Alfred James Pacino was born on April 25, 1940. Pacino is best known for his role as Michael Corleone in “The Godfather”.

Pacino was born in the Bronx, New York to Salvatore and Rose Pacino. Salvatore was eighteen years old when Al was born; he divorced Rose two years later and moved to California. Rose, also very young, raised Al with the help of her parents.

Al attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts in New York, and even though he was involved with many theatrical productions there he dropped out at the age of 17. He did, however, chose to make a career out of acting.

By 1966 he was accepted into the Actors Studio and studied under acting coach Lee Strasberg. He began getting supporting roles in plays and won an Obie Award for his role in “The Indian Wants The Bronx”. He then won a Tony Award for “Does the Tiger Wear a Necktie?”

It was not until he began working in film that he career really picked up. In 1972 he played the role of Michael Corleone in “The Godfather” and sealed his name as one of the greatest actors of his time. He followed his success with “Serpico” and “Dog Day Afternoon”. He wasn’t afraid to accept hard gritty roles and his characters were often surly with a capacity for violence.

After a few hits and a few misses, Al returned as Michael Corleone in the 1990 production of “The Godfather III”. That same year he took on his first comedic role in the movie “Dick Tracy” which was a tremendous success. After many nominations he won an Academy Award for Best Actor in the 1992 movie “Scent of a Woman”.

As for Pacino’s private life, he prefers to keep that private. He has remained a bachelor, although at age 49 he became a father to Julie Marie with his companion Jan Tarrant, and at age 61 became the father of twins with companion Beverly D’Angelo. He was also known to be involved with Diane Keaton, Jill Clayburgh, Kathleen Quinlan, and Penelope Ann Miller.

His continued success has truly established him as an acting legend.