George Clooney seems to be one of the stars in Hollywood that people still greatly admire and one of the few who has managed to avoid any major scandal that would damage his reputation.
At the age of 56, George has been in the game a long time, yet there’s so much we don’t know about the man!
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1. His parents were no strangers to the spotlight.
His mother, Nina, was a beauty queen. His father, Nick, was an anchorman and television host, and he even spent five years working for the AMC network.
2. George revealed that because his father was so well known, he was always being watched as a child, and it was awkward.
“Everybody knew us, talked about us. If I scored 15 points in a basketball game, the paper would say, ‘Nick Clooney’s son scored 15 points'”, he explained .
3. When George was in middle school, he developed a condition known as Bell’s palsy.
He dealt with partial facial paralysis for nearly a year and had to put up with bullying. He later said this helped him to develop his personality, and he learned how to make jokes about it.
4. He revealed that it was his mother who gave him that infamous bowl cut that everybody likes to laugh at.
To save money , his mother would make his clothes and cut his fair.
5. Growing up, he was really into sports, especially baseball and basketball.
He even tried out to play for theCincinnati Reds in 1977, but he didn’t make it past the first round of player cuts.Something tells me he got over that rejection.
6. He went to university but never ended up graduating.
He wanted to major in broadcast journalism at Northern Kentucky University for a few years, but didn’t like constantly being compared to his father, so he left .
7. Before he got his big break, he worked regular jobs like most of us.
He stocked shelves , sold women’s shoes, sold insurance door-to-door, and even spent some time cutting tobacco.
8. It was his aunt who got him into acting.
The late Rosemary Clooney and her husband had offered George a small part in a horse racing movie, And They’re Off! , and that was that. He was hooked.
9. His dad never wanted him to become an actor.
Even once he moved out to California, Nick was still telling George to go back to school to have something to fall back on.
George told his dad that if he had something to fall back on, he’d fall back.
10. He’s widely known for his role as Dr. Doug Ross on ER, but a lot of people don’t know that a decade earlier, he starred in a sitcom called E/R.
I can see how that could get pretty confusing.
11. Not all of his roles were critically acclaimed. He actually apologized for Batman & Robin.
“Let me just say that I’d actually thought I’d destroyed the franchise until somebody else brought it back years later and changed it. I thought at the time that this was going to be a very good career move,” he said.
12. He once suffered from a brain injury while on the set of Syriana.
It was during a scene where he was taped to a chair. The chair was kicked over, and he ended up hitting his head, tearing his dura, and causing massive amounts of pain.
“I basically bruised my brain. It’s bouncing around my head because it’s not supported by the spinal fluid,” he explained .
13. In 2007, he was injured in a motorcycle accident in New Jersey.
In the following weeks, dozens of staff at the Palisades Medical Center were suspended without pay for violating federal law and looking at his medical records.
14. He has a very colorful dating history.
He has been linked to stars like Kelly Preston, Lisa Snowdon, Renée Zellweger and Elisabetta Canalis. He was also married to Talia Balsam for four years.
15. He married human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in September of 2014.
“I knew fairly quickly that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Amal,” George explained, and headded, “I’m a much happier person and we have a very happy life.”
16. In 2017, George and Amal welcomed twins, Ella and Alexander.
George had previously joked that Amal had banned him from naming the twins Casa and Amigos, after his tequila company, Casamigos. We’re glad she vetoed that one.
17. He once rescued a cocker spaniel named Einstein after seeing a picture of him on the internet.
He says he adopted the dog for two reasons, “It had been abused and needed a better life, and it was already housebroken.”
18. He once gave 14 of his friends a suitcase with one million dollars inside.
He also paid their taxes, explaining that his friends were very important to him, and he was grateful that they had helped him out when he first came to L.A.
19. He’s very low maintenance.
He’s never had a mani/pedi, and he used to cut his own hair. When it comes to award show nights, he needs just 15 minutes to shower and throw on a tux.
20. He once surprised an 87-year-old grandma who had mentioned that she would like to meet George.
He actually followed through and visited her at the senior living home she resided in, bringing along a card and flowers for her birthday.
George, if you’re reading this, I wouldn’t mind meeting you…
21. He owns a villa on Lake Como in Italy.
He bought it to escape the hectic L.A. life, but admits that it’s still difficult to live a private life. Even on his boat he’s followed by photographers.
22. His trick to privacy is getting up earlier than anyone else.
He explained that he’ll ride his motorcycle at 5 a.m. “It’s the Italian paparazzi, they don’t get up till 10.”
23. He helped establish the Not On Our Watch Project, which focuses on putting an end to mass atrocities worldwide.
The organization was also established by Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, David Pressman, and Jerry Weintraub.
24. He publicly supported President Obama during both of his presidential elections and endorsed Hilary Clinton in 2016.
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