Keanu Reeves was recently cleared of claims that he’s not the father to a Canadian woman’s four adult children. The topic of fatherhood is a tender one for Keanu, but he’s continued to focus on his career even through the sticky times in his personal life.

Keanu Reeves was born in Beirut, Lebanon, moving from place to place but growing up primarily in Toronto, Canada. As a teenager, he attended four different high schools, including Etobicoke School of the Arts, De La Salle College (aka as “Oaklands”), and Avondale Alternative.

He started acting at age nine, appearing on stage in Damn Yankees and later in Romeo and Juliet. The TV show Hangin’ In marked his television debut, followed by appearances in TV commercials, short films, and TV series.

After making his movie debut in Youngblood, Keanu traveled to Los Angeles to further pursue his acting career. With manager and agent Erwin Stoff at his side, he landed a few minor roles which lead to a part in River’s Edge. Now with his foot in Hollywood’s door, he is most notably remembered for his roles in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Speed, and The Matrix.

Both Keanu’s career and personal life have been filled with ups and downs, yet fans still root for his success. Let’s hope this latest state of affairs wraps up quickly and in his favor!

How much is an actor’s success attributed to his or her acting ability vs. a really good manager/agent?

[photo: Caroline Bonarde Ucci]

Tom Cruise has been calling Boston “home” during the filming of his latest movie, “Knight & Day,” with his family in tow. With the close-to-normal life the family has been able to lead, the Boston Red Sox may just find themselves with a new set of hometown fans.

However, Tom Cruise is not exactly known for flying under the radar. This New York-born actor and producer may be forever remembered for the Oprah Winfrey Show couch-jumping incident, but perhaps he’s just rubbing his success in the faces of all the bullies he had to deal with in the 15 schools he attended in 12 years! He attended such schools as Robert Hopkins Public School, Henry Munro Middle School in Ottawa, Ontario (where he first became involved in drama), and Glen Ridge High School in New Jersey from which he graduated.

Tom’s mother must have seen the star in her boy, because she founded the Gloucester Players for her son and his classmates. He landed his first film role soon after high school with Endless Love. Movies such as The Outsiders, Legend, and Top Gun all proved successful for Tom, but it was his underwear-serenading scene in Risky Business that marked Tom for Hollywood hotness.

With many successful films under his belt, Tom and his former talent agent Paula Wagner formed Cruise/Wagner Productions. They proceeded to take over United Artists film studio and, although Wagner has since stepped down from her role in the company, Tom still produces for the company.

Do you think celebs can ever successfully “blend into” a community outside of Tinseltown?

Jude Law’s fourth child is due in a month’s time, and baby’s mommy Samantha Burke — who he is no longer dating — is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her bundle of joy. Luckily, Jude is more known for his ability to act, and less for his personal infidelity.

Jude Law was born in Lewisham, South London. He attended school at John Ball Primary School in Blackheath and Kidbrooke School in Kidbrooke. Jude spent his high school years at Alleyn’s School in Dulwich. By age 15, he was on stage acting with the National Youth Music Theatre, earning him several awards for his performances.

Jude soon found his way to Broadway, where he earned a Tony Award nomination and the Theatre World Award. Jude also dabbled in television with a movie, series, and soap opera roles, until his break-through role on the big screen in the movie Wilde. Movies such as Gattaca, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and Road to Perdition secured his place in Hollywood among the stars.

Acting, directing, and producing have kept Jude’s resume filled with projects, both stateside and abroad, and he’s even found time to be the face of Dior. Now with fatherhood just around the corner once again, let’s hope that he makes time for his most important role as Daddy.

Do Jude Law’s indiscretions affect your view of him as an actor?

Updated 9/15/09

After a long fight with pancreatic cancer, Patrick Swayze passed away late Monday, September 14th. Fans would agree that his career was one that holds a special place in their hearts, as his role in such movies as “Dirty Dancing” and “Ghost” encompass  memorable mark-the-time moments for many generations.

Patrick Swayze was born in Houston, Texas, and boasted a robust career as an actor, dancer, and singer-songwriter. His education was earned at local schools such as St. Rose of Lima Catholic School, Black Middle School, and Waltrip High School, where he sharpened his skills in such activities as ice skating, classical ballet, and acting. He even studied gymnastics at San Jacinto College. He then moved to New York City to attend Harkness Ballet and Joffrey Ballet schools to complete his formal dance training.

