Overview (3)
| Born | in Houston, Texas, USA |
| Birth Name | Dennis William Quaid |
| Height | 5' 11¾" (1.82 m) |
Mini Bio (1)
Dennis William Quaid was born on April 9, 1954 in Houston, Texas to Juanita Bonniedale "Nita" Quaid (née Jordan), a real estate agent & William Rudy Quaid, an electrician. He grew up in the Houston suburban city of Bellaire. He was raised a Baptist, and studied drama, Mandarin Chinese, and dance while a student at Bellaire High School. He continued study at the University of Houston, but dropped out before completing his degree. He moved to Los Angeles to pursue a film career where his brother, Randy Quaid, had already began to build a successful career. However, Dennis initially had trouble finding film roles, but began to gain notice when he appeared in Breaking Away (1979) and earned strong reviews for his role in The Right Stuff (1983). Aside from acting, Quaid is also a musician, and plays with his band, "The Sharks". He holds a flying license and is a five handicap golfer.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Matt Dicker-update by Brian Daly
Family (4)
| Spouse |
Laura Savoie
(2 June 2020 -
present) Kimberly Buffington (4 July 2004 - 27 April 2018) (divorced) (2 children) Meg Ryan (14 February 1991 - 16 July 2001) (divorced) (1 child) P.J. Soles (23 November 1978 - 23 August 1983) (divorced) |
| Children |
Jack Quaid Quaid, Thomas Boone Quaid, Zoe Grace |
| Parents |
Jordan, Juanita Bonniedale
Buddy Quaid |
| Relatives |
Bo Brinkman (cousin)
Randy Quaid (sibling) Amanda Quaid (niece or nephew) Buddy Quaid (half sibling) Quaid, Brandy (half sibling) |
Trivia (40)
Younger brother of Randy Quaid.
Uncle of Amanda Quaid.
Is also a musician and occasionally performs with his band, "Dennis Quaid and the Sharks".
Wrote songs for three of his films: The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (1981), Tough Enough (1983) and The Big Easy (1986).
His favorite director of all time is David Lean.
Lived with and was engaged to Lea Thompson for three years. The couple met on the set of Jaws 3-D (1983).
When singing with his band, Dennis Quaid and the Sharks, he always plays with bare feet in order to feel comfortable as if playing in his living room.
Separated from wife Meg Ryan on June 28, 2000 and finalized divorced papers [that said Meg Ryan was able to keep all her jewelry and have joint custody of son Jack Quaid and the family car, a Jeep Cherokee, on July 16, 2001.
Was scheduled to play the title role in David Lean's adaptation of Joseph Conrad's Nostromo in 1991. Lean's death in April 1991 brought the project to an end.
Loves golf, and his handicap is 6.
His parents are William (Buddy Quaid) and Nita Quaid.
Has a half-brother, Buddy Quaid, and a half-sister, Brandy Quaid.
Was asked to play the role of Bob in Halloween (1978) because his then-girlfriend P.J. Soles was in the film, but he was working on another project and had to decline.
Attended Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Texas.
Became engaged to Kimberly Buffington in 2004.
He attended Pershing Jr. High School in Houston, Texas.
He is a licensed private pilot with single and multiengine instrument ratings. He also has a type rating for the Cessna Citation 500 series twin engine light jet. He regularly flies the jet to his property in Montana.
Brother-in-law of Evi Quaid.
His drama teacher at Bellaire High School and, then, the University of Houston was Cecil Pickett, father of Cindy Pickett.
Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2005 Razzie Award nominating ballot. He was suggested in the Worst Actor category for his roles in the films The Alamo (2004) and The Day After Tomorrow (2004), he did not receive a nomination however.
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7018 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on November 16, 2005.
He and brother Randy Quaid are first cousins, twice removed, of performer Gene Autry. Gene's maternal grandparents, Andrew Clinton Ozment and Margaret Malinda Pierce, were also Dennis and Randy's paternal great-great-grandparents.
He and his ex-wife, Meg Ryan, have both appeared in remakes of films starring James Stewart. Quaid played Stewart's part in the remake of The Flight of the Phoenix (1965). Meg Ryan appeared in You've Got Mail (1998), which was a remake of The Shop Around the Corner (1940).
