Background

Ethnicity: Joaquín Phoenix’s mother is Jewish; half of her family are Russian Jews and the other half are Hungarian Jews. Joaquín’s father is of mostly English descent, along with at least 1/128th German, from his ancestor, Johan Jacob Peter Kimberlin, and French Huguenot roots from another, distant, ancestor, Francis Posey, from Cambray, France.

Joaquin Phoenix was born Joaquin Rafael Bottom on December 28, 1974, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the United States, to John Lee Bottom and Arlyn Bottom, and is the middle child in a brood of five.

His mother, Arlyn Dunetz, of Russian/Hungarian blood, had been a secretary in Manhattan and married to a computer operator. In 1968 Arlyn had left that life and met John Lee Bottom. They decided to travel to the USA together. In 1970 they had their first son, River in Madras, Oregon. By then they had joined the newly formed Children of God religious group and had become missionaries of the cause. They traveled across the states and had their first daughter Rain while staying in Crockett, Texas.

By 1974, John was then archbishop to Venezuela and then they moved on to the West Indies and after Puerto Rico, where their second son Joaquin was born. Joaquin was born with the now-famous scar on his left lip. It was not the result of a cleft palette or cleft lip, merely a birthmark. The family moved on to Venezuela where they spent a further two years and sister Liberty was born. Joaquin’s father, John would support the family as best he could, sometimes doing yard work, while River and Rain would sing and dance in the street for money. They were reasonably successful at this and the family performance troupe would on occasion sing in children’s hospitals and jails.

By this time, however, Arlyn and John began to disassociate themselves with the religion as the leader Berg was surrounded by controversy following his religious tracts regarding incest, rape, pedophilia and the apparent acceptance of them. The family decided to move and hitched a ride to Florida on a ship. While onboard, the children witnessed fish being hauled up onto the deck and were horrified by the scene. Joaquin was three at the time. This would lead to Joaquin committing himself to Veganism for life. While in Florida, a third daughter, Summer was born. It was around this time that the family decided to adopt a new surname. The name of Phoenix lent itself to their new way of life in the USA. The young Joaquin also decided that his name should change and changed it to Leaf. He later said that he wanted a more ‘earthy’ sounding name like his brother and sisters had.

John was now unable to work due to a back injury so they then found themselves subject to poverty. John and Arlyn had no real theatrical experience but as they had always encouraged their children to perform with each other, putting on skits and shows, etc., they decided to enter River and Rain into local talent contests. They were noticed, newspaper articles were written about them and one of these was sent to Penny Marshall, then appearing in hit sit-com Laverne & Shirley (and later to direct Big and Awakenings).

This initial success resulted in the family moving again, to Los Angeles, California. Joaquin (Leaf) was 5 at the time. They rented a one-bedroom North Hollywood apartment where and with no kids allowed, the children would have to hide in cupboards whenever the landlady came around. They would have to move around like this regularly as quite often the rent could not be paid.

By then all the Phoenix children would sing for money on the streets of Westwood sometimes covering Beatles’ songs. Arlyn then got a job as a secretary at NBC and John was able to secure work again as a landscaper. While working at MBC for Joel Thurm, Arlyn was introduced to Iris Burton. Iris Burton had been known as an agent for child actors. She agreed to act for all of the Phoenix children but it was made clear to her by John and Arlyn that they would not appear in any meat selling adverts or aggressive multi selling companies.

After establishing himself as a child actor, Phoenix decided to withdraw from acting for a while and traveled to Mexico and South America with his father.

Education

The Phoenix children never attended formal school. They were educated at home. After all five siblings were signed up to an agent, schooling became a jumble of tutoring on film sets, home teaching, and stints in traditional classrooms.

The actor, however, regrets not putting in any effort when it came to his education: "I regret not giving it my all. I always had the feeling I can’t be stuck here doing this; I have other things to do. You get old enough and realize there was plenty of time to invest yourself in several things."

