George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, who gained fame as one of the lead doctors in the long-running television drama, ER (1994-99), as Anthony Edwards's character's best friend and partner, Dr. Douglas "Doug" Ross, but is best known for his subsequent rise as an "A-List" movie star in contemporary American cinema. Winner of an Academy Award and two Golden Globes, Clooney has balanced his glamorous performances in big-budget blockbusters with work as a producer and director behind commercially riskier projects, as well as social and political activism. On January 18, 2008, the United Nations announced Clooney's appointment as a United Nations peace envoy. He is known for his close association with most of the A-list elite including Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Casey Affleck, the Coen Brothers, and Steven Soderbergh.

Born in Lexington, Kentucky, as son of Nick Clooney, a TV newscaster of many years, who hosted a talk show at Cincinnati and often invited George into the studios already at the age of 5. Avoiding competition with his father, he quit his job as broadcast journalist after a short time. Studied a few years at Northern Kentucky University. Failed to join the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. He came to acting when his cousin, Miguel Ferrer, got him a small part in a feature film. After that, he moved to L.A. in 1982 and tried a whole year to get a role while he slept in a friend's closet. His first movie, together with Charlie Sheen (I), stayed unreleased but got him the producers' attention for later contracts.