Jean-Claude Van Damme

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Biography: Van Damme was born Jean-Claude Camille François van Varenberg in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Brussels, Belgium, to Eliana and Eugène van Varenberg, an accountant. “The Muscles from Brussels” started martial arts at the age of eleven. His father introduced him to martial arts when he saw his son was physically weak. At the age of 12, van Damme began his martial arts training at Centre National De Karate (National Center of Karate) under the guidance of Master Claude Goetz in Ixelles, Belgium. Van Damme trained for 4 years and earned a spot on the Belgium Karate Team. He won the European professional karate association's middleweight championship as a teenager, and also beat the 2nd best karate fighter in the world. His goal was to be number one but got sidetracked when he left his hometown of Brussels. In 1976 at the age of sixteen, Jean-Claude started his Martial Arts fight career. Jean-Claude retired from martial arts in 1982, following a knockout over Nedjad Gharbi in Brussels, Belgium. Jean-Claude posted a 18-1 (18 knockouts) kickboxing record, and a semi-contact record of 41-4. He came to Hong Kong at the age of 19 for the first time and felt insured to do action movies in Hong Kong. In 1981, van Damme moved to Los Angeles. He took English classes while working as carpet layer, pizza delivery man, limo driver, and thanks to Chuck Norris he got a job as a bouncer at a club. Norris gave van Damme a small role in the movie Missing in Action (1984), but it wasn't good enough to get anybody's attention. In 1984, he got his first significant role as a villain named Ivan in the low-budget movie, No Retreat, No Surrender (1986). Then one day, while walking on the streets, Jean-Claude spotted a producer for Cannon Pictures and showed some of his martial arts abilities which led to a role in Bloodsport (1988). The movie, filmed in Hong Kong, was so bad when it was completed, it was shelved for almost two years. It might have never been released if van Damme did not help them to re-cut the film and begged producers to release it. They finally released the film, first in Malaysia and France and then into the US shot on a meager 1.5 million dollar budget, it became a US box-office hit in the spring of 1988. It made about 30 million worldwide and audiences supported this film for its new sensational action star, Jean-Claude van Damme. His good looks led to starring roles in higher budgeted movies like Cyborg (1989), AWOL: Absent Without Leave (1990), Double Impact (1991) and Universal Soldier (1992). In 1994, he scored with his big breakthrough $100 million worldwide hit Timecop (1994). But in the meantime, his personal life was coming apart. A divorce, followed by a new marriage, followed by another divorce. It began to show up in his career when his projects began to tank at the box office: The Quest (1996), which he directed; Maximum Risk (1996) and Double Team (1997). The three films made less than $50 million combined. In 1999, he remarried his ex-wife, Gladys Portugues, and restarted his lost career to attain new goals. With help from his family, he faced his problems and made movies like Replicant (2001), Derailed (2002), and In Hell (2003).

Place of Birth: Not available

Birthday: October 18, 1960

Deathday: N/A

Popularity:

