Birthday: Oct 18, 1960

Birthplace: Sint-Agatha-Berchem, in the Brussels-Capital Region

Biography: Van Damme worked his way up to Hollywood mainstream in the 1990s, often working with acclaimed foreign directors. Notable movies include Kickboxer (1989), Double Impact (1991), Universal Soldier (1992), Nowhere to Run (1993), Hard Target (1993),Sudden Death (1995) and his most critically acclaimed work, Timecop (1994). Many of these roles included doppelgänger or Lazarus themes involving Van Damme's characters, an aspect unusual for the action movie genre.

By the end of the 1990s, Van... ... (read more...) Damme's high-profile career had faded but he continues to star in smaller, often direct-to-video movies. His movies have earned over $ 1 billion worldwide, earning him a place in the action movie world along with others like Steven Seagal and Chuck Norris.

In 1998, Van Damme and his former bodyguard Chuck Zito were involved in a fist-fight at a New York strip-tease bar called Scores. The event became notorious in the news and a scandal for Van Damme.