Jack Nicholson's Real Name: John Joseph Nicholson

Quick answer: Jack Nicholson's real name is John Joseph Nicholson. He was born on April 22, 1937, in Neptune, New Jersey.

Real name and early life

Britannica gives his original name as John Joseph Nicholson, born April 22, 1937, in Neptune, New Jersey. The Library of Congress name authority records Nicholson, Jack. He grew up believing his grandmother was his mother and that his mother was his older sister—a family secret he learned only after fame. After high school he moved to California, worked in MGM's animation department, acted with the Players Ring Theater, and began landing small TV and film roles.

B-movie work for Roger Corman, including The Cry Baby Killer (1958), filled much of the next decade before his breakthrough.

Quick facts

• Real name: John Joseph Nicholson
• Known as: Jack Nicholson
• Born: April 22, 1937, in Neptune, New Jersey
• Known for: Actor
• Notable work: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Chinatown, The Shining, As Good as It Gets
• Sources checked: Britannica, Library of Congress Name Authority

Career highlights

Easy Rider (1969) brought an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor. Five Easy Pieces (1970) secured leading-man status. Landmark 1970s work includes Chinatown (1974) and his first Oscar win for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980) produced one of cinema's most quoted images.

He won best supporting actor for Terms of Endearment (1983) and a second best-actor Oscar for As Good as It Gets (1997). Other major credits include Batman (1989) as the Joker, A Few Good Men (1992), About Schmidt (2002), and The Departed (2006). Britannica notes a record number of Oscar nominations for a male actor across his career. The American Film Institute gave him its Life Achievement Award in 1994.

Name notes

Jack is the familiar form of John; John Joseph Nicholson is the original name Britannica records. He has long been billed as Jack Nicholson. Fan sites often copy names from one another, so we checked this page against Britannica and the Library of Congress.