Woody Harrelson Bio
Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor with a career spanning television and film. He first became known for his role as bartender Woody Boyd on the NBC sitcom Cheers (1985–1993), for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series from five nominations. Harrelson received three Academy Award nominations: Best Actor for The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), and Best Supporting Actor for The Messenger (2009) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017). He is known for his roles in various acclaimed films and television series, making him one of the most celebrated actors in Hollywood.
Early Life and Background
Woodrow Tracy Harrelson was born on July 23, 1961, in Midland, Texas, to secretary Diane Lou Oswald and convicted hitman Charles Voyde Harrelson. He was raised in a Presbyterian household alongside his two brothers, Jordan and Brett, the latter of whom also became an actor. Their father received a life sentence for the 1979 killing of federal judge John H. Wood Jr., and Harrelson has stated he had little contact with his father during childhood. Charles died in the United States Penitentiary, Administrative Maximum Facility on March 15, 2007.
Harrelson’s family was poor and relied on his mother’s wages. He attended The Briarwood School in Houston, Texas. In 1973, he moved to his mother’s native city of Lebanon, Ohio, where he attended Lebanon High School, from which he graduated in 1979. Harrelson attended Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana, where he studied theater and English, and graduated in 1983. While there, he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and became friends with former vice president Mike Pence.
Path to Acting
Harrelson’s college experience in theater and English at Hanover College set the foundation for his acting career. His training in dramatic arts during those years helped him transition toward professional work in New York and Los Angeles. His first major opportunity came when he was cast in the NBC sitcom Cheers, joining the show in 1985 during its fourth season. That role would launch his career and establish him in front of national audiences.
The success of Cheers opened doors for Harrelson in film. While still working on the sitcom, he began taking on movie roles, including Wildcats (1986) and White Men Can’t Jump (1992). His comedic timing, which made Woody Boyd memorable on television, also translated well to the big screen. By the early 1990s, he had begun building a dual career in television and film that would define his work for decades.
Woody Harrelson Career
Early Career (1985–1993)
Harrelson is widely known for his work on the NBC sitcom Cheers. He played bartender Woody Boyd, joining the cast in 1985 in season four, spending the final eight seasons on the show. For this role, Harrelson was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards, winning once in 1989 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. The performance established him as a talented comedic actor and earned him a loyal audience.
While still working on Cheers, Harrelson restarted his film career. His first movie had been Wildcats, a 1986 football comedy with Goldie Hawn. He reunited with Wesley Snipes in the box-office hit White Men Can’t Jump (1992) and later appeared in Money Train (1995). In 1993, he starred opposite Robert Redford and Demi Moore in the drama Indecent Proposal, which was a box office success, earning a worldwide total of over $265,000,000. He then played Mickey Knox in Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers (1994) and Dr. Michael Raynolds in The Sunchaser (1996).
Breakthrough (1994–2011)
The mid-1990s marked Harrelson’s transition into dramatic leading roles. His performance as Larry Flynt in the 1996 biographical drama The People vs. Larry Flynt earned him his first Academy Award nomination, this time for Best Actor. Throughout the late 1990s and 2000s, he built a reputation for choosing bold, character-driven projects, including The Thin Red Line (1998), No Country for Old Men (2007), and Seven Pounds (2008). These roles showcased his range across war epics, dark crime thrillers, and emotional dramas.
In 2003, he co-starred in the comedy film Anger Management. He appeared in action and drama projects through the 2000s, including North Country (2005) and The Big White. In the winter of 2005–2006, Harrelson returned to London’s West End, starring in Tennessee Williams’ Night of the Iguana at the Lyric Theater. He later directed Bullet for Adolf, a play he co-wrote, in Toronto and Off-Broadway. His film work in this period included Zombieland (2009), which became a cult favorite.
Notable Works and Milestones
Harrelson’s signature work includes his Emmy-winning performance in Cheers, his Oscar-nominated turn in The People vs. Larry Flynt, and his memorable supporting roles in No Country for Old Men and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. He also became a global icon as Haymitch Abernathy in The Hunger Games film series (2012–2015). His awards wins include a Primetime Emmy, while dramatic moments in films like The Messenger and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) have further cemented his reputation as a serious dramatic actor.
Woody Harrelson Award Nominations
Harrelson has received nominations for seven Primetime Emmy Awards, three Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, a BAFTA Award, and seven Screen Actors Guild Awards throughout his career. His Oscar nominations include a Best Actor nod for The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) and Best Supporting Actor for The Messenger (2009) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017). On television, he earned five Emmy nominations in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Cheers, and additional nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for Frasier and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for Game Change (2012).
Woody Harrelson Awards Won
Harrelson has earned recognition from major industry awards bodies, with his most notable win being a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1989 for his role as Woody Boyd on Cheers. He also received a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor in 1994 for his work in Indecent Proposal. Across his career, his performances in films such as The People vs. Larry Flynt, No Country for Old Men, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri have brought him significant industry respect.
Woody Harrelson Family
Harrelson was born to Charles Harrelson, a convicted hitman who received a life sentence for the 1979 killing of federal judge John H. Wood Jr., and Diane Lou Oswald, a secretary. He was raised alongside his two brothers, Jordan and Brett, the latter of whom also pursued acting. He married Nancy Simon, daughter of playwright Neil Simon, in 1985 in Tijuana, Mexico, and the couple divorced the following year. In 2008, he married Laura Louie, a co-founder of the organic food delivery service Yoganics, whom he met in 1987 when she worked as his personal assistant.
Personal Life
Harrelson and his wife Laura Louie reside in Maui, Hawaii, and have three daughters born in 1993, 1996, and 2006. He follows a raw vegan diet and does not eat meat, dairy, sugar, or flour. He has long been an advocate for the legalization of marijuana and hemp, and since 2003 has served on the advisory board of NORML. In 2014, Harrelson was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Hanover College. He is also a chess enthusiast who has made ceremonial first moves at World Chess Championship events in 2016 and 2018, and he is a fan of the Cincinnati Bengals.
