Jean-Claude Van Damme | |
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![]() Van Damme in 2012 | |
Born | Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg 18 October 1960 Sint-Agatha-Berchem, Brussels-Capital, Belgium |
Other names |
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Division | Middleweight |
Style | Karate, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Taekwondo |
Fighting out of | Brussels, Belgium |
Team | Team Goetz |
Trainer | Claude Goetz Dominique Valera |
Rank | 2nd Dan Black Belt in Karate |
Years active | 1976–1982 (martial arts) 1979–present (acting) |
Kickboxing record | |
Total | 19 |
Wins | 18 |
By knockout | 18 |
Losses | 1 |
Amateur record | |
Total | 48 |
Wins | 44 |
Losses | 4 |
Other information | |
Occupation |
|
Spouse | María Rodríguez
(m. 1980; div. 1984)Cynthia Derderian
(m. 1985; div. 1986)
(m. 1999) |
Children | 3 |
Website | jcvdworld |
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (French: [ʒɑ̃ klod kamij fʁɑ̃swa vɑ̃ vaʁɑ̃bɛʁɡ]; Dutch: [vɑn ˈvarə(n)ˈbɛrx]; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (French: [vɑ̃ dam]; Dutch: [vɑn ˈdɑmə]), is a Belgian martial artist and actor. Born and raised in Brussels, his father enrolled him in a Shotokan Karate school at the age of ten, which led Van Damme to hold the rank of 2nd-dan black belt in karate, and compete in several karate and kickboxing competitions. As a teenager, he won the middleweight championship of the European Professional Karate Association in 1979 and the Mr. Belgium bodybuilding title in 1978. With the desire of becoming an actor in Hollywood, he moved to the United States in 1982, where he did a variety of jobs and worked on several films, until he got his break as the lead in the martial arts film Bloodsport (1988).
He became a popular action film star and followed up with commercially successful films such as Cyborg, Kickboxer (both 1989), Lionheart, Death Warrant (both 1990), Double Impact (1991), Universal Soldier (1992), Nowhere to Run, Hard Target (both 1993), Timecop, Street Fighter (both 1994), Sudden Death (1995), The Quest, which marked his directorial debut, and Maximum Risk (both 1996). After a decline in popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he returned to prominence with the critically acclaimed crime drama JCVD (2008). His big return to the action genre was in The Expendables 2 (2012), in which he starred as the villain, opposite Sylvester Stallone. From thereon, he continued starring in action films and doing extensive voice work.
Regarded as an icon of action and martial arts cinema, his films have grossed over $1 billion worldwide, making him one of the most successful action stars of all time.[1] In 2020, he was inducted into the Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame.[2] Outside his career as a martial artist and actor, Van Damme has publicly supported various conservationist causes and animal rights organisations.
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