Career

Iris Burton proved to be a good choice as in 1982 she succeeded in landing River a regular part in a TV series based on the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. When two extra kids were required for the Christmas episode it was easy to hire Joaquin (Leaf) and Liberty Phoenix. Joaquin (Leaf) would appear the next year in an episode of Mr. Smith, about a talking orangutan who works as a political adviser in Washington. Joaquin (Leaf) would then appear with River in 1984’s Backwards: The Riddle of Dyslexia. This was an ABC After School Special where River played a kid in Junior High and Joaquin (Leaf) would play his younger brother.

Joaquin (Leaf) would appear in several more TV bit parts during 1984, The Fall Guy, Hill Street Blues and along with Summer, Murder She Wrote. Then, in 1985, he’d appear in the hard-hitting TV drama Kids Don’t Tell, concerning the lifelong effects of child molestation, directed by Sam O’Steen.

This was followed by a role in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents where Joaquin (Leaf) would play a deaf rich boy who witnesses a murder then blackmails hit-man Robert Loggia. Then the series of 1986, Morningstar/Eveningstar, where an orphanage is destroyed and the kids, including Joaquin (Leaf) and Fred Savage, are sent to stay at a retirement home.

By 1986 by then the clearly gifted Phoenix was deemed ready for a major screen role. He secured a part in Spacecamp alongside Tate Donovan and Kelly Preston. The film’s success was marred by the actual Challenger Space shuttle explosion on Jan 28th. Not deterred Joaquin (Leaf) would then take on a role in Russkies, where some Florida kids find a Russian sailor washed up on the beach and overcome their initial prejudices to become his friends. Next for Joaquin (Leaf) would be Secret Witness and directed by Eric Laneauville. His next role was in Ron Howard’s Parenthood playing an awkward, alienated kid who disturbs his single mother Dianne Wiest. He was among good company with actors Steve Martin and Keanu Reeves.

This initial success and predicted route to stardom, however, was temporarily suspended. Just when everything was seemingly coming together, Phoenix ever strong-willed decided there were no good scripts for actors his age and took an extended sabbatical from acting.

Phoenix decided to see Mexico with his father. It was during his travels there that he formally relinquished Leaf and readopted his birth name. On his return, Joaquin’s only screen appearance would be in Walking The Dog where his character robbed an elderly New Yorker. Much of his time he spent with River who had been Oscar-nominated and had revealed himself to be an actor of rare ability.

In 1994, Phoenix excelled as Jimmy Emmett in Gus Van Sant’s To Die For alongside Nicole Kidman. Phoenix played the lust-filled, tongue-tied adolescent who agrees to murder in return for sexual favors, to perfection. During the press conferences for To Die For, at the director’s suggestion, Phoenix handled all questions as if in character. This did not go down well and Phoenix later said it was a mistake.

Returning to acting, Phoenix played an alienated, underachieving teen who is seduced by a success-hungry news reporter (Nicole Kidman) in Gus Van Sant's To Die For (1995). A wave of films soon followed. In the romantic drama Inventing the Abbotts (1997), he was paired up onscreen with Liv Tyler.

The same year Joaquin would play alongside Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Billy Bob Thornton and Jennifer Lopez in U-Turn. Liv Tyler having a small cameo role. Phoenix burns up the screen as Toby N Tucker whilst Ring of Fire is playing on the Jukebox, an odd coincidence as years later; Phoenix played Johnny Cash and had to sing that song! It was clear by then Phoenix, still in his early twenties, was intent not upon pure stardom but upon developing his skills as a serious actor. He moved on to Return To Paradise with Vince Vaughn where Joaquin’s performance as a do-gooder unjustly interned in a Malaysian prison was widely praised. He then teamed up again with Vince Vaughn for Clay Pigeons.

