George Clooney's Real Name: George Timothy Clooney

Quick answer: George Clooney's full name is George Timothy Clooney. He was born on May 6, 1961, in Lexington, Kentucky, and acts under his birth name (Britannica).

A show-business family

Clooney's father, Nick Clooney, was a TV news anchor and talk-show host in Cincinnati, and his aunt was the singer Rosemary Clooney. His cousin is actor Miguel Ferrer. George grew up in Kentucky and Ohio, attended Northern Kentucky University and the University of Cincinnati without graduating, and moved to Los Angeles in 1982.

TV years and ER

Clooney worked steadily in TV for more than a decade, with roles on The Facts of Life and Roseanne, before landing Dr. Doug Ross on NBC's ER in 1994. He earned Emmy nominations for the role and left the show in 1999 (Britannica).

Film career and Oscars

• From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), Out of Sight (1998) and Three Kings (1999).
• O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000): won a Golden Globe.
• Ocean's Eleven (2001) and sequels.
• Good Night, and Good Luck (2005): he directed, co-wrote and co-starred.
• Syriana (2005): won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
• Michael Clayton (2007) and The Descendants (2011): Best Actor nominations.
• Argo (2012): won Best Picture as a producer with Ben Affleck and Grant Heslov (Oscars.org).

He has also directed films including The Monuments Men and The Boys in the Boat, and he made his Broadway debut in Good Night, and Good Luck in 2025.

Personal life and advocacy

Clooney was married to actress Talia Balsam from 1989 to 1993. In 2014 he married human-rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin, now Amal Clooney, in Venice. They have twins, Ella and Alexander, born in 2017. Together they run the Clooney Foundation for Justice. Clooney also sold the tequila brand Casamigos, which he co-founded, to Diageo in 2017.