Biography for
Giovanni Ribisi

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Date of Birth

17 December 1974, Los Angeles, California, USA

Birth Name

Antonino Giovanni Ribisi

Nickname

Vanni
Vonni

Height

5' 7½" (1.71 m)

Spouse

Mariah O'Brien

(18 March 1997 - 3 November 2001) (divorced) 1 child

Trivia

Daughter Lucia (born December 1997) is named after the doomed heroine in the Donizetti opera.

Family: Son of Gay Ribisi ; brother of Gina Ribisi twin brother (15 minutes older) of Marissa Ribisi; brother-in-law of Beck.

Daughter Lucia born. [December 1997]

Studied acting at The Beverly Hills Playhouse with Milton Katselas.

Once competed on family game show "I'm Telling" with sister Marissa Ribisi.

Won the ShoWest Newcomer of the Year Award in 1999.

Made the cover of "Vanity Fair" after receiving critical kudos for "Saving Private Ryan."

Best known on TV in the recurring role of Lisa Kudrow's dimbulb brother on "Friends."

Perennially boyish American character actor known for his dark, somber demeanor, stark versatility and bizarre, off-the-wall performances in cutting edge contemporary films.

Clashed with filmmakers on the Basic set because of the inclusion of a female Special Forces operative. Women are not eligible for combat in the US military. He felt it compromised the integrity of the story.

He is 15 minutes older than twin sister Marissa.

Is, to the day, 1 year older than Milla Jovovich and 2 years younger than Laurie Holden.

When he was a child, his family had a pet dachshund named Low-Rider.

Was approached to play Lynch McGraw in "Hero Wanted" but turned it down.

Was born at 8:15pm.

Personal Quotes

For me, acting is all about the aesthetic. I just want to keep honing my craft. Not that I'm taking myself too seriously, but every artist should consider himself Picasso. Otherwise, you're doing yourself an injustice.

My mother told me I was begging her to be an actor when I was four. My father and my grandfather saw at least one or two movies a week; they were film buffs, so I guess it just rubbed off on me. And now it's kind of become a way of life for me. I could almost say it is my religion. I guess that sounds pretentious. But I want to live and breathe cinema. - Reel Interview, 2000

(On being recognized for his Friends episodes) I did Friends usually always while I was doing another movie. I would literally have to get off the set and rush to Warner Bros. and look at the script and have to do it right there in front of an audience. It's like a blip in my memory where I was stressed out, trying to remember lines. So people come up and say, 'The guy who melts stuff!' and I don't even remember it. Like, what are you talking about?

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