Released in early 1999 was the disappointing Joel Schumacher thriller 8MM, which teamed him with Nicholas Cage. After 8MM, Director Ridley Scott lined Joaquin up for a role in Gladiator starring Russell Crowe. Phoenix played the incestuous obsessive young emperor Commodus. Joaquin clearly made more of the part that was initially offered to him. Gladiator was a huge success and Phoenix was nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe as best supporting actor for his role as the evil Commodus. Meanwhile, other projects, The Yards with director James Gray and Quills as The Abbe du Coulmier were released in the year 2000.

Joaquin’s next role as bored US soldier Ray Elwood in Buffalo Soldiers was not so well received. However, this has more to with the delayed-release and subject sensitivity of 2001 rather than the content. A well-observed satire of American Soldiers in peacetime, Phoenix plays a drug dealer who comes unstuck when he falls for the daughter of his adversary.

Joaquin’s next picture was Signs, his first film with M. Night Shyamalan. Following the success of The Sixth Sense, it was another massive hit for the director. Mel Gibson starred and the film earned worldwide recognition for Joaquin as his brother Merrill.

Phoenix seemed never to be predictable and his next role was in It’s All About Love, teaming up with Sean Penn and Clare Danes again. The film has been applauded for its cinematography but lacked any real style and did not set the critics alight at the Sundance Festival. It did not get a US release date. In 2003 Phoenix tried something different by filling in the voice of a hunter named Kenai who magically turned to a grizzly bear in animated Brother Bear.

He then reunited with M Night Shyamalan for The Village in 2004. It wasn’t exactly a great movie but with the reputation of the director and the excellent cast, it held the audience’s attention. It was Joaquin’s fourth $100 million dollar success.

Joaquin’s next film Hotel Rwanda saw him appearing alongside Don Cheadle and his former U-Turn co-star Nick Nolte. It was a small role but Joaquin was glad to be involved as the reporter, shocked and disillusioned by events in Rwanda. The film was directed by Terry George.

Joaquin also played a fireman in 2004’s Ladder 49 alongside John Travolta. Phoenix was quoted as saying that he felt this film had the potential to tell an important story. The role required Joaquin to undergo training as a firefighter, a report that Joaquin has subsequently denied.

Joaquin’s next role would be legendary country singer Johnny Cash in James Mangold’s Walk The Line. Joaquin said that although James wanted him for the part as Johnny, the studio would have not agreed if he hadn’t made the successful money-making Signs. Phoenix had met up with Johnny Cash in 2001 and Johnny expressed an interest in Joaquin’s role as Commodus in Gladiator, quoting the scene where Commodus taunted Maximus about his wife and son’s death. Joaquin had to learn how to play guitar and sing for this role and he said he found learning to sing ‘excruciatingly embarrassing’. Joaquin went on to perform at Folsom Prison to inmates after a screening of Walk The Line. Joaquin was nothing short of phenomenal in the film and captured Cash’s demeanor, attitude and vocal style.

Phoenix received the Golden Globe (as did Reece for June) for his role as Johnny Cash and he was tipped for the Oscar as the best leading man. He was duly nominated but was pipped to the post by Phillip Seymour Hoffman for Capote. Reece did win the Oscar for her role.

In 2006 Phoenix decided to team up with former co-star Mark Wahlberg and Director James Gray for the thriller We Own The Night. Also, starring was Robert Duvall. Joaquin played Nightclub Manager Bobby Green who enjoys the good life until his cop brother is injured by Russian Mafia colleagues of his. His girlfriend was played by Eva Mendes and Phoenix was said to be dating her during filming. Joaquin and Eva both denied this, however.

