Actor, director, writer. Born July 6, 1946, in New York City. A one-time beauty school student, Stallone discovered a passion for acting while studying on scholarship at the American College in Switzerland. He returned to the United States and studied drama at the University of Miami, dropping out before graduation to move back to New York and pursue an acting and screenwriting career.
His first substantial role was in The Lords of Flatbush (1974), after which he moved to Hollywood. Stallone reportedly wrote the screenplay to Rocky (1976), the film that would make him a star, in just three days. Rocky won Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director (John G. Avildsen), and Stallone was nominated for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay. With the success of Rocky and its sequels (1979, 1982, 1985, and 1990), which he also directed, and the three Rambo movies in 1982, 1985, and 1988, Stallone was firmly established as an action-film hero.

While Stallone's attempts to break into comedy in films such as Oscar (1991) and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992) have largely failed to gain an audience among fans or critics, he scored action hits with Cliffhanger (1993) and Demolition Man (1993). More recently, he had less success with The Specialist (1994), Judge Dredd (1995), Assassins (1995), but earned critical buzz for his performance in the low-budget police drama Cop Land (1997). Following a two-year hiatus from film work, Stallone re-emerged in 2000 with a title role in the gangster movie Get Carter— a re-make of the 1971 thriller starring Michael Caine. His most recent projects included the psychological thriller Eye See You and Driven (both 2001), which paired him with Burt Reynolds. As part of an ensemble that includes, Madeline Stowe, Anthony Quinn, and Andy Garcia, Stallone is currently filming the action feature Avenging Angelo. Stallone has two sons from his first marriage, which ended in divorce after 11 years. He was briefly married to the Danish actress Brigitte Nielsen, but since 1997 has been married to his third wife, former model Jennifer Flavin, with whom he has two daughters. Besides the tabloid headlines trumpeting the happenings in his personal life, Stallone earned unwelcome press coverage in late 1999 with the announcement of the bankruptcy of Planet Hollywood, the high-profile restaurant chain he co-owns with a group of Hollywood stars including Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger (who has since withdrawn from the venture).