The start of Patrick’s professional career was marked was with his employment as a dancer for Disney on Parade. He also appeared on stage and on television before appearing in any films.

His jump to the big screen came with his role in The Outsiders before appearing in the movie Red Dawn. However, his status as a film actor wasn’t set until his role as dance instructor Johnny Castle in Dirty Dancing.

Suddenly typecast as a hunk, Patrick had a hard time finding film success, but made his comeback with the movie Ghost. He even earned the top spot on People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive list in 1991.

An injury while filming put his career on hold for a while, but roles in Waking Up Reno and Donnie Darko helped put Patrick back in the spotlight. He’s since taken to the stage in productions of Guys and Dolls and Chicago, but current projects have been put on hold due to battles with his health.

[Photo: Brecheisen/WireImage]

What Patrick Swayze memory is the most special to you?

As news of Charlie Sheen’s sit-down with the President had the Internet all abuzz, he continues to prove that making the cross-over from movies to television can be profitable – and attention-getting! According to the latest TV Guide magazine article Who Makes What, Charlie Sheen makes $875,000 per episode of his sitcom Two and a Half Men, giving him the ranking as one of the top earning actors in television. And it’s a good thing! His adorable daughters (Sam J., 5, and Lola Rose, 4) with ex-wife Denise Richards are sure to cost him a bundle when they grow up, just for bodyguards to keep the boys away! And Charlie and his wife Brooke Mueller recently welcomed twin boys as well!

Charlie Sheen was born Carlos Irwin Estevez in New York City, New York, and is son to Martin Sheen and an artist mother. Although his brother, Emilio Estevez, kept the family name, Charlie Sheen followed in his father’s footsteps adopting his stage name in honor of the Catholic archbishop, Fulton J. Sheen.

Charlie and his family moved to Malibu, California following his father’s Broadway role. His first acting gig was at age nine alongside his father in a TV movie called The Execution of Private Slovik, although his career would not truly begin until after high school. Charlie attended Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, California. His athletic talents shone through when he was a star on the school’s baseball team, which would lend him the advantage in future baseball movie roles. However, Charlie was expelled from the school for poor attendance and bad grades.

The true beginning of his career was marked with his role in the movie Red Dawn. He appeared in such movies as Major League, Young Guns, and Men at Work, but has since even written and produced a few pieces of his own. Crossing back into television when he replaced Michael J. Fox on Spin City, he now enjoys his sixth season on Two and a Half Men.

[photo: Angela George]

Actors like Charlie Sheen have been known to choose stage names that differ from their family names. What are your thoughts on your cute kid possibly changing their name for their time in the limelight?

Jake Gyllenhaal was spotted with Reese Witherspoon, taking her two cute kids Ava and Deacon to the Elton John and Billy Joel concert on August 1, but Jake Gyllenhaal was once a cute kid himself.

Born in Los Angeles, CA, Jake Gyllenhaal was part of a Hollywood family. His film director father and film producer and screenwriter mother often let him audition for parts, but frequently forbade him to take them. Wanting him to learn gratitude for his lifestyle, his parents held his Bar Mitzvah at a homeless shelter, and encouraged him to hold jobs such as a lifeguard and a busboy.

At age 11, Jake made his big screen debut in the movie City Slickers, followed by roles in A Dangerous Woman, Josh and S.A.M., and Homegrown. He graduated from the Westlake School in Los Angeles, but dropped out of Columbia University to concentrate on acting. But, it was his role in Donnie Darko that really launched his career, leading to parts in moves such as The Good Girl, Jarhead, and Brokeback Mountain (which garnered him several nominations and awards).

Jake also tried his hand at theatre, starring in a London production of This is Our Youth before earning a spot on People Magazine’s 2006 50 Most Beautiful People list and Hottest Bachelors of 2006. He continues to make acting so good, that should he and Reese decide to have children together, they would be sure to make it big as child models!

Parent poll: How do you teach your children gratitude for what they have?

David Duchovny has been spotted spending a lot of cozy time with estranged wife Téa Leoni this last month. Could this couple be on the way to reconciliation? Or, just keeping a united front for their two cute kids? Only time will tell!

David Duchovny was born in New York City, New York, earning an undergraduate degree from Princeton and a master’s from Yale. While in studies to earn his PhD, he began making his way back to New York to study acting and soon found work on a few off-Broadway plays. He has yet to complete his post-graduate studies.