Meanwhile, he had already filmed John Burnham Schwartz’s adapted novel Reservation Road with Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Connolly. Director Terry George originally had Phoenix in mind for the character Dwight but Phoenix chose to play the more thoughtful Ethan Learner. The film follows the aftermath of a hit and run accident where Ethan’s son is killed. It seemed to be a guaranteed success and was helmed as Oscar bait for Joaquin. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2007. The film opened in November 2007 in the US but was not well received and has since been described as over-sentimental. It certainly lacked the feeling and empathy with the characters in the book. It was quickly withdrawn from US theatres and has not to date been released worldwide. By the end of 2007, Phoenix teamed up once again with James Gray to film Two Lovers in New York. His co-stars were Gwyneth Paltrow, Isabella Rossellini, and Vinessa Shaw. Phoenix unexpectedly announced in late 2008 that he had retired from acting to pursue a rapping career and that the forthcoming Two Lovers would be his last film.

In February 2009, Phoenix made headlines with a strange appearance on David Letterman's Late Show, leading fans to wonder about the actor's mental state. The interview, full of awkward pauses and low mumbling, encouraged Letterman to make several jokes about the actor's seeming lack of awareness. The actor briefly forgot the name of his Two Lovers co-star, Paltrow, stuck gum under Letterman's desk and appeared to swear at bandleader Paul Shaffer for laughing at him during the show.

Around this same time, Phoenix announced his retirement from acting and revealed plans to release a rap album. A viral video of Phoenix performing in Las Vegas began circulating, but the poor quality of the clip only seemed to bolster the theory that Phoenix was perpetrating a hoax. His decision to become a hip-hop artist was later chronicled in 2010's so-called documentary I'm Still Here, made with Casey Affleck. Soon after its release, Affleck admitted to The New York Times that the documentary was a work of fiction.

Phoenix eventually decided to step in front of the cameras again, receiving impressive results. In The Master (2012), his first film after his self-imposed hiatus, he played a young, alcoholic war veteran, Freddie Quell, who is lured into a quasi-religious cult led by charismatic Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, the film received wide praise and garnered Phoenix another Oscar nomination.

Continuing to land interesting new projects, Phoenix worked with director Spike Jonze on Her (2013), about a lonely man who develops a strong relationship with an A.I. operating system, voiced by Scarlett Johansson. He also appeared that year in The Immigrant, with Jeremy Renner and Marion Cotillard, before re-teaming with Anderson for the neo-noir adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice (2014). He followed with roles in Woody Allen's murder-mystery Irrational Man (2015), the thriller You Were Never Really Here (2017) and the biblical Mary Magdalene (2018), as Jesus Christ.

In 2018, it was announced that Phoenix would star in an origin story of the Joker, Batman's nemesis, in a film helmed by The Hangover director Todd Phillips. Comic fans initially expressed misgivings, in part because no origin story of the character existed to that point, though a teaser trailer released the following spring offered a tantalizing look at Phoenix as the iconic villain. Joker is scheduled to hit theaters in October 2019.

On September 19, 2019, Deadline Hollywood announced that Phoenix has signed on to star in Mike Mills' next film which will be produced and distributed by A24. The film will shoot in the fall of 2019.

Achievements

• 

  Joaquin Phoenix received international attention for his portrayal of Commodus in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator, which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He has subsequently earned Best Actor nominations for portraying musician Johnny Cash in the biopic Walk the Line (2005) and for his role as Freddie Quell, a sex-obsessed alcoholic World War II veteran in the drama film The Master (2012), which won him the Volpi Cup for Best Actor. He and River are the only brothers nominated for acting Academy Awards.
  
  Aside from his acting career, he has ventured into directing music videos, as well as producing films and television shows. He has recorded an album, the soundtrack to Walk the Line, for which he won the Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.
  
  

Works

More photos

• movie

  • We Own The Night

    (What if your own family stood in the way of everything yo...)

    2007
  • Hotel Rwanda

    (The film chronicles the true story of Paul Rusesabinga (D...)

    2004
  • Quills

    (Quills imagines the final days of the Marquis de Sade as ...)

    2000
  • The Master

    (Haunted by his past, WW-II veteran and drifter Freddie Qu...)

    2012
  • The Immigrant

    (Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix, and Jeremy Renner star...)

