Nicolas Cage Biography

Nicolas Kim Coppola was born on January 7, 1964, to August Floyd Coppola, a literature professor and Joy Vogelsang, a dancer and choreographer, in Long Beach, California. He is of Italian-German-Polish descent and was raised as a staunch Catholic.

The famous film director, Francis Ford Coppola is his uncle and he is the cousin of Sofia Coppola, Roman Coppola and Gian-Carlo Coppola. He also has two brothers, Christopher Coppola and Marc Coppola.

He studied at Beverly Hills High School but he was never really interested in academics because he wanted to act from a very young age. Thus, he dropped out of school and joined UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.

Not wanting to lurk in the shadows of his successful uncle’s reputation, he changed his name from Nicolas Coppola to Nicolas Cage, named after the Marvel Comics superhero, Luke Cage. He made his television debut in 1981.

Nicolas Cage made his debut in the big screen with the coming-of-age movie, Fast Times at Ridgemont High in 1982. He appeared in his next film, Valley Girl, which released the following year.

In 1983, he appeared in his uncle Francis Ford Coppola’s Rumble Fish.

He appeared in the 1984 film, Birdy, for which he reportedly extracted two teeth in order to do justice to his role. From very early on, Cage became known for his passionate acting and his personality. The same year, he appeared in Racing with the Moon and starred in the film, The Cotton Club, directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

In 1986, he starred in comedy-drama film opposite Kathleen Turner titled, Peggy Sue Got Married. This was once again directed by Francis Ford Coppola and the film became a huge hit at the box office.

He was cast in his first critically-acclaimed movie, Moonstruck alongside Cher, in 1987. The same year, he also appeared in the movie, Raising Arizona.

In 1989, he played the role of Peter Leow in the movie, Vampire’s Kiss for which he agreed to eat a live cockroach for his role. This role catapulted him to fame and cemented his place in Hollywood forever.

1990 proved to be an extremely busy year for Cage with him starring in four films; Tempo di uccidere, Fire Birds, Wild At Heart, and Zandalee.

Through the 1990s, he appeared in a series of box-office hits including, Honeymoon in Vegas, Guarding Tess, Kiss of Death, Leaving Las Vegas, The Rock, Con Air, Face/Off, City of Angels, and the paramedic production, Bringing Out the Dead.

He made his directorial debut with the film Sonny in 2002 and was also cast in Adaptation and Ridley Scott’s drama, Matchstick Men, with the latter releasing the following year.

He starred in his biggest box-office hit National Treasure, which also starred Jon Voight and Harvey Keitel, in 2004. The following year, he starred in moderately successful films, Lord of War and The Weather Man.

In 2006, he was seen in the horror film, The Wicker Man, which was a remake of the British classic of the same name. The film fared moderately at the box-office, earning tepid reviews. The same year, he starred in Too Tough to Die and World Trade Center.

2007 proved to be an extremely fruitful year for the actor with a series of successful releases including, Ghost Rider, The Dresden Files, and the sequel, National Treasure: Book of Secrets. The same year, he created a comic book titled, Voodoo Child.

In 2008, he starred as a contract killer for the film, Bangkok Dangerous, followed by Knowing the next year, which was panned by the critics. He also starred in The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call, which released in 2009.

The year 2010 was a magical year for Nicolas Cage as he starred in the historical film, Season of Witch and also appeared as the sorcerer Balthazar in the box-office hit, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

From 2011 to 2013, he starred in a number of films, including Trespass, Seeking Justice, the sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, and the animated film, The Croods.

His other notable works include thriller movie, The Frozen Ground (2013), black comedy, Dog Eat Dog (2016), horror comedy film, Mom and Dad (2017), action thriller film, Mandy (2018) and science-fiction movie, Color Out of Space (2019).

In 2020, Nicolas Cage was seen in the sequel to the 2013 film The Croods. The sequel was named as The Croods: A New Age and Nicolas reprised his role as Grug.

Moonstruck released in 1987, and was one of his first commercial, hit films. The film won seven important awards including the Oscars and the Golden Globe Awards. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the Best Actor category for his performance in the film. The movie became a huge hit and collected a total of $80,640,528 at the box-office.

In Leaving Las Vegas, he played the role of a miserable alcoholic. He received immense praise and was lauded for his acting skills. He received an Oscar for his performance in the film. The movie collected a total of $32,029,928 at the box-office.

He starred in the hit American-adventure film by Walt Disney, National Treasure, which released in 2004. The film became a huge box-office success, earning over $347.5 million around the world and spawning a sequel, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, in which he played the protagonist’s role.

In 1989, he won the Sitges Film Festival Award for Best Actor for the movie, Vampire’s Kiss.

In 1995, he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for Leaving Las Vegas.

He won the Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor for The Rock in 1997.

He earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1998.

In 2001, he was presented an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts by the California State University.

In 2009, he won the Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor for The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.

Nicolas Cage dated Christina Fulton in 1988, with whom he had a child, Weston Coppola Cage.

He married Patricia Arquette on April 8, 1995, and divorced her in 2001. It is said that he proposed her for marriage on the first day he met her, but she agreed for marriage years later.

He married the daughter of Elvis Presley, Lisa Marie Presley on August 10, 2002, and the couple filed for divorce the same year, which was finalized two years later.

He married a former waitress, Alice Kim on July 30, 2004. They had a son named Kal-El, who was born on October 3, 2005. The couple divorced in 2016.

In March 2019, he married a make-up artist Erika Koike in Las Vegas, but filed for annulment four days later.

Nicolas Cage married his Japanese girlfriend Riko Shibata on February 16, 2021. In January 2022, the couple announced that they are expecting their first child together. In September 2022, their daughter, August was born. 

He supports a number of charities and has been extremely generous when it comes to donations. He has donated around $2 million to Amnesty International and is considered one of the most generous stars of Hollywood.

It is said that at one point Cage owned over 15 real-estate properties and also owned a medieval castle in Germany, which he sold for a reported $2.5 million. He later purchased Midford Castle in England and is also the owner of a number of homes in Bahamas, Bel Air, Nevada, and Paradise Island.

He is the proud owner of 22 automobiles, including nine Rolls Royces.

He was the owner of a number of comics which he sold at an auction for a record breaking $2.16 million.

Nicolas Cage changed his last name from Coppola to Cage to avoid accusations of nepotism due to his relation to famous director Francis Ford Coppola.

He is known for his eclectic taste in roles and has portrayed a wide range of characters, from action heroes to quirky comedic leads.

Cage once outbid Leonardo DiCaprio for a dinosaur skull at an auction, showing his passion for unique and unusual collectibles.

He is a huge fan of comic books and even named himself after the Marvel character Luke Cage.

Cage once owned a pet octopus named "Octavia" and claimed it helped him with his acting skills.