Beau Bridges has played one of the most popular roles in American television history. He was born Beauford Norman Bridges III in Beaufort, South Carolina, on February 1, 1940. He is the son of Beauford Bridges Jr., a high school principal, and Marylyn Hill. Both his parents were Southern Baptist ministers
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He attended college at the University of South Carolina, where he was Book Review Editor of The Daily Gamecock, White's Sailing Magazine, and the South Carolina Alumni Magazine.
After graduating from college in 1958, Bridges joined the United States Army. He served as an Army Ranger for six years, including a tour of duty with the First Special Service Force during which he saw action in Vietnam. After being honorably discharged in 1966, he moved to Southern California to pursue an acting career.
He landed his first major role in 1969 on the television series "The High Chaparral". In 1973 he played the role of "Boone Carlyle" on "The Waltons", a show about a family living in Depression-era Virginia.
As an actor, Bridges has appeared in movies such as "Airport '77", "" (for which he earned his only Academy Award nomination), "The Fabulous Baker Boys" (for which he earned another Oscar nomination), "Witness", "Six Days Seven Nights", "The Outsiders", "The Fisher King", "City Slickers", "Gattaca", "" (for which he earned yet another Oscar nomination), and more recently "A Simple Plan" and "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" (both for which he earned three more Oscar nominations).
He has also starred on several television shows throughout his career, including "Wiseguy","Murder She Wrote", "" (for which he earned his third Emmy nomination), "" (for which he earned another Emmy nomination), and more recently on the CBS series "NCIS" as NCIS Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs' father-in-law Robert Linton.
Bridges lives with his wife Susan Davidoff (married April 22nd 2008) and their two children; daughter Kaitlyn (born January 15th 1999) and son Beau (born December 8th 2001). His daughter's middle name is inspired by the character of Lavinia Sanderson who gave him inspiration for his role on The Waltons.
His son's middle name is after Beaufort County where Bridges was born.
