Biography
Who is Jared Leto?
Early life and education
Jared Leto Joseph Leto was born on December 26, 1971, in Bossier City, Louisiana. His mother, Constance, encouraged her sons to participate in the arts and surrounded them with painters, musicians, and theater participants. Due to his grandfather serving in the Air Force, Jared moved frequently around the country during his childhood.
He briefly dropped out of school in the tenth grade before returning to complete his education at Emerson Preparatory School in Washington, D.C. Jared later studied large scale visual art at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He then transferred to the School of Visual Arts in New York City to study filmmaking, where he created his own short film titled Crying Joy. He also attended the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design.
Acting career and film roles
Jared moved to Los Angeles in 1992 to pursue an acting profession. His early television work included appearing in Cool and the Crazy alongside Alicia Silverstone, followed by his feature film debut in the 1995 drama How to Make an American Quilt. He gained breakthrough recognition after portraying the runner Steve Prefontaine in the 1997 biographical film Prefontaine.
Throughout the late nineties, Jared appeared in supporting parts for prominent movies such as The Thin Red Line, Girl, Interrupted, and Fight Club. He starred as a drug addict in the 2000 film Requiem for a Dream, undergoing significant physical weight loss for the part. His later film credits include Panic Room, Lord of War, Chapter 27, and Mr. Nobody.
Music career with Thirty Seconds to Mars
Alongside his acting pursuits, Jared established the rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars in 1998 in Los Angeles with his older brother Shannon Leto. Jared took on the roles of lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and main songwriter for the group. Initially, he chose not to use his Hollywood background to promote the musical project.
The group released their self titled debut album in 2002 through Immortal Records and Virgin, which eventually reached number one on the US Top Heatseekers chart. Their second studio release, A Beautiful Lie, brought the band widespread public attention in 2005. Subsequent albums like This Is War and Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams achieved further commercial milestones, contributing to worldwide sales exceeding fifteen million albums.
Birthday and age
Jared Leto was born on December 26, 1971, which makes Jared 54 years old today. That birthday falls under the Capricorn sign. Jared shares the date with 19 other famous people.
Explore more
