Nicolas Cage

The Basics: Born Nicholas Kim Coppola in Long Beach, California.

Occupations: Actor, producer

The Backstory: A member of the famed Coppola clan (whose members include actress Talia Shire, composer Carmine and, of course, director Francis Ford), Cage hightailed it out of school at age 17 to get into the family business, even as he distanced himself by renouncing his birth name and fashioning himself after his favorite comic-book character, Luke Cage, hero for hire.



Career High Points: On his way to his Best Actor Oscar for 1995's Leaving Las Vegas, Cage did interesting work (Raising Arizona and Moonstruck in 1987, Wild at Heart in 1990, Honeymoon in Vegas in 1992, Peggy Sue Got Married in 1986) with interesting people (the Coen Brothers, Cher, David Lynch, Andrew Bergman, uncle Francis). After he won his Oscar, he made a lot of money and made movies like Con Air, The Rock and Gone in Sixty Seconds. A reward has been posted for the return of the real Nicolas Cage. If you know of his whereabouts, please phone his agent.

Career Low Points: Remember the 1993 "comedy" Amos & Andrew? We didn't think so.

Family Ties:
Grandfather: Carmine Coppola, composer
Grandmother: Italia Coppola, actor
Father: August Coppola, professor
Mother: Joy Vogelsang, dancer, choreographer
Brother: Marc, actor, deejay
Brother: Christopher Coppola, director, producer, screenwriter, composer
Uncle: Francis Ford Coppola, director, producer, screenwriter
Aunt: Talia Shire, actress
Cousin: Jason Schwartzman, actor
Wife: Patricia Arquette, actress; married 1995; separated 1995; divorced 2001
Son: Weston Coppola Cage, born to mother Kristina Fulton

Famous Flings:
Lisa Maria Presley, daughter of famous person, musician (?); dating 2001-present
Kristina Fulton, model
Sarah Jessica Parker, actor
Uma Thurman, actor
Kristen Zang, actor; dated 1992-94; formerly engaged




Et Cetera: Cage was cast as Superman in Tim Burton's ill-fated superhero flick, Superman Lives. While filming 1989's Vampire Kiss, he ate a live cockroach. received $240,00 to make Leaving Las Vegas and he received $20 million to make Gone in Sixty Seconds. He proposed to Patricia Arquette in the 1980s (she turned him down) the first day they met. It was only after Arquette proposed years later that they were married.