Nicolas Cage facts: Actor's age, wife, children, movies and famous family explained

8 March 2024, 18:42

There's no actor quite like Nicolas Cage.

A self-professed student of cinema, Nicolas Cage has brought a sense of mystery and mania to each of his on-screen roles.

Starting off in kooky indie movies for much for the eighties, he transformed into a mainstream action hero for the following two decades, only recently returning to the types of odd-ball roles that launched his career and offered him a renewed critical recognition.

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Before his only Academy Award win for Leaving Las Vegas, Cage won acclaim for his roles in Moonstruck alongside Cher, Raising Arizona, and David Lynch's Wild At Heart, he became box office gold in action thrillers Con Air and Face/Off alongside John Travolta.

Cage has also produced and directed several films, also developing his own style of acting called 'nouveau shamanic'.

As much of a character off the screen as he is on the screen, there's never a dull moment in his life that's been littered with up-and-downs. Here's all you need to know:

How old is Nicolas Cage and where was he born?

Nicolas Kim Coppola was born on 7th January 1964 in Long Beach, California. In 2024 he celebrated his 60th birthday.

The youngest of three sons, Nicolas' father August Coppola was a professor of literature, and his mother Joy Vogelsang was a dancer and choreographer.

Who are Nicolas Cage's famous family members?

Through his father, Nicolas Cage is the nephew of legendary movie director Francis Ford Coppola, who directed The Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now, Bram Stoker's Dracula, and numerous other classic cinematic staples.

He is also the nephew of actress Talia Shire (who starred in The Godfather films and the Rocky franchise opposite Sylvester Stallone) and counts film directors Roman Coppola, Sofia Coppola, film producer Gian-Carlo Coppola, and actors Robert and Jason Schwartzman amongst his cousins.

How did Nicolas Cage get his break into acting?

Nicolas Cage said the reason he pursued acting was because he "wanted to be James Dean. I saw him in Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden. Nothing affected me - no rock song, no classical music - the way Dean affected me in 'Eden. It blew my mind. I was like, 'That's what I want to do'."

At the age of 15, by which time his uncle Francis Ford Coppola was a renowned director, he tried to convince him to screen test the eager youngster, with Nicolas proclaiming "I'll show you acting."

He was met by "silence in the car", given that Coppola had directed the likes of Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Gene Hackman by that point.

Cage - who changed his name to not be accused of nepotism in the industry - attended Beverley Hills High School and UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, a path usually taken for budding actors.

Over the next few years, he was cast in a few minor support roles which turned into lead roles, but it was his star turns in the Coen Brothers' Raising Arizona and Moonstruck in 1987 that saw him achieve mainstream recognition.

What are Nicolas Cage's biggest films?

MOONSTRUCK (1987) | Official Trailer | MGM

- Face/Off

- Moonstruck

- Con Air

- National Treasure (series)

- The Rock

- Gone In Sixty Seconds

- Raising Arizona

- Leaving Las Vegas

- City Of Angels

- Kick-Ass

Is Nicolas Cage married and does he have children?

Nicolas Cage has been married a total of five times. His first wife was actress Patricia Arquette who were married between 1995 and 2001.

His second wife was Elvis' daughter Lisa-Marie Presley, though they only married for a matter of months.

Cage's third wife was Alice Kim, who he was married to between 2005 and 2016, and his fourth wife Erika Koike he was only married to for four days.

He is currently married to Riko Shibata.

The actor has three children - his first son Weston Coppola Cage was born in 1990, and his mother is Cage's former girlfriend Christina Fulton.

He had two further children with Kim and Shibata, a son Kal-El in 2005 and a daughter August Francesca in 2022.

What is Nicolas Cage's net worth?

Nicolas Cage Breaks Down His Most Iconic Characters | GQ

Nicolas Cage's net worth is estimated at $25 million. It was reportedly nearer to $150 million at one point in his career, though he squandered in on a series of expensive and eccentric purchases, later owing the IRS over $6 million.

Is there anything else we should know about Nicolas Cage?

Nicolas Cage Interview on Wogan (1990)

Nicolas Cage was destined to become a cult icon after his unorthodox appearance on the Terry Wogan show in 1990, entering the stage with a backflip, karate kicking and throwing wads of cash into the crowd.

For his leading role in Alan Parker's 1984 war drama Birdy alongside Matthew Modine, Cage pulled out his actual two front teeth to appear more disfigured.

Cage - who named his son Kal-El after Superman's birth name - was nearly cast as Superman during the nineties when Tim Burton was set to direct, though the film never got off the ground.

Amongst his many ill-advised purchases throughout his life, Nicolas Cage spent $300,000 dollars on a dinosaur skull, and had two pet cobras at one stage. His poor finance management meant he chose a lot of direct-to-video film roles for the money offered.