Jack Nicholson
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- April 22, 1937 (age 89)
- Birthplace
- Neptune City, New Jersey, USA
Biography
Jack Nicholson (John Joseph Nicholson, born April 22, 1937, Neptune City, New Jersey) is an American retired actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century. He was raised by his maternal grandparents, believing his grandmother was his mother and his mother, showgirl June Frances Nicholson, was his older sister — a secret revealed to him in 1974 by a TIME magazine reporter. He attended Manasquan High School, was voted "Class Clown," and moved to California after graduation, where he took a job in MGM's animation department before breaking into acting. He is a three-time Academy Award winner — Best Actor for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and As Good as It Gets (1997), and Best Supporting Actor for Terms of Endearment (1983) — and one of only two actors, alongside Michael Caine, to receive an Oscar nomination in every decade from the 1960s through the 2000s. He was married to Sandra Knight from 1962 to 1968; they have a daughter, Jennifer. He has six children in total. His last film role was How Do You Know (2010), and in October 2026 Michael Douglas confirmed he has "disappeared" from public life and is not working anymore. His notable film credits include Easy Rider (1969) (Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper), Five Easy Pieces (1970) (Karen Black, Randy Quaid), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) (Michael Douglas, Louise Fletcher), Chinatown (1974) (Faye Dunaway, John Hillerman), The Shining (1980) (Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers), Reds (1981) (Meryl Streep, Woody Harrelson), Prizzi's Honor (1985) (Kathleen Turner, Don Ameche), Battery (1980) (Blythe Danner, Chris Sarandon), The Departed (2006) (Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon), Something's Gotta Give (2003) (Katherine Hepburn, Keanu Reeves), As Good as It Gets (1997) (Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear), The Last King of Scotland (2006) (Forest Whitaker, Geraldine Chaplin), Charlie Wilson's War (2007) (Julia Roberts, Thomas Haden Church), and How Do You Know (2010) (Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd). He also directed Gloria Gordon (1980) and The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012, uncredited involvement), and wrote and directed Drive, He Said (1988).
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Monty and the Movies
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
SNL50: The Homecoming Concert
Movie · as Self
Films to Die For
Movie · as (archive footage) (uncredited)
Breakdown: 1975
Movie · as (archive footage)
John Candy: I Like Me
Movie · as Self - Actor (archive footage)
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror
Movie · as Self (archive photo)
Jack of Three Trades: In Focus on Nicholson the Director
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Shine On: The Forgotten Shining Location
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Untold: Deal with the Devil
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Morceaux de Cannes
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Joker: Put on a Happy Face
Movie · as Self
Kubrick by Kubrick
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Basketball: A Love Story
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 2 eps
Jack Nicholson - The Devilish Smile of Hollywood
Movie · as Self
The Rolling Stones: From the Vault - Sticky Fingers Live at the Fonda Theatre 2015
Movie · as Self - Audience Member
Mansfield 66/67
Movie · as Self - Actor(archive footage)
I Am Divine
Movie · as Self (archive)
The Doctor in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Movie
Close Up
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Corman's World
Movie · as Self - Actor
Mulholland Drive - Ein Hollywood-Mythos
Movie · as Self
How Do You Know
Movie · as Charles
BBStory: An American Film Renaissance
Movie · as Self
I'm Still Here
Movie · as Jack Nicholson
Stardust
Movie · as Self (uncredited)
Drive, He Said: A Cautionary Tale of Campus Revolution and Sexual Freedom
Movie · as Self
America Lost and Found: The BBS Story
Movie · as Self
Soul Searching in 'Five Easy Pieces'
Movie · as Self
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
Movie · as Self / Jake Gittes (archive footage)
Notes on an American Film Director at Work
Movie · as Self
Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight
Movie · as Self
Rob Reiner Interviews the Stars: Jack Nicholson
Movie · as Self
The Bucket List
Movie · as Edward Periman Cole
View from the Overlook: Crafting 'The Shining'
Movie · as Self
The Visions of Stanley Kubrick
Movie · as Self
Lost Kubrick: The Unfinished Films of Stanley Kubrick
Movie · as Self
Making of Chinatown
Movie
The Departed
Movie · as Costello
Witness to 'Reds'
Movie · as Self
Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast
Movie · as Self - Presenter
Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Something's Gotta Give
Movie · as Harry Sanborn
Anger Management
Movie · as Dr. Buddy Rydell
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood
Movie · as Self
Celebrities Uncensored
TV · as Self · 1 ep
About Schmidt
Movie · as Warren Schmidt
Paul McCartney: Back in the U.S.
Movie · as Self
Nudes in the News
TV · as Warren Schmidt (archive footage) · 1 ep
The Pledge
Movie · as Jerry Black
Stanley Kubrick - Ein Leben für den Film
Movie · as Self
America: A Tribute to Heroes
Movie · as Self
Velocity
Movie · as Johnny Varron (young) (archive footage)
Playboy: Playmate Pajama Party
Movie
Playmate Pajama Party
Movie · as self
Junket Whore
Movie · as Self
As Good as It Gets
Movie · as Melvin Udall
Completely Cuckoo
Movie
Mars Attacks!