Has 3 children: son, Jack Quaid (b. April 24, 1992) with 2nd ex-wife, Meg Ryan and son, Thomas Boone Quaid & daughter, Zoe Grace Quaid (b. November 8, 2007) with 3rd ex-wife, Kimberly Buffington.
His newborn twins have been placed in an intensive care unit in a Los Angeles-area hospital after they were reportedly given an accidental drug overdose on November 18, 2007.
His wife, Kimberly Buffington, is a real estate agent in Austin, Texas for Buffington Signature Homes. His father-in-law, Thomas B. Buffington, is the CEO of the company.
Inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame in Austin, Texas. [March 2005]
With Lea Thompson from 1983-1989.
Longtime friends with Brett Cullen. They both attended the University of Houston and were drama students of Cecil Pickett, father of Cindy Pickett.
He and brother Randy Quaid have both played Doc Holliday: Dennis in Wyatt Earp (1994) and Randy in Purgatory (1999).
He recently began doing voice-overs for commercials (radio and television) for the Visa credit card. [June 2007]
As of 2014, has appeared in three films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Breaking Away (1979), The Right Stuff (1983) and Traffic (2000).
Battled anorexia in the mid-1990s, which started when he shed 40 pounds to play Doc Holliday in Wyatt Earp (1994). Quaid comments that "I'd look in the mirror and still see a 180-lb. guy, even though I was 138 pounds." He eventually sought treatment and recovered.
Friends with Bradley Cooper.
On October 18, 2019, Quaid announces his engagement, after a four-month relationship, with Laura Savoie.
Personal Quotes (11)
What, like I want to look like Dick Clark? No. I think I'll look great with liver spots.
I could never hold a job for more than three months, which works out well because that's how long a movie shoots.
[2004] Being a celebrity couple is not so easy - it's double the publicity, and it's hard to have a private life...I have to tell you that I am happier with my life now then ever: I have a great son and a great career. I'm not only here, but here stronger than I've ever been - I have absolutely no regrets about the ups and downs of my career.
[on his recovery from cocaine addiction] Well, a couple of times I had people come have a talk with me, but I was operating, for the most part, on two hours of sleep a night, and I realized, "I can't do this and last very long." So I cleaned up (in the early '90s) and then the jobs stopped coming. You clean up your life and think you're supposed to be rewarded for it, but things actually got worse. On the other hand, if I hadn't sobered up, I probably wouldn't be alive today.
There are three things being a celebrity is good for: raising money for charity, dinner reservations and tee times.
I was a guy back in the '80s who was one movie away from a huge career, which at that time didn't happen. In the '90s, I worked a lot, but it was kind of, "get out there and dig and find things". Then I guess The Rookie (2002) and Far from Heaven (2002) were referred to as my comeback. I look around and a lot of the people I started in the business with, I have no clue where they are right now. So much of it has to do with luck and I have been extremely lucky, but a large part of it is also just hanging in there.
Movies seem to be happening to me rather than me going out there and saying, "Well, I'm going to play this.".
[on The Express (2008)] At its core, it's about living your life with grace. If God bestows grace upon you, that you should live your life to its full effect. You know, Ernie Davis embodied that in his short life. He touched everybody around him.
I love being a dad. Basically it's the most gratifying, rewarding relationship in life. But at the same time, it certainly is the most challenging.
[observation, 2013] What's going on in television reminds me of what was going on in movies in the '70s, where the inmates had kind of taken over the asylum. And they're doing a lot of interesting things that I myself want to watch. The studios are just giving more of their tent-pole remakes of, you know, what's been successful before. I really don't find it all that interesting.
[2008 interview] I have no regrets. There's only one real regret that I have, and that's that David Lean, who is my favorite director of all time, gave me the role of Nostromo in "Nostromo". And I went over there to Nice and met with him and got to ask him every question there was, spent an afternoon with him. Unfortunately, he wound up dying of cancer before we could shoot the film. That's my only regret.
Salary (1)
| Playing by Heart (1998) | $60,000 |
