Date of Birth

8 December 1953, Athens, Georgia, USA

Kim Basinger was born December 8, 1953, in Athens, Georgia, the third of five children. Both her parents had been in entertainment, her dad had played big-band jazz, and her mother had performed water ballet in several Esther Williams movies. Kim was introspective, from her father's side. As a schoolgirl, she was very shy. To help her overcome this, her parents had Kim study ballet from an early age. By the time she reached sweet sixteen, the once-shy Kim entered the Athens Junior Miss contest. From there, she went on to win the Junior Miss Georgia title and traveled to New York to compete in the national Junior Miss pageant. Kim, who had blossomed to a 5' 7" beauty, was offered a contract on the spot with the Ford Modeling Agency. At the age of 20, Kim was a top model, commanding $1,000 a day. Throughout the early 1970s, she appeared on dozens of magazine covers and in hundreds of ads, most notably as the Breck girl. Kim took acting classes at the Neighborhood Playhouse, performed in various Greenwich Village clubs, and sang under the stage name Chelsea.

In 1976, Kim moved to Los Angeles, ready to conquer Hollywood. Kim broke into television doing episodes of such hit series as "Charlie's Angels" (1976). In 1980, she married Ron Snyder (aka Ron Britton), a makeup artist who whom she had met in 1979 on the set of her film Hard Country (1981). Kim asked him to change his surname to "something with a B" so as to match a luxury set of luggage they owned, hence the name Britton. She gained some attention for playing a prostitute in the remake of "From Here to Eternity" (1979), but it was her role opposite Sean Connery in the James Bond film Never Say Never Again (1983) that brought her fame and made her in demand. She was next paired with Burt Reynolds in The Man Who Loved Women (1983) and Robert Redford in The Natural (1984) (for which she received a Golden Globe nomination), and gave a great performance in Fool for Love (1985). Kim was Hollywood royalty for the rest of the eighties, with starring roles in the high-profile films Nine 1/2 Weeks (1986), No Mercy (1986), Blind Date (1987), Nadine (1987), My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988), and Batman (1989).

With perhaps too much disposable income, Kim headed up an investment group that purchased the entire town of Braselton, in her native Georgia, for $20 million (she would later have to sell it). In 1989, she divorced Ron Snyder-Britton and began a relationship with Alec Baldwin the following year. They married in 1993 and had a daughter, Ireland Eliesse, two years later. Kim took some time off to stay at home with her child. Kim, who loves animals and is a strict vegetarian, devoted energy to animal rights issues and PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), even posing for some ads. She and Baldwin filed for divorce in 2000.

Kim gave an Oscar-winning performance in the film noir L.A. Confidential (1997). Her salary for I Dreamed of Africa (2000) was $5,000,000, putting her firmly back in the category of big-name movie star. She later played Eminem's mom in the hit film 8 Mile (2002). More recently, Kim has starred in the thrillers Cellular (2004) and The Sentinel (2006), and there are still many great things ahead, in the career of cover girl turned Oscar-winning actress Kim Basinger.

Studied ballet from age of 3 to mid-teens.

She describes her father as an introspective, classically trained trumpeter, her mother as a flamboyant, extroverted "Lucy-like" housewife.

Loved the movie My Fair Lady (1964) and the "Loverly" song in it, which prompted her dad to encourage her to enter local Junior Miss pageant and sing the song as her "talent." She didn't win, but later did succeed in competition to become the 'Breck (shampoo) Girl." This led to career as Ford model, then to acting.

Went to high school with Keith Strickland of The B-52's.

At age 42 she gave birth to her only child, Ireland, with Alec Baldwin. [October 23, 1995]

Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1984" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 36. [1984]

When she reneged on her verbal agreement to star in Boxing Helena (1993), the producers sued her for breach of contract. A jury ordered her to pay over $8 million, which forced Basinger to declare bankruptcy. The decision was reversed on appeal.

Ex-sister-in-law of Daniel Baldwin, Chynna Phillips, William Baldwin and Stephen Baldwin. Ex-cousin-in-law of Joseph Baldwin.

Her last name is often mispronounced. The writers on "Saturday Night Live" (1975) made fun of this fact when she and her husband, Alec Baldwin, hosted the show. In his opening monologue, he asks her how to pronounce her name. She answers (correctly) "Bay-sing-ger," with a hard 'g' in the final syllable.

First "Bond Girl" (she played Domino in Never Say Never Again (1983) to win an Oscar (won for L.A. Confidential (1997)). The only other actress to do so is Halle Berry.

Was a cheerleader at Athens High School.

Measurements: 35 1/2C-24-35 1/2 (but mostly wears a 34C bra) (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine).

Recreated Molly Peters's massage scene from Thunderball (1965) in Never Say Never Again (1983).

She and Alec Baldwin met and fell in love in 1990 on the set of the trouble-plagued movie The Marrying Man (1991).

Born on the same day as the late Sam Kinison.

Her grandmother was part Cherokee Indian. She is also of German, Swedish and Irish ancestry.

Almost didn't appear in L.A. Confidential (1997) because the studio thought she was too old (at 44) to play a prostitute. However, director Curtis Hanson insisted that she was his only choice and would not consider anyone else for the part.

Was originally cast in Kansas City (1996) as Carolyn.

Daughter of Don, a jazz musician, and Ann, a former model and champion swimmer.

Sister of Mick, Skip, Ashley and Barbara.

Had relationships with Richard Gere and Jon Peters after her separation from first husband Ron Snyder.

Met Ron Snyder on the set of her film Hard Country (1981), which was filmed in 1979 but shelved for two years. Snyder was part of the film's makeup crew, and they married in 1980 after a year-long courtship.

Wanted to play Donna in Mamma Mia! (2008) but the role went to Meryl Streep.

Born at 11:04 AM.

First actress to win an Oscar after appearing naked in Playboy magazine. The second to do so was Charlize Theron. (Goldie Hawn also appeared in Playboy, but for a fully clothed cover shot and a lengthy interview).

Was ranked #3 in a poll for MovieFone's top ten sexiest Bond girls, behind Ursula Andress and Halle Berry.

Was considered for the role of Louise in Thelma & Louise (1991) that went to Susan Sarandon.

Was considered for the role in Ghostbusters (1984) that went to Sigourney Weaver.

Her first husband, Ron Snyder, wrote a memoir entitled "Longer Than Forever," published in 1998, about their ten-year marriage.

Had a long-term relationship with model Dale Robinette in the 1970s. They lived together in New York, and he moved with her to Los Angeles when she decided to become an actress.

Turned down the role of Annie in Bull Durham (1988).

Was one of the top contenders for the role of Frances Farmer in Frances (1982). Basinger got so far as to film screen tests with costar Sam Shepard, but the role ultimately went to Jessica Lange, who received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance.

Portrays a character 17 years younger than herself in I Dreamed of Africa (2000), which tells the true story adapted from Kuki Gallman's memoir. Gallmann was born in 1943 and moved to Africa in 1972 at age 29; Basinger was born in 1953 and filmed the movie in 1999 at age 46.

Turned down the role of the mother in The Virgin Suicides (1999) before Kathleen Turner was cast in the part.

Had never seen a Bond film when she signed on to do Never Say Never Again (1983).

Auditioned for the lead role in Squirm (1976).

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