Movie · as President Dale / Art Land
The Evening Star
Movie · as Garrett Breedlove
Blood and Wine
Movie · as Alex
Shirley Maclaine: Kicking Up Her Heels
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Crossing Guard
Movie · as Freddy Gale
The Rolling Stones: Stripped
Movie · as Self
The Rolling Stones: Totally Stripped
Movie · as Self
Wolf
Movie · as Will Randall
A Few Good Men
Movie · as Col. Nathan R. Jessep
Hoffa
Movie · as James R. 'Jimmy' Hoffa
Man Trouble
Movie · as Harry Bliss
The Two Jakes
Movie · as J.J. "Jake" Gittes
Batman
Movie · as Joker / Jack Napier
On the tracks of a filmmaker
Movie · as Jack Nicholson
The Witches of Eastwick
Movie · as Daryl Van Horne
Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
Broadcast News
Movie · as Bill Rorich
Ironweed
Movie · as Francis Phelan
Creepy Classics
Movie · as Rexford Bedlo - (archive footage)
Rabbit Ears - How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin/How the Camel Got His Hump
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
Heartburn
Movie · as Mark
The Elephant's Child
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
Barbra Streisand: One Voice
Movie · as Self - Audience Member (uncredited)
Prizzi's Honor
Movie · as Charley Partanna
Live Aid
Movie · as Self
Goldene Kamera
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Terms of Endearment
Movie · as Garrett Breedlove
Not Necessarily the News
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 1 ep
The Border
Movie · as Charlie Smith
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Movie · as Frank Chambers
Reds
Movie · as Eugene O'Neill
The Shining
Movie · as Jack Torrance
Making 'The Shining'
Movie · as Self
Goin' South
Movie · as Henry Moon
The Kennedy Center Honors
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Ciné regards
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Missouri Breaks
Movie · as Tom Logan
TVTV Looks at the Oscars
Movie · as Self
The Last Tycoon
Movie · as Brimmer
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Movie · as Randle Patrick McMurphy
Tommy
Movie · as The Specialist
The Passenger
Movie · as David Locke
The Fortune
Movie · as Oscar 'Dix' Sullivan
Saturday Night Live
TV · as Self, Self (uncredited) · 1 ep
Chinatown
Movie · as J.J. 'Jake' Gittes
The Last Detail
Movie · as Billy L. 'Badass' Buddusky
Yoko Ono: This Is Not Here
Movie · as Self
The King of Marvin Gardens
Movie · as David Staebler
Carnal Knowledge
Movie · as Jonathan
A Safe Place
Movie · as Mitch
Drive, He Said
Movie · as Annoyed Bearded Guy
Walt Whitman: Poet for a New Age
Movie · as Narrator
Film '72
TV · as Self · 3 eps
Five Easy Pieces
Movie · as Robert Eroica Dupea
Rebel Rousers
Movie · as Bunny
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
Movie · as Tad Pringle
Easy Rider
Movie · as George Hanson
The Movie Orgy
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Psych-Out
Movie · as Stoney
Head
Movie · as Self (uncredited)
Targets
Movie · as Lt. Andre Duvalier (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hells Angels on Wheels
Movie · as Poet
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre
Movie · as Gino, Hit Man (uncredited)
The Guns of Will Sonnett
TV · as Tom Murdock · 1 ep
The Shooting
Movie · as Billy Spear
Ride in the Whirlwind
Movie · as Wes
Ensign Pulver
Movie · as Yeoman Dolan
Back Door to Hell
Movie · as Burnett
Flight to Fury
Movie · as Jay Wickham
The Terror
Movie · as Lt. Andre Duvalier
The Raven
Movie · as Rexford Bedlo
The Broken Land
Movie · as Will
The Hour of St. Francis
Movie · as Jim Evans
Little Amy
Movie · as Jefferson City Coach
Little Amy
TV · as Jefferson City Coach · 1 ep
The Little Shop of Horrors
Movie · as Wilbur Force
The Wild Ride
Movie · as Johnny Varron
Studs Lonigan
Movie · as Weary Reilly
Too Soon to Love
Movie · as Buddy
The Andy Griffith Show
TV · as Mr. Garland, Marvin Jenkins · 1 ep
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
TV · as Bud · 1 ep
Mr. Lucky
TV · as Martin · 1 ep
Hawaiian Eye
TV · as Tony Morgan · 1 ep
Cry Baby Killer
Movie · as Jimmy Wallace
Sea Hunt
TV · as John Stark · 1 ep
Bronco
TV · as Bob Doolin · 1 ep
Matinee Theater
TV · as Musician's Son · 1 ep
The Oscars
TV · as Self · 10 eps
Golden Globe Awards
TV · as Self - Cecil B. DeMille Award Recipient, Self - Nominee / Presenter · 1 ep