Jean-Claude Van Damme

Jean-Claude Van Damme is a Belgian actor and martial artist. Van Damme began practicing martial arts as a child and earned a black belt in karate by 18. He also trained in ballet and bodybuilding before moving to the United States in the early 1980s to pursue an acting career.

Van Damme first took on small roles and worked as a stuntman before landing his breakthrough role in Bloodsport in 1988. The film became a cult hit and led to a series of successful action movies, including Cyborg (1989), Kickboxer (1989) and Lionheart (1990). By the early 1990s, he was a box office star with films like Double Impact (1993), Universal Soldier (1992) and Timecop (1994).

The actor later appeared in films such as JCVD (2008) and The Expendables 2 (2012), in which he acted alongside Sylvester Stallone. He has also ventured into voice work, lending his voice to projects such as Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) and the TV series Robot Chicken.

In 2025, he starred in the action film The Gardener as Leo.

Van Damme has been married five times, including twice to Gladys Portugues. He was first married to Maria Rodriguez from 1980 to 1984 and then to Cynthia Derderian from 1985 to 1986. After first marrying Portugues in 1987, the pair welcomed children Kristopher (born in 1987) and Bianca (born in 1990) before their split in 1992. He then was married to Darcy LaPier, with whom he shares son Nicholas (born in 1995), from 1994 to 1997. He rekindled his relationship Portugues in 1999. In 2012, Van Damme claimed he had an affair with singer Kylie Minogue in 1994 while he was still married to LaPier.