Keanu Reeves – Biography of the Most Humble Actor in Hollywood

Keanu Reeves is an extraordinary actor for his noble talent and hard work. There a lot of things that happened in his life that may have put him down. However, he is still the most down to earth person the people know. Hold on! Let us discover his life story.

Keanu Reeves Featured Image
Keanu Reeves
Full Name Keanu Charles Reeves
Birthdate September 2, 1964
Birthplace Beirut, Lebanon
Nationality Canadian
Age 55
Father Samuel Nowlin Reeves Jr.
Mother Patricia Taylor Reeves
Partner(s) Jennifer Syme (1998 to 2000)
Career Profession Actor
Height 6’ 1” (1.86m)
Weight 79 kilograms (175lbs)
Notable Roles Point Break, John Wick, The Matrix
Estimated Net Worth $360 million

 

Keanu was born in Beirut, Lebanon on September 2, 1964. As of this year, he is turning 56 years old. His parents were Samuel Nowlin Reeves and Patricia Taylor. Keanu’s full name is Keanu Charles Reeves. His name was from his uncle, Henry Keanu. The name Keanu was derived from their great-great uncle Keaweaheulu, his name means “a cool breeze”. Well, does it sound like Keanu? His reserved and tough characteristic in films and kind personality in real life makes him like a soft breeze.

Keanu's Parents, Samuel Reeves and Patricia Taylor
Keanu’s Parents, Samuel Reeves and Patricia Taylor

Keanu is from a British descent through his mother while his father comes from a Native Hawaiian ancestry. He had a younger sibling, Kim Reeves. They both moved with her mother to New York when their parents got divorced.

Keanu and Kim Reeves have step-siblings from both of their parents. Karina Miller is their step-sister from their mother’s third marriage with Robert Miller. Meanwhile, their biological father (whom they did not reconnect) had a daughter named Emma Reeves.

Life Controversies of Keanu Reeves

Life beating Keanu (Sad Keanu meme)
Life beating Keanu (Sad Keanu meme)

As Keanu has been a popular actor, his colleagues see him as humble and kind. After all the things that have happened in his life, he has never changed. With the situation he went through, no one could have handled it as he did.

After his parents’ divorce in 1966, they were abandoned by his father. Keanu was three at that time. As his family moved around to find greener pasture, his father was arrested in Hilo International Airport for selling cocaine and heroin. It was a painful and woeful loss for Keanu as he described in coverage in Rolling Stone.

When Keanu was starting in the film industry, he became a cast in the My Own Private Idaho. He had a role with River Phoenix whom he got close with. Unfortunately, news broke in 1993 reporting River was found overdosed from a lethal concoction of Valium, Morphine, and Cocaine.

By the two tragic and controversial happenings in Keanu’s life, he became private. He was linked to a few of his co-stars. But, it was Jennifer Syme who changed it all. Keanu and Jennifer’s relationship was a spur of the moment. They were both madly in love that after a year in their relationship they were expecting a baby.

Unfortunately, it all became a blur in their relationship when Jennifer gave birth to their daughter stillborn. It became a rough path for their relationship which pushed it to end. After months of their grief, Keanu was left in shock when he received the news that his ex-girlfriend caught in an accident and was declared dead on the spot.

Also See: Nicole Scherzinger – Biography, Boyfriend, Life, Net Worth & More

Keanu and his siblings, Kim and Karina
Keanu and his siblings, Kim and Karina

The tragic events did not come to an end. After the death of his family, his sister Kim was diagnosed with leukemia. But with her self-belief and Keanu’s never-ending support, she overcame her battle with cancer. Keanu donated more than half of his earnings in The Matrix to hospitals that cater to Leukemia treatments.

After all these unfortunate situations that happened around Keanu’s life, he had his own death experience. He got into a motorcycle accident in Topanga Canyon where he got a ruptured spleen and broken ribs.

Keanu Reeves may have experienced all these terrible things in life. But, look at him now. He is still standing strong and giving more of what he can to those who are in need!

Keanu Reeve’s Career Life: Early to Current Status

Keanu Reeves at John Wick Trilogy
Keanu Reeves at John Wick Trilogy

At the age of nine, Keanu started and honed his acting career through theatre productions. He appeared in two theatre stage productions before he transferred to Los Angeles. The first screen act of Keanu was in a debut episode of the Hangin’ In. Meanwhile, the first studio movie production Reeves attended was in Youngblood in 1986.

Keanu had Erwin Stoff as a manager and agent for quite some time, they were together in a couple of films. He handled both leading and supporting roles. Many of his films were a success and garnered positive reviews. Here are some of the best-known movies of Keanu:

John Wick Trilogy

Not even one of his three John Wick movies did Keanu let down his audience. John Wick Trilogy is one of the best movies he is remembered. This movie is about an assassin who is impossible to stop. It is astonishing how Keanu handled himself in every fight segments in John Wick. The John Wick Trilogy has jump-started his low-lying career.

