Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. He became known during the 1960s, having starred in several Hollywood films, and has continued appearing in a variety of roles since, including Escape from New York, Stargate and most recently Grindhouse.
Russell started acting at a young age. He is one of the few examples of a child star who has also enjoyed a busy acting career as an adult.
Kurt Russell landed a part in the Elvis Presley movie, It Happened at the World's Fair (1963) when he was 10 years old. In 1960, Walt Disney himself signed Russell to a 10 year contract. Once his stint as a child actor ended, he spent the early 1970's playing minor league baseball. In 1979, he gave a classic performance as Elvis Presley in John Carpenter (I)'s ABC-TV movie. He followed with roles in a string of well-received films: Used Cars (1980), Escape from New York (1981), Thing, The (1982) and Silkwood (1983). In 1983 he met Goldie Hawn when they worked together on Swing Shift (1984). The two have lived together ever since. The movie was a failure - as was their next one together, Overboard (1987). During the 1980's, Russell starred in a rash of disappointments: Best of Times, The (1986), Big Trouble in Little China (1986) and Winter People (1989). Finally, his career seemed to be seriously stalled. He only landed Tango & Cash (1989) after Patrick Swayze dropped out; Dennis Quaid was the first choice for the part in Backdraft (1991). In the end, these two roles were key in re-establishing him as a box-office draw. Russell and Goldie Hawn live on a 72-acre retreat, Home Run Ranch, outside of Aspen. He has two sons, Boston Russell (from a brief marriage to actress Season Hubley) and Wyatt Russell with Goldie Hawn).
