Dennis Quaid

Early life and education

Dennis William Quaid was born in Houston, Texas, to Juanita Bonnie Dale "Nita", a real-estate agent, and William Rudy Quaid, an electrician. His ancestry includes English, Irish, Scots-Irish, and Cajun (French) roots, and through his father he is a first cousin twice removed of cowboy performer Gene Autry. He attended Paul W. Horn Elementary School, Pershing Middle School, and Bellaire High School, where he studied Mandarin Chinese and dance. Quaid later studied at the University of Houston under drama coach Cecil Pickett. He was raised in the Baptist faith and is the younger brother of actor Randy Quaid.

Career

Quaid left the University of Houston before graduating and moved to Hollywood. His film debut was an uncredited role in the action comedy Crazy Mama (1975). He appeared in I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977) and September 30, 1955 (1977), and gained notice after Breaking Away (1979) and The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (1981). During this period he acted in Our Winning Season (1978), The Seniors (1978), All Night Long (1981), Caveman (1981), and as an extra in Stripes (1981).

He portrayed outlaw Ed Miller in The Long Riders (1980). His breakout role was astronaut Gordon Cooper in The Right Stuff (1983), which earned an Academy Award for Best Picture nomination. That year he also starred in Jaws 3-D and Tough Enough. He later acted in Dreamscape (1984), Enemy Mine (1985), and Innerspace (1987).

In 1987 he starred in The Big Easy opposite Ellen Barkin, receiving an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Male Lead. He portrayed Jerry Lee Lewis in Great Balls of Fire! (1989) and appeared in Bonnie Raitt's music video for "Thing Called Love."

Personal life

Quaid has been married four times and has three children. He married actress P. J. Soles in 1978; they divorced in 1983. On February 14, 1991, he married actress Meg Ryan; they have a son, Jack Quaid (born 1992). They announced their separation on June 28, 2000, and divorced in July 2001.

He dated model Shanna Moakler from February to October 2001. On July 4, 2004, he married Texas real estate agent Kimberly Buffington; they have fraternal twins born via surrogate on November 8, 2007. In November 2007, hospital staff mistakenly gave the twins a heparin dosage 1,000 times the common infant dose; the babies recovered. Quaid filed a lawsuit against the drug manufacturer Baxter Healthcare and testified before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

The incident led him to become a patient-safety advocate, producing documentaries on preventable medical errors that aired on the Discovery Channel and co-authoring a medical-journal article.

Awards and nominations

For Far from Heaven (2002), Quaid won the New York Film Critics Circle Award, Chicago Film Critics Association Award, Online Film Critics Society Award, and Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actor. He received Golden Globe, Phoenix Film Critics Society, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor. In April 2012, he received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Houston.