Ben Affleck: Snapshot

Name
Ben Affleck
Date of Birth
August 15, 1972
Birth Place
Berkeley, Calif.
There are three keys to Ben Affleck's fame: solid acting skills, boy-next-door good looks, and a series of high-profile romances with Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez and Jennifer Garner.

A professional actor since age 12, Affleck jumped onto Hollywood's A-List in 1997 with Boston boyhood pal Matt Damon and their Oscar-winning film, Good Will Hunting. But much of Affleck's staying power since then can be pinned on his love life. First there was his relationship with Paltrow in 1998, then came "Bennifer," his obsessively documented engagement to Lopez in 2002 that produced the box office bomb, Gigli.

But things turned around in 2005, when on a much quieter note, Affleck married actress Garner, with whom he has three children.

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Ben Affleck:From the PEOPLE TV Archive

Ben Affleck: Five Fun Facts

  1. Ben Affleck once told USA Today, "Beautiful women scare me." Nevertheless, he dated Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez and Jennifer Garner.
  2. Ben Affleck covered a tattoo of his high school sweetheart's name with a dolphin.
  3. When Ben Affleck asked his mom for a dog as a kid, she made him walk an imaginary one for a week. "When he came up two days short, he didn't get a dog," she told PEOPLE in 1998. "That was harsh. It was wise, but harsh."
  4. The Oscar-winning screenwriter also won two Golden Razzies for Worst Actor and Worst Screen Couple (with Jennifer Lopez) for Gigli.
  5. Ben Affleck has more in common with back-up dancer Cris Judd than just a relationship with Jennifer Lopez: They share the same August 15th birthday.

Ben Affleck: Biography

1972

Ben Affleck

August 15

Meet the Afflecks

Affleck is born to photographer Tim Affleck and his wife, Chris, a schoolteacher. Three years later Affleck gets a little brother, Casey.

1984

Ben Affleck

Getting Into the Business

From an early age, Affleck shows an interest in acting. After appearing in a Burger King ad, he lands the part of C.T. Granville on the PBS miniseries The Voyage of the Mimi. The 13-episode educational program follows the crew of the Mimi exploring the ocean. "I was [a kid] when I did this science show," he tells Entertainment Weekly in 2007. "Sometimes I think I grew up too fast."

1990

Spring

Partying 101

Affleck and pal Matt Damon graduate from Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School in 1990. There, he tells Details, the two spent their time "underage drinking, pot smoking and all the attendant shenanigans." After a few transfers, he drops out to pursue acting with roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and School Ties before landing his first substantial part in the cult classic Dazed and Confused.

Read More on Ben Affleck's Life

Photo Credits

Top Left: Matt Carr/Getty

BIOGRAPHY (top to bottom): MARTHA COOPER/CORBIS OUTLINE

Edited by Janet Mock and Julia Wang

Ben Affleck

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