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Jeremy Renner - Biography

The Hurt Locker and The Avengers actor was born January 1971 in Modesto, California

Jeremy Renner smiling for a photo on a red carpet
Hannah Watkin
Content Writer
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Born in Modesto, California, on January 7 1971, to parents Valerie Cearley and Lee Renner, Jeremy Lee Renner grew up the eldest of five children. After taking drama classes in college, he moved to Los Angeles in 1993 to pursue his acting dream. 

Early roles

Jeremy earned his first silver screen role in the comedy National Lampoon's Senior Trip – a teen movie about a group of rude and obnoxious students. More parts in plays, TV series and films followed, but it wasn’t until 2002 that he moved from small to leading roles, playing the part of notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in Dahmer

The positive reviews which followed earned him a part in big-budget action film S.W.A.T., alongside Samuel L Jackson and Colin Farrell. After that he went on to star in films such as The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford alongside Brad Pitt, and horror sequel 28 Weeks Later.

Continued success

In 2009 Jeremy won the role of fearless bomb disposal expert SFC William James in Iraq war thriller The Hurt Locker . The film was one of the most acclaimed movies of the year and received nine Oscar nominations, including one for Jeremy as Best Actor. In 2010, he was nominated again, this time for Best Supporting Actor, for his role in The Town.

In 2011, Jeremy made his debut performance as Marvel's superhero Hawkeye in Thor, alongside Chris Hemsworth. He later starred in 2012's The Avengers, and became a key member of the superhero team for several more of the franchise's films. In 2022, his character got his time in the spotlight in the Disney+ series Hawkeye.

Personal life

Alongside acting, Renner is also talented musician, and he’s also performed on the soundtrack on some of his movies, including the Charlize Theron starring North Country. He released his first EP, The Medicine, in March 2020.

Jeremy married Canadian model Sonni Pacheco in January 2014. The pair share a daughter, Ava. They divorced in 2015.

In January 2023, Jeremy was hospitalized after an accident involving his snowplow at home. The actor suffered blunt chest trauma and broke 30 bones. Jeremy thankfully survived despite having been in a critical condition. Ten weeks after the incident, he was reported to be walking again with the aid of a walking cane.

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