    2013
  • Reservation Road

    (Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo and A...)

    2007
  • Her

    (Academy Award winner for Best Screenplay Directed by Spik...)

    2013
  • Clay Pigeons

    (One death devolves into many more in this comical nightma...)

    1998
  • Two Lovers

    (Set in the insular world of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, Two...)

    2008
  • 8mm

    (A private detective is hired to undertake a grim investig...)

    1999
  • Buffalo Soldiers

    (Joaquin Phoenix (Signs, Gladiator) leads an all-star cast...)

    2001
  • The Yards

    (Hot stars Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter), Joaquin Phoenix (I...)

    2000
  • Inherent Vice

    (An inept, pot-smoking private detective delves into the d...)

    2014
  • To Die For

    (Nicole Kidman is astounding as a newswoman dead-set on ma...)

    1995
  • Walk The Line

    (Johnny Cash pioneered a fiercely original sound while sim...)

    2005
  • Irrational Man

    (From Academy Award Winner Woody Allen, a tormented philos...)

    2015
  • Gladiator

    (When a Roman general is betrayed and his family murdered ...)

    2000
  • Signs

    (A farm family wakes up to find a 500-foot crop circle in ...)

    2002
  • Russkies

    (Three buddies sneak off to their secret fort and to their...)

    1987
  • Mary Magdalene

    (Rooney Mara & Joaquin Phoenix star in the moving story of...)

    2018
  • SpaceCamp

    (Zero gravity meets zero fear in this cosmic comedy-advent...)

    1986
  • U-Turn

    (A small-time gambler stranded in a desert mining town is ...)

    1997
  • It's All About Love

    (Two lovers attempt to save their relationship in a near-f...)

    2003
  • You Were Never Really Here

    (A traumatized veteran, unafraid of violence, tracks down ...)

    2017
  • Parenthood

    (The story of the Buckman family and friends, attempting t...)

    1989
  • Brother Bear

    (Disney presents Brother Bear, an epic adventure with come...)

    2003
  • Return to Paradise

    (They had been three buddies living the high life in a for...)

    1998
  • The Village

    (Thrilling tale of an isolated town confronting an unknown...)

    2004
  • Ladder 49

    (A firefighter becomes trapped in the worst blaze of his c...)

    2004
  • Inventing The Abbotts

    (A light-hearted story of two brothers courting three sist...)

    1997
  • Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot

    (Included with your Prime membership. On the rocky path to...)

    2018
  • Unity

    (A study in the duality of man. Even after thousands and t...)

    2015
  • The Sisters Brothers

    (Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly star as sibling assass...)

    2018

• music

  • Walk The Line 2005

Religion

Phoenix’s parents were briefly a part of the “Family International” or Children of God, a cult whose best way of gaining converts was to tout promiscuous sex as a way to get closer to God. But they left that church and wound up in Los Angeles.

Joaquin has given conflicting viewpoints regarding his own religious views: "I certainly was raised with a sense of spirituality, but we didn’t follow rules in terms of belief, religion or anything. It was left up to each of us to come to terms with our own understanding of fundamental questions. I just grabbed the best aspects of all religions." He also said: "I'm Jewish... But I don't think I've ever been very religious, no, though I do consider myself a spiritual person. I appreciate a lot of traditions from various faiths. I'm on a path."

At other times, Phoenix appears to have made up his mind about the ridiculousness of religion. When asked whether or not he believes in an afterlife, he said: "Fuck no. There’s just nothing. We’re gone. If I do have a soul, I don’t think it’s interpreting life, feelings or experience. My brain is what’s making sense of experience and feelings for me. So when that fucker’s cut off, how can I possibly understand or feel anything?"

Nowadays, Joaquin proclaims himself as an atheist.

Politics

Phoenix contributed $2,000 to Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich in 2003. He also endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont for President of the United States during the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries.

