Jean-Claude Van Damme

Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (French: [ʒɑ̃ klod kamij fʁɑ̃swa vɑ̃ vaʁɑ̃bɛʁɡ]; Dutch: [vɑn ˈvarə(n)ˈbɛrx]; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (French: [vɑ̃ dam]; Dutch: [vɑn ˈdɑmə]), is a Belgian martial artist, actor, and filmmaker. Nicknamed "The Muscles from Brussels", he is widely regarded as an icon of action and martial arts cinema.^[1][2] Van Damme's films have grossed over $1 billion worldwide, making him one of the most successful action stars of all time.^[3]

Born and raised in Brussels, his father enrolled him in a Shotokan karate school at the age of ten, which led Van Damme to earn his black belt in karate at the age of eighteen, and the rank of 2nd-dan black belt.^[4][5][6] He competed in several karate and kickboxing competitions, and was a member of the Belgium Karate Team when it won the European Karate Championship on 26 December 1979.^[7][8][9] At the age of 16, he took up ballet, which he studied for five years.^[10] He started lifting weights to improve his physique, which eventually led to a Mr. Belgium bodybuilding title in 1978.^[11] In 1979, he opened a gym called "California Gym" in Brussels.^[12] Among his acting heroes growing up were Charles Bronson, Bruce Lee, James Dean, Montgomery Clift, Steve McQueen, Jean-Paul Belmondo, and Sylvester Stallone.^[13][14]

With the desire of becoming an actor, he moved to the United States in 1982, where he did a variety of jobs and worked on several films, until he got his break as the lead in the martial arts film Bloodsport (1988). The film introduced his trademark splits and spinning 360˚ heel kick to an American audience.^[15] Van Damme became a popular action film star and followed up with commercially successful films such as Cyborg (1989), Kickboxer (1989), Lionheart (1990), Death Warrant (1990), Double Impact (1991), Universal Soldier (1992), Nowhere to Run (1993), Hard Target (1993), Timecop (1994), Street Fighter (1994), Sudden Death (1995), The Quest (1996), which marked his directorial debut, and Maximum Risk (1996). At the height of his career, he was one of the biggest action movie stars in the world, and one of the most successful martial arts actors of the 1980s and 1990s, alongside Steven Seagal.^[16][17]Van Damme was also considered a sex symbol.^[18][19]

During the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, his popularity declined. He mostly appeared in limited theatrical releases or direct-to-video films. During this time, he starred in Replicant (2001), for which he was nominated for a Video Premiere Award for Best Actor. The film is considered the best outing from within Van Damme’s direct-to-video career.^[20] He returned to prominence with the critically acclaimed crime drama JCVD (2008). After JCVD, he began mixing things up, starring in comedies, and voicing kids animations, all the while keeping the action going.^[21] His big return to the action genre was in The Expendables 2 (2012), in which he starred as the villain, opposite Sylvester Stallone.^[22] From thereon Van Damme continued starring in action films and doing extensive voice work. He also starred in the action comedy-drama streaming television series Jean-Claude Van Johnson (2016–2017).

He was married to Maria Rodriguez from 1980 until they divorced in 1984. Then he was married to Cynthia Derderian from 1985 until they divorced in 1986. Then he was married to Darcy LaPier from 1994 until they divorced in 1997. Then he was married to Gladys Portugues from 1987 until they divorced in 1992; they remarried in 1999. He has three children. In 2022, he was living in Hong Kong.^[23] Van Damme has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.^[24]