Biography

Writer. Producer. Director. And without a doubt, a bona fide movie star. Sylvester Stallone has undeniably generated a career that’s synonymous with action on the big screen. Born in New York City in 1946, Stallone met adversity from the very beginning. In fact, his trademark droopy countenance and slurred speech were results of a forceps accident at birth. Stallone’s childhood remained tumultuous with his parents’ divorce and his expulsion from several schools.  After graduating high school, Stallone attended two colleges—American College in Switzerland and the University of Miami—where he studied drama, but he dropped out of school to pursue acting. After a few uncredited roles in major films, Stallone landed a more substantive part in the 1974 independent film The Lords of Flatbush. In addition to acting, Stallone had an interest in screen writing, and he created a screenplay about an underdog professional boxer from Philadelphia. He sold the script to two producers who agreed to let him star in his screenplay. Released in 1976, the movie Rocky became a critical and commercial hit, garnering ten Oscar nods and winning an Academy Award for best picture. Now a star, Stallone fleshed out the franchise with Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Rocky V and the final chapter, Rocky Balboa. Stallone had more movie success by playing disenfranchised Vietnam vet John Rambo in First Blood, and he continued to strike gold with its sequels Rambo: First Blood - Part II, Rambo III and Rambo, a film he also wrote and directed.  Stallone proved to moviegoers and critics alike that he still has Hollywood magic when, in 2010, he starred alongside Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Expendables, yet another movie he also wrote and directed. Stallone followed up with Expendables 2 and Expendables 3, all of which were box office hits.