Views

Outside of acting, Phoenix supports a number of causes. He serves on the board of the Lunchbox Fund, which provides healthy meals to children in need. A lifelong vegan, Phoenix has also served as a spokesperson for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. He does not wear any clothes made out of animal skin. In his films, he requests that the leather costumes be made from synthetic materials. He has helped spread awareness about retail corporation Walmart and their alleged support of pig cruelty and China's brutal dog-leather industry.

In 2013, he starred in a PETA short film that promoted veganism, showing Phoenix "drowning" as he narrates, "In water, humans drown just as fish suffocate on land. Put yourself in their place. Try to relate." ABC refused to air the film during the Academy Awards broadcast, citing the ad's controversial nature. In 2016, Phoenix starred in a campaign shoot, taking a stand against wool for PETA. In 2017, he executive-produced the documentary What the Health, which premiered on June 16, 2017, on Netflix. The film says it "expose[s] the collusion and corruption in government and big business that is costing us trillions of healthcare dollars, and keeping us sick".

Additionally, he has been active in the Peace Alliance, which seeks to create "a cabinet-level U.S. Department of Peace" according to its site.

Quotations: "It's a bad idea for actors to grow accustomed to seeing themselves on camera because inevitably you start doing things and become too self-conscious. The only way to prevent it is by not being aware of yourself in that way or at least trying not to be."

"Animal rights is a part of my everyday life. When you live by example, you create a certain level of awareness. Friends of mine, people I have never discussed vegetarianism with, are adopting vegetarian habits because they see it."

Personality

In 1978, Joaquin changed his name to Leaf because he was irritated that people could not properly pronounce his name and because his four siblings had nature related names. "I changed my name because no one in the States could pronounce 'Joaquin' and I used to get really embarrassed about it as a kid. All kids in my family had gorgeous names and I got 'Joaquin'. I said 'This is not good'. Even I can't say it."

He kept the name Leaf until 1991 when, after filming Walking the Dog, he changed his name back to Joaquin. It was also during that same time that he took a break from acting.

Phoenix does not like to fly. On one especially challenging flight, the plane was about halfway through its travel time when Phoenix he had a panic attack. He was so overcome that the plane’s crew had to physically restrain him. Phoenix also said that the pilot essentially punched him to take him back down a notch or two.

In 2005 Phoenix admitted to his friends and family that he was an alcoholic. He immediately entered himself into a treatment program in early April 2005. “I thought rehab was a place where you sat in a Jacuzzi and ate fruit salad,” he said. “But when I got there they started talking about the 12 steps and I went: ‘Wait a minute, I’m still gonna smoke weed.’” In actuality, Phoenix stopped smoking marijuana but occasionally still has a drink when he’s flying.

On January 26, 2006, while driving down a winding canyon road in Hollywood, Phoenix veered off the road and flipped his car. The crash was reportedly caused by brake failure. Shaken and confused, Phoenix heard a tapping on his window and a voice say, "Just relax." Unable to see the man, Phoenix replied, "I'm fine. I am relaxed." The man replied, "No, you're not," and stopped Phoenix from lighting a cigarette while gasoline was leaking into the car cabin. Phoenix then realized that the man was famed German film director Werner Herzog. While Herzog helped Phoenix out of the wreckage by breaking the back window of the car, bystanders phoned for an ambulance. Phoenix approached Herzog to express gratitude, but Herzog downplayed his heroism and returned to his home nearby.

Phoenix doesn't take pictures with fans. In fact, he doesn't mind having a conversation with people who approach him. He'd rather just have a genuine moment chatting with another person than being constantly surrounded by the "sycophantic energy" that can come with the territory of being a famous actor. He described an experience he had with a woman at a department store during an interview: "A woman came up the other day in a store and said, “I’m really sorry, but can we take a picture?” I said, “You know what? I don’t do that, but thanks so much for coming up. I mean, I’m here with two of my friends and you’re alone and came up and said hi. That was really brave of you.” Whatever energy she had was gone instantly. We chatted a bit. It was fun. Then she went and bought her fucking tube socks and I bought my stupid little sweatpants, and that was it."

