Sean Penn

Described as

American actor

Other names

Sean Justin Penn

Born

August 17, 1960 · 9 references

Born in

Santa Monica · 2 references

Name at birth

Sean Justin Penn

Citizen of

United States

Occupation

film actor · 1 reference; film director · 1 reference; screenwriter; film producer; stage actor; television actor; actor · 1 reference; voice actor

Positions held

President of the Jury at the Cannes Festival (2008–)

Political party

Democratic Party

Education

Santa Monica College (1920–); Santa Monica High School · 1 reference

Member of

Writers Guild of America West

Awards

Academy Award for Best Actor (2 times) (2004, 2009) · 1 reference; Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (2004); Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor (1997); Volpi Cup for Best Actor (2 times) (1998, 2003); Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class (2022) · 1 reference; Producers Guild Stanley Kramer Award (2011) · 1 reference; BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (2026) · 1 reference; Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role (2026) · 1 reference; Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (2026) · 1 reference

Spouse

Madonna (1985–1989); Robin Wright (1996–2010); Leila George (2020–2021)

Children

Dylan Penn; Hopper Penn

Father

Leo Penn · 1 reference

Mother

Eileen Ryan · 1 reference

Siblings

Chris Penn; Michael Penn

Religion

agnostic theism · 1 reference

Height

1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)

Wikipedias with a page

100

Wikidata item Q44221 (wikidata.org/wiki/Q44221), public domain (CC0). Copied November 13, 2026.

Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. His accolades include three Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for an Emmy Award and a Grammy Award. He received the Honorary César in 2015 and the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award in 2022.
Penn made his feature film debut in the drama Taps (1981), before taking roles in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Bad Boys (1983), and At Close Range (1986). He has won three Academy Awards, Best Actor twice for playing a grieving father in Mystic River (2003) and the gay rights activist Harvey Milk in Milk (2008), and Best Supporting Actor for playing corrupt military officer Steven J. Lockjaw in One Battle After Another (2025). He was also Oscar-nominated for Dead Man Walking (1995), Sweet and Lowdown (1999), and I Am Sam (2001). He also acted in Casualties of War (1989), State of Grace (1990), Carlito's Way (1993), The Game (1997), The Thin Red Line (1998), Hurlyburly (1998), 21 Grams (2003), Fair Game (2010), The Tree of Life (2011), Licorice Pizza (2021), and Daddio (2023).
Penn made his directorial film debut with the crime drama The Indian Runner (1991), followed by The Crossing Guard (1995), The Pledge (2001), and Into the Wild (2007). On stage, he acted in the Broadway plays Heartland (1981) and Slab Boys (1983). On television, he portrayed an astronaut in the Hulu drama series The First (2018) and John N. Mitchell in the Starz political thriller miniseries Gaslit (2022).
Penn has also engaged in political and social activism, including his criticism of the George W. Bush administration, his contact with the presidents of Cuba and Venezuela, his humanitarian work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and his support for Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy amidst the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Born, in its opening lines

August 17, 1960

From the Wikipedia article “Sean Penn” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Penn), by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Copied November 13, 2026; not changed.