The Devil’s Advocate

If you did not know, John portrayed a supporting role in the movie The Devil’s Advocate, a lawsuit thriller movie. He was a lawyer of a suspicious wealthy man starred by Al Pacino. Before the set of this film started, he put back $2 million of his salary to have Al Pacino included in the cast. Well, we guess Keanu knew Al had the potential as they handled themselves on top of their roles.

Keanu Reeves at The Matrix Trilogy
Keanu Reeves at The Matrix Trilogy

The Matrix

It has been two decades since The Matrix aired, yet it is still remembered to be one of the most influential and groundbreaking films of all time. The film was already mind-boggling, but with Reeve’s performance, it has lived up untouched as the greatest action hero movie.

Aside from his successful films in the past, there are future projects we should expect from Keanu Reeves. Some news sources have confirmed a new franchise of John Wick and The Matrix.

Moreover, aside from films and voice acting, Keanu will portray a character in a new video game Cyberpunk 2077. We are quite excited about this game! He has finished voice recordings and motion capture for this role.

Current and Past Relationships of Keanu Reeves

Old Photo of Keanu and Jennifer Syme
Old Photo of Keanu and Jennifer Syme

Keanu is a private person. He may be one of the most charming leading men in Hollywood, yet he is hard to catch making him so intriguing. The relationship history of Keanu is full of rumors since he does not open up to the world. People tend to make up stories and overshare. However, it is his choice of needing privacy.

There are several confirmed past relationships of Keanu, some are his co-stars and other celebrities.

Jill Schoelen

Keanu and Jill started dating in 1986 after they knew each other on a set. After three years of their relationship, another co-actor caught the attention of Jill, which ended their relationship. You will be shocked after knowing who Schoelen dated! It was Brad Pitt. As a matter of fact, Schoelen became the first fiance of Brad.

Sophia Coppola

Keanu and Sophia dated for a year in 1991 to 1992. They met at the set of Dracula. Their relationship was confirmed through photo evidence. They were photographed together and frequently spotted riding in Keanu’s motorcycle.

Sandra Bullock

They dated for a brief moment when they were filming for their movie together. Their break up was not bitter, they remained great friends. When Sandra went through a divorce with Jesse James, Keanu was there for her. He helped her through the situation.

Jennifer Syme

After his relationship with Jennifer, everything in Keanu’s life became dull. It was a heartbreaking moment for Keanu. They were happily in love in 1998 and they had their daughter in 1999. However, in Jennifer’s 8-month pregnancy, she delivered the baby stillborn.

What happened put a test in their relationship and they broke up weeks later. Months after, Jennifer was driving in Cahuenga Boulevard in Los Angeles when she crashed at three parked cars, her car rolled a couple of times, and she was thrown out of the car. Unfortunately, she died at the scene.

Claire Forlani

Keanu and Claire had a two-year relationship from 2004 to 2006. However, there have been a lot of gossips surrounding them after they broke up. The first rumor was the reason for their breakup, it was said that they broke up after Keanu proposed to Claire. However, Keanu claimed that it never happened.

Moreover, the people speculated that they started dating again in 2008. However, they are in other relationships. Some news reports state that they have been seen a couple of dates in 2008. But, there is no confirmation from both parties.

Keanu and Alexandra Grant
Keanu Reeves with his girlfriend, Alexandra Grant

Alexandra Grant

10 years ago, Keanu and Alexandra met at a dinner party. Alexandra is a talented artist, and they have been working on several book projects. They first made their relationship public when they attended the LACMA Art and Film Gala holding hands. This is the first relationship that he made public after Symes.

But, the actual truth is they have been dating for a couple of years already. They have gone through business and personal events together. We hope this is Keanu’s forever love! Sorry ladies, but they deserve each other!

Keanu Reeves’s Net Worth

When Keanu was still new in the industry, his first debut garnered about $3,000. It could have been better. But, he made sure in the other movies that he will collect more than his first pay. Fortunately enough, he earned $30 million in his second major project.

Moreover, Reeves became one of the highest paying actors. He might have not publicly claimed his wealth, but his trilogy in the Matrix was around $256 million. How much more if you add on John Wick and his other movies?

Amidst the humility and kindness of Keanu, he is excessively private about his personal information. We have dug up some interesting facts about his finances. As of 2019, his growing net worth makes him one of the wealthiest actors. Keanu’s net worth is at $360 million.

People May Ask About Keanu Reeves

Does Keanu Reeves have kids?

Yes. However, her daughter was stillborn when his partner gave birth. His daughter was named Ava Archer and was delivered on December 24, 1999.

Where was Keanu raised?

Keanu was born in the place of Beirut in Lebanon. However, when his parents moved back to the United States. Their family raised him in Toronto, Canada.

How much are the coins in John Wick is worth?

In understanding the economy in the movie John Wick, the current price of gold is at $1,200 per ounce. But, the people who own a coin in John Wick must avoid melting them to maintain its worth.