Despite being an accomplished actor with over three decades of experience, Phoenix still gets incredibly anxious on a movie set. "I still get nauseous the day before and have weeks of incredible anxiety," he said during a 2012 interview with Interview Magazine: "They have to put fucking pads in my armpits because I sweat so much that it just drips down my wardrobe. For the first three weeks of shooting, I'm just sweating. It's pure anxiety, and I love it."

Phoenix hates award shows. He said: “It’s totally subjective. Pitting people against each other… It’s the stupidest thing in the whole world.” In October 2012, Phoenix proclaimed the Academy Awards to be “bullshit”. He later gave an interview amending his earlier comments and acknowledging that the Oscars provide an important platform for many deserving filmmakers.

Physical Characteristics: Contrary to popular belief, the scar on Phoenix's lip is not the result of a repaired cleft lip or palate. It is simply a birthmark. Phoenix has stated in interviews that, while pregnant with him, his mother felt a sharp pain one day, and he was born with a mark on his lip.

Interests

• Politicians

  Bernie Sanders, Dennis Kucinich

• Writers

  Tennessee Williams, Rainer Maria Rilke, Hubert Selby Jr.

• Music & Bands

  Elliot Smith, The Beatles, Bright Eyes, Ringside

Connections

Phoenix dated his Inventing the Abbotts co-star Liv Tyler from 1995 to 1998, and South African model Topaz Page-Green from 2001 to 2005. Since late 2016, he has been dating actress Rooney Mara. In July 2019, it was confirmed that the couple had gotten engaged.

Father:

John Lee Bottom

Mother:

Heart (Arlyn) Phoenix

During the Toronto International Film Tribute Gala, Phoenix mentioned his mother in the speech. He said she was "a constant source of inspiration to him." He also added; "Everything I do is for her."

colleague:

Jessica Chastain

ex-girlfriend:

Liv Tyler

Phoenix commented on relationship with Liv Tyler: "I'm a great believer in people coming into your life, and you into theirs, for a reason. And I know that when Liv and I met, it was for a reason - I really needed her and she really needed me. And at a certain point, I think we stopped evolving with each other, stopped progressing, and made a very mature decision to move on, even though there was still a great love there. There's no one gossipy thing that I can share. I'm thankful that we had the time we had."

Brother:

River Phoenix

Joaquin and Rain Phoenix didn't just witness their movie star brother's descent into drug addiction; they were there when he overdosed outside of Los Angeles's Viper Room in 1993. River knew he was overdosing that night in the club, surrounded by his brother, sister, and various friends from Hollywood, including Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante. He reportedly told the guitarist "I don't feel so good. I think I'm OD'ing" after willfully consuming a spiked drink.

Joaquin Phoenix was just 19-years-old when he made the harrowing 911 call that failed to save his 23-year-old brother's life. During the call, Rain was sitting on River's chest trying to stop his drug-induced seizures.

The call Phoenix made to 911 seeking help for his brother was repeatedly played on radio and television. In response, Phoenix retreated from the public eye for about a year.

Sister:

Rain Phoenix

Sister:

Liberty Phoenix

Sister:

Summer Phoenix

ex-girlfriend:

Topaz Page-Green

girlfriend:

Rooney Mara

colleague:

Jennifer Lopez

colleague:

Keanu Reeves

Friend:

Casey Affleck

colleague:

Vera Farmiga

colleague:

Nicolas Cage

colleague:

Charlize Theron

colleague:

Jesse Eisenberg

colleague:

Gwyneth Paltrow

colleague:

Benicio del Toro

colleague:

Selena Gomez

colleague:

Amanda Seyfried

colleague:

Jennifer Tilly

colleague:

Olivia Wilde

References

• Joaquin Phoenix Central