David’s acting debut came with his first appearance in a TV commercial for Löwenbräu beer. He soon made the leap to the big screen in the movie Working Girl one year later. However, the foundation of his career continued to be laid in television, from Twin Peaks to the Red Shoe Diaries. His big break came with the sci-fi hit series The X-Files, playing FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder.

David has since proved himself as an actor on the big screen, and has even dabbled in directing. His current role in the Showtime series Californication has landed him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor, proving that the career of this poet-turned-actor is a long way from fizzling out.

Do you think that David Duchovny’s Californication role contributed to his real-life sex addiction?

[photo: UPI]

Mariah Carey’s latest album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, is due in stores this month, but this isn’t the R&B superstar’s first taste of success; she has been in the musical spotlight since 1990. Find out how this cute kid turned musical diva.

Mariah was born and raised in Huntington, Long Island and turned to music to occupy herself as her single mother (and former opera singer and vocal coach) struggled to support her family after a divorce.

Mariah went on to graduate from Harborfields High School in Greenlawn, New York, but missed school often due to her job as a demo singer for local recording studios. Her job gave her the opportunity to work with musicians like Gavin Christopher and Ben Margulies, helping her co-write her material for her demo tape. She soon became a backup singer for Brenda Starr, a Puerto Rican freestyle singer.

By 1988, Starr gave Columbia Records exec Tommy Mottola Mariah’s demo tape at a party where Mariah met him, and he signed her to a recording contract. Reaching the U.S. Billboard 200 chart with her first album, there was no mistaking that Mariah’s Cinderella-like story was made for tinseltown.

Mariah begin taking acting lessons in 1997, appearing in such films as The Bachelor, Glitter, and State Property 2. Although her acting career has not given her much success or positive review, her musical talent will keep her in the spotlight for years.

What do you think about Mariah in the movies?

[Photo: David Shankbone]

George Clooney is in final talks to move his production company Smoke House Pictures to Sony, but some speculate that the fit is a bit strange. Can this actor, writer, director, and producer pull it off? Fans of George Clooney are certainly rooting for him!

Born in Lexington, Kentucky, George is the son of a pageant queen and American Movie Classics host. His education was that of a “normal” child, although his exposure to his father’s career might have given him a nudge in the acting direction. He attended Blessed Sacrament School in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, but also attended St. Michael’s School in Columbus, Ohio, and St. Susanna School in Mason, Ohio. Beating a serious physical ailment in middle school, he moved to Augusta, Kentucky, to attend Augusta High School. Soon after, he did not make the cut when he tried out for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. He attended both Northern Kentucky University and the University of Cincinnati but did not earn a diploma from either.

George broke into acting, landing various TV roles on such shows as E/R (the sitcom), Roseanne, and The Facts of Life, but, it was his role as Dr. Doug Ross on the television show ER that gained him the most acclaim (and made his haircut a partial celebrity as well). He went on to his first big screen role in From Dusk ‘Til Dawn, and even now owns his own production companies, Mirador Entertainment and Smoke House Pictures.

George Clooney’s film success will likely be positively marked by his roles in the Oceans Eleven movie and its sequels. But, then again, who could forget one of the only men voted the “Sexiest Man Alive” TWICE by People Magazine?

Do you want to see George Clooney more behind the camera, or keeping his dreamy smile front and center?

[Photos: Kevork Djanzezian/Associated Press]

Looks like Leonardo DiCaprio is a lover of the classics. He, along with Jennifer Davisson Killoran, will co-produce a big-screen movie version of the classic Twilight Zone TV series, slated to hit theaters in 2011. Leonardo recently co-produced the movie Orphan, in theaters now, with Killoran, but before he was a producer, he made his way into Hollywood the old-fashioned way: acting.

Leonardo was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, attending Seeds Elementary School, and had the same interests as most boys his age. When he took an interest in acting, he began his career in several commercials and educational films, but soon broke into television with a series based on the movie Parenthood. He continued his TV career with several small parts in shows like Roseanne and Growing Pains, but made his big-screen debut with the B-movie Critters 3.

It wasn’t until his performance in This Boy’s Life and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape that he really began turning heads in Tinseltown. Once he played Jack Dawson in Titanic, it seems his status in stardom was set.

Both Leonardo’s early works and more recent projects have repeatedly earned him Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, and he continues to evolve his career with more recent production projects. At only 34-years-old, it seems like the world (or at least Hollywood), is Leonardo’s oyster.

[photo: Colin Chou}

What do you think about classics being remade? Should Leo leave good enough alone?