptcy. The decision was reversed on appeal.

Ex-sister-in-law of Daniel Baldwin, Chynna Phillips, William Baldwin and Stephen Baldwin. Ex-cousin-in-law of Joseph Baldwin.

Her last name is often mispronounced. The writers on "Saturday Night Live" (1975) made fun of this fact when she and her husband, Alec Baldwin, hosted the show. In his opening monologue, he asks her how to pronounce her name. She answers (correctly) "Bay-sing-ger," with a hard 'g' in the final syllable.

First "Bond Girl" (she played Domino in Never Say Never Again (1983) to win an Oscar (won for L.A. Confidential (1997)). The only other actress to do so is Halle Berry.

Was a cheerleader at Athens High School.

Measurements: 35 1/2C-24-35 1/2 (but mostly wears a 34C bra) (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine).

Recreated Molly Peters's massage scene from Thunderball (1965) in Never Say Never Again (1983).

She and Alec Baldwin met and fell in love in 1990 on the set of the trouble-plagued movie The Marrying Man (1991).

Born on the same day as the late Sam Kinison.

Her grandmother was part Cherokee Indian. She is also of German, Swedish and Irish ancestry.

Almost didn't appear in L.A. Confidential (1997) because she was tired of playing prostitutes.

Was originally cast in Kansas City (1996) as Carolyn.

Daughter of Don, a jazz musician, and Ann, a former model and champion swimmer.

Sister of Mick, Skip, Ashley and Barbara.

Had relationships with Richard Gere and Prince in the late '80s.

Met and married Ron Snyder on the set of her film Hard Country (1981).

Wanted to play Donna in Mamma Mia! (2008) but the role went to Meryl Streep.

Born at 11:04 AM.

First actress to win an Oscar after appearing naked in Playboy magazine. The second to do so was Charlize Theron. (Goldie Hawn also appeared in Playboy, but for a fully clothed cover shot and a lengthy interview).

Was ranked #3 in a poll for MovieFone's top ten sexiest Bond girls, behind Ursula Andress and Halle Berry.

Was considered for the role of Louise in Thelma & Louise (1991) that went to Susan Sarandon.

Was considered for the role in Ghost Busters (1984) that went to Sigourney Weaver.

Her first husband, Ron Snyder, wrote a memoir entitled "Longer Than Forever," published in 1998, about their ten-year marriage.

Had a long-term relationship with model Dale Robinette in the 1970s. They lived together in New York, and he moved with her to Los Angeles when she decided to become an actress.

Often plays attractive older women who seduce younger men in her later films (L.A. Confidential, 8 Mile, The Door In the Floor, The Informers).

Personal Quotes

I work in a strange business, and trust is a word that's not even in the vocabulary.

I think any girl who comes to Hollywood with sex symbol or bombshell hanging over her has a rough road.

I feel there are two people inside me - me and my intuition. If I go against her, she'll screw me every time, and if I follow her, we get along quite nicely.

My hand still shakes when I sign autographs. I still go and sit in the movies like everyone else and look up there and go "God! Movie stars! Wow!" And I'm in this business. I walk out there just fascinated and I always want to stay like that. I'm just a little kid going to these movies and I don't ever want to change.

You have to be a little unreal to be in this business.

Salary

I Dreamed of Africa (2000)	$5,000,000
The Marrying Man (1991)	$2,500,000
No Mercy (1986)	$1,000,000

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