Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson was born on January 3, 1956, in Peekskill, New York, USA as the sixth of eleven children to parents Hutton Gibson, a railroad brakeman, and Anne Patricia (Reilly) Gibson (who died in December of 1990). His mother was Irish, and his father had Irish-Australian ancestry. Though born in the US, Mel and his family moved to New South Wales, Australia. After high school, Mel studied at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, performing at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts alongside future film thespians Judy Davis and Geoffrey Rush. After college, Mel had a few stints on stage and starred in a few TV shows. Eventually, he was chosen to star inMad Max (1979) and in a movie called Tim (1979), co-starring Piper Laurie. The small budgeted movie Mad Max (1979) made him known worldwide, while Tim (1979) garnered him an award for Best Actor from the Australian Film Institute (equivalent to the Oscar). Later, he went on to star in Gallipoli (1981), which earned him a second award for Best Actor from the AFI. In 1980, he married Robyn Moore and had seven children. In 1984, Mel made his American debut in The Bounty (1984), which co-starredAnthony Hopkins. Then in 1987, Mel starred in what would become his signature series,Lethal Weapon (1987), in which he played "Martin Riggs". In 1990, he took on the interesting starring role in Hamlet (1990), which garnered him some critical praise. He also made the more endearing Forever Young (1992) and the somewhat disturbing The Man Without a Face (1993). 1995 brought his most famous role as "Sir William Wallace" in Braveheart (1995), for which he won two Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. From there, he made such box office hits as The Patriot (2000), Ransom (1996), andPayback (1999). Today, Mel remains an international superstar mogul, continuously topping the Hollywood power lists as well as the Most Beautiful and Sexiest lists.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: [email protected]