Al Pacino

One of the greatest actors of all time, Pacino achieved the Triple Crown of Acting and has starred in iconic films from The Godfather to Scent of a Woman.

He is an American actor known for intense performances on stage and screen.^[1] On April 25, 1940, Alfredo James Pacino was born in Manhattan's East Harlem neighborhood.^[2][3] The total worldwide box office for movies featuring Pacino exceeds $3 billion.^[4]

Last updated 2026-10-01 from the source article.

Quick Facts

Birth name

Alfredo James Pacino

Born

25 April 1940

Birthplace

New York City, U.S.

Education

Actors Studio, HB Studio

Occupation

Actor

Years active

1967–present

Partner

Lyndall Hobbs (1989–1996)
Beverly D'Angelo (1997–2003)
Lucila Polak (2008–2018)

Children

4, including Julie

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Pacino's parents divorced when he was two, and he was raised by his mother and maternal grandparents in the South Bronx.^[2] His junior high school teacher Blanche Rothstein saw his acting potential and cast him in school plays.^[5] He made his Broadway debut in 1969 in Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? and won a Tony Award for it.^[6][3] He received the Sam Wanamaker Award in 2026 for his contribution to theatre and film.^[7]

After auditioning, he was admitted to the High School of Performing Arts.^[8] Pacino's training included time at HB Studio, where Charlie Laughton mentored him, and later at the Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg.^[1][9][10] In 1977, Pacino earned his second Tony Award for his performance in The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel.^[11][3] Pacino is one of the few performers to have won an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and an Emmy Award, a feat known as the Triple Crown of Acting.^[1]

Penguin Press released Pacino's autobiography, Sonny Boy, in 2024.^[12][13]

What the cited sources add

The same source notes his celebrated roles as Shylock, Mark Antony, and Richard III, and his upcoming role as King Lear.^[7] That article also states he received a National Endowment for the Arts Choreographer Fellowship in 1981 and 1983 and a Guggenheim fellowship in 1984.^[3] In a Guardian interview, Pacino said the lowest point of his life was losing his mother and grandfather within a year of each other when he was 22.^[14] The same interview quotes him saying, "I was 22 and the two most influential people in my life had gone, so that sent me into a tailspin".^[14]

References

Wikipedia, "Al Pacino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Ready for My deMille: Profiles in Excellence – Al Pacino, 2001", Golden Globe Awards, June 2020; "Pacino 'overwhelmed' by AFI honor", The Hollywood Reporter, June 11, 2007; "Al Pacino honoured at White House", BBC News, February 14, 2012; "Kennedy Center Honors: Al Pacino, The Eagles, James Taylor Among Those Feted", The Hollywood Reporter, December 4, 2016; "Al Pacino Wins 2026 Sam Wanamaker Award", Playbill (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Al Pacino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Grobel, "Al Pacino: The Authorized Biography", Simon & Schuster, 2006; Yule, "Al Pacino : Life on the Wire", Time Warner Books, 1992; "Al Pacino Biography", The Biography Channel; Yule, "Al Pacino : Life on the Wire", Time Warner Books, 1992; ; Yule, "Al Pacino : Life on the Wire", Time Warner Books, 1992; "Al Pacino Biography", The Biography Channel; Cohen, "Al Pacino: 'It's never been about money. I was often unemployed'", The Guardian, April 25, 2015 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
"This Month in Theatre History", American Theatre, April 7, 2025. facts only, no text reused. americantheatre.org
Wikipedia, "Al Pacino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Al Pacino", The Numbers, July 2026 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Al Pacino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mankiewicz, "Al Pacino on becoming Al Pacino", CBS News, October 17, 2024 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Al Pacino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Yule, "Al Pacino : Life on the Wire", Time Warner Books, 1992; "Al Pacino Biography", The Biography Channel; "Al Pacino Biography", The Biography Channel; "Al Pacino to Headline Lyle Kessler's Orphans on Broadway", Broadway Official Website, August 12, 2005 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
"Al Pacino Wins 2026 Sam Wanamaker Award", Playbill. facts only, no text reused. playbill.com
Wikipedia, "Al Pacino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Okun, Stacey. "Fire Destroys Former Performing Arts High School"; . The New York Times (February 14, 1988). (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Al Pacino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pogrebin, "Pacino, Burstyn and Keitel To Lead the Actors Studio", The New York Times, June 20, 2000; Grobel, "Al Pacino: The Authorized Biography", Simon & Schuster, 2006; Grobel, "Al Pacino: The Authorized Biography", Simon & Schuster, 2006 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Al Pacino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Grobel, "Al Pacino: The Authorized Biography", Simon & Schuster, 2006; "Al Pacino Biography", The Biography Channel; (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Al Pacino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "This Month in Theatre History", American Theatre, April 7, 2025 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Al Pacino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Sonny Boy", Penguin Press, October 15, 2024; "The Actors Studio Leadership", Actors Studio, March 12, 2026 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
"Sonny Boy", Penguin Press, October 15, 2024. facts only, no text reused. penguin.co.uk
Cohen, "Al Pacino: 'It's never been about money. I was often unemployed'", The Guardian, April 25, 2015. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Al Pacino (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.