70.58

Known For

Cyborg
Cyborg

1989-04-07

Kickboxer
Kickboxer

1989-04-20

Replicant
Replicant

2001-05-11

Legionnaire
Legionnaire

1998-12-03

Universal Soldier: The Return
Universal Soldier: The Return

1999-08-05

Hard Target
Hard Target

1993-04-27

Nowhere to Run
Nowhere to Run

1993-01-15

Inferno
Inferno

1999-09-25

Maximum Risk
Maximum Risk

1996-09-13

Until Death
Until Death

2007-01-19

Bloodsport
Bloodsport

1988-02-26

Street Fighter
Street Fighter

1994-12-23

The Shepherd: Border Patrol
The Shepherd: Border Patrol

2008-03-04

Timecop
Timecop

1994-09-15

Sudden Death
Sudden Death

1995-10-27

The Quest
The Quest

1996-04-19

Double Impact
Double Impact

1991-07-31

Universal Soldier
Universal Soldier

1992-07-10

Lionheart
Lionheart

1990-06-07

Double Team
Double Team

1997-04-04

No Retreat, No Surrender
No Retreat, No Surrender

1986-05-02

The Hard Corps
The Hard Corps

2005-07-29

JCVD
JCVD

2008-06-04

Universal Soldier: Regeneration
Universal Soldier: Regeneration

2009-10-01

Jean-Claude van Damme: Karate King
Jean-Claude van Damme: Karate King

2023-03-17

Wake of Death
Wake of Death

2004-12-28

Haters
Haters

2021-12-03

The Order
The Order

2001-05-05

Knock Off
Knock Off

1998-09-04

Dolph: Fights Worth Fighting
Dolph: Fights Worth Fighting

Death Warrant
Death Warrant

1990-09-14

Derailed
Derailed

2002-05-19

Black Eagle
Black Eagle

1988-05-01

Kung Fu Panda 2
Kung Fu Panda 2

2011-05-25

Second in Command
Second in Command

2006-05-02

In Hell
In Hell

2003-11-24

Assassination Games
Assassination Games

2011-07-28

Full Love
Full Love

2010-05-13

Corporal vs. Napoleon
Corporal vs. Napoleon

2012-01-25

The Expendables 2
The Expendables 2

2012-08-08

Monaco Forever
Monaco Forever

1984-01-01

What's My Name?
What's My Name?

Dragon Eyes
Dragon Eyes

2012-05-10

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning
Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning

2012-10-04

6 Bullets
6 Bullets

2012-09-11

U.F.O.
U.F.O.

2012-12-15

Welcome to the Jungle
Welcome to the Jungle

2013-04-27

Enemies Closer
Enemies Closer

2013-12-04

Swelter
Swelter

2014-04-20

Kill 'em All 2
Kill 'em All 2

2024-09-24

Top Fighter
Top Fighter

1995-06-15

Dans la peau de Jean-Claude Van Damme
Dans la peau de Jean-Claude Van Damme

2003-05-07

Kickboxer: Vengeance
Kickboxer: Vengeance

2016-07-14

Pound of Flesh
Pound of Flesh

2015-05-07

Silent Kill
Silent Kill

Darkness of Man
Darkness of Man

2024-05-07

The Gardener
The Gardener

2025-01-30

The Best of the Martial Arts Films
The Best of the Martial Arts Films

1990-01-01

Days of Reckoning: The Making of Universal Soldier 4
Days of Reckoning: The Making of Universal Soldier 4

2013-01-22

Kung Fu Panda 3
Kung Fu Panda 3

2016-01-23

Breakin'
Breakin'

1984-05-04

Narco
Narco

2004-12-01

Albert Pyun: King of Cult Movies
Albert Pyun: King of Cult Movies

2023-11-26

Beur sur la ville
Beur sur la ville

2011-10-11

Heist School
Heist School

2006-10-20

Kickboxer: Retaliation
Kickboxer: Retaliation

2018-01-26

Woman Between Wolf and Dog
Woman Between Wolf and Dog

1979-06-04

Street of the Damned
Street of the Damned

1984-01-04

Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films

2014-10-06

Kill 'em All
Kill 'em All

2017-06-06

Black Water
Black Water

2018-05-18

The Go-Go Boys: The Inside Story of Cannon Films
The Go-Go Boys: The Inside Story of Cannon Films

2014-10-22

Jian Bing Man
Jian Bing Man

2015-07-17

The Bouncer
The Bouncer

2018-08-22

We Die Young
We Die Young

2019-05-09

Last Action Hero
Last Action Hero

1993-06-18

The Making of Double Impact, Parts 1 & 2
The Making of Double Impact, Parts 1 & 2

2019-05-28

Minions: The Rise of Gru
Minions: The Rise of Gru

2022-06-29

Universal Soldier: A Tale of Two Titans
Universal Soldier: A Tale of Two Titans

2004-10-19

Guns, Genes & Fighting Machines: The Making of 'Universal Soldier'
Guns, Genes & Fighting Machines: The Making of 'Universal Soldier'

2004-10-19

In Search of the Last Action Heroes
In Search of the Last Action Heroes

2019-09-01

The Last Mercenary
The Last Mercenary

2021-07-30

Monsieur Jean-Claude
Monsieur Jean-Claude

2021-07-15

Missing in Action
Missing in Action

1984-11-16

All the Love You Cannes!
All the Love You Cannes!

2002-05-16

Spaten
Spaten

2024-06-05