ACTOR · BORN 1952
John Goodman
- Born
- 20 June 1952, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
- Known for
- Monsters, Inc. (2001), Cars (2006), The Big Lebowski (1998), Monsters University (2013)
44 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
8 Facts About John Goodman's Life and Family
- #017
Shortly after college, he moved to New York and lived in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. While trying to break into acting, he worked as a waiter and a bouncer.
- #020
Among John Goodman's drama classmates at Missouri State University were Kathleen Turner and Tess Harper.
- #021
He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, MO, in 1975.
- #026
John Goodman attended and graduated from Affton High School in Affton, MO, where he played football and took part in theater as an amateur.
- #027
He was born to postal worker Leslie Goodman Sr (who died in 1955) and his wife Virginia, a store clerk and waitress. He has a sister named Elisabeth (born after their father's death) and a brother named Leslie Jr (14 years older than John).
- #030
John Goodman was raised as a Southern Baptist, and his grandmother used to take him to tent revivals.
- #034
He was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon national fraternity (Missouri Eta chapter, Southwest Missouri State University).
- #039
John Goodman is of English, German and Gal origin.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- IMDb IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work