Philip Seymour Hoffman – Bio, Children, Net Worth, Death

Quick Facts

Philip Seymour Hoffman was famous as an actor, film producer, and director. He is easily recognized mostly for his edgy roles, always appearing as a misfit, lowlife, bully, or something of the sort. With a career that spanned over two decades, he appeared in over 80 films, TV shows, as well as theatre productions before his unfortunate death in 2014. He was regarded by The New York Times as one of the most ambitious and widely admired actors of his generation.

Philip Seymour Hoffman Biography

It was on July 23, 1967, that Philip Seymour Hoffman was born in New York City, New York, U.S. to his mother Marilyn O’Connor who was an elementary school teacher. She would, however, go on to become a lawyer and a family court judge. His father, Gordon Stowell Hoffman, on the other hand, was a worker of Xerox Corporation.

Of German descent, the actor was brought up alongside a brother and two sisters – Gordy, Jill, and Emily respectively, and although he was Catholic, he was not exactly religious while growing up. By the time he was 9, his parents had already suffered a divorce and it was left for his mother to raise the kids primarily.

The first thing he ever wanted as he was growing up was to become a sportsperson. He loved baseball and wrestling, but everything changed for him as soon as he saw Arthur Miller’s All My Sons. He loved the theatre more than everything else and would always attend with his mother who also loved the theatre.

By the time he was 14, he was forced to quit sports entirely after he suffered a neck injury. Soon afterward, he decided to change his focus to acting and with the help of his very supportive mother, he joined the drama club and because he was attracted to a female member, he developed a commitment to it.

For his education, he went to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts where he studied acting. His first role as an actor was in 1991 when he appeared in Law & Order playing Steven Hanauer. In 1994, he was in yet another TV show, The Yearning and then Liberty! (1997), Empire Falls (2005), Arthur (2009), and Happyish (2014).

With films, Philip Seymour Hoffman made his debut also in 1991 in Triple Bogey on a Par Five Hole. In the years that followed, he appeared in many more films including The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), God’s Pocket produced in 2014, A Most Wanted Man (2014), as well as The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 which were posthumously released in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

He also appeared in a good number of theatre productions.

As an actor, he won many awards including the Golden Globe Awards, Academy Awards, and British Academy Film Awards for his role in Capote. He also had many other accolades for various works.

Wife and Children

On his personal life, Philip Seymour Hoffman managed to keep everything almost completely away from the public, keeping all details about his family to himself. In 1999, he met the costume designer Mimi O’Donnell. Although the two did not get married, they remained together for the next fourteen years that followed, and only got separated in 2013, just a few months before the tragic death of the actor.

The entire time the two were together, they lived in New York City and were blessed with three kids; a son and two daughters. Although they parted ways, the costume designer revealed she was ready to stand by him in his various challenges. He suffered drug and alcohol issues because of which he entered rehab several times.

His Death

On February 2, 2014, Philip Seymour Hoffman died at the age of 46. His body was discovered by David Bar Katz who was his close friend. The actor was found in his home in Manhattan, dead in the bathroom with a syringe to his arm. The tragic event was ruled to be an accident by investigators and it was caused by mixed drug intoxication. Although it was drugs that caused the shocking death of the highly influential actor, his friends claimed that his drug use was under control.

Five days after his death, a funeral for him held in Manhattan at the St. Ignatius Loyola Church with many actors in attendance, including , , , and many others.

Net Worth of Philip Seymour Hoffman

An Oscar-winning actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman achieved a lot in his career that spanned more than two decades, recording successes as an actor, director, and producer. Thanks to that, he had a net worth that was estimated at a massive $35 million before his death.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.