Dennis Quaid's Real Name: Dennis William Quaid

Quick answer: Dennis Quaid's full name is Dennis William Quaid. He was born on April 9, 1954, in Houston, Texas, and acts under his real name. His older brother is actor Randy Quaid, and his son with Meg Ryan is actor Jack Quaid. His films include Breaking Away (1979), The Right Stuff (1983), The Parent Trap (1998), The Rookie (2002), Reagan (2024), and The Substance (2024) (Library of Congress; Britannica).

Real name and early life

The Library of Congress name authority files him as "Quaid, Dennis," with the variant "Quaid, Dennis William, 1954-." It cites "Dennis Quaid, actor; birth name, Dennis William Quaid" and "b. April 9, 1954, Houston, Tex." Britannica gives the same birth date and city.

Britannica says his parents were Juanita ("Nita") Quaid (née Jordan), a real estate agent, and William ("Buddy") Quaid, an electrician. The family lived in Bellaire, a Houston suburb. He played baseball and learned guitar at 12, and music helped him through his parents' divorce. He has described his father as a frustrated actor who sparked his interest in acting. After high school in 1973 he studied drama at the University of Houston, then left for Los Angeles.

Career highlights

After an uncredited debut in Crazy Mama (1975), Quaid broke through as Mike, the angriest of the working-class townies in Breaking Away (1979). He became one of the biggest stars of the 1980s. He played astronaut Gordon Cooper in The Right Stuff and starred in The Big Easy (1986), Innerspace (1987) with Meg Ryan, and D.O.A. (1988). He also played Jerry Lee Lewis in Great Balls of Fire! (1989).

Quaid has said he used cocaine almost daily in the 1980s. He entered rehab in 1990 and married Ryan in 1991. Their son, Jack, was born in 1992. Quaid's career stalled for a time, and the couple divorced in 2001. He rebuilt with Wyatt Earp (1994), in which he played Doc Holliday, The Parent Trap, Any Given Sunday (1999), Frequency (2000), and Traffic (2000). In 2002 he starred in The Rookie and won acclaim for Todd Haynes's Far from Heaven.

Later roles include the series Vegas (2012–13), Admiral Halsey in Midway (2019), and coach Dick Vermeil in American Underdog (2021). In 2024 he played Ronald Reagan in Reagan and appeared with Demi Moore in The Substance. He leads the band Dennis Quaid and the Sharks and released the gospel album Fallen in 2023. His marriages were to P.J. Soles, Meg Ryan, and Kimberly Buffington, and in 2020 he married Laura Savoie.

Name notes for searchers

William, his middle name, is also his father's name. Quaid is his family surname, which he shares with Randy and Jack Quaid. Searchers looking for Jack Quaid's full name will find it on our Jack Quaid page.