Nicolas Kim Coppola, known professionally as Nicolas Cage, dropped out from high school to pursue an acting career. He experienced ups and downs and once worked selling popcorn at the Fairfax Theater before becoming famous. He changed his name in order to separate himself from the shadow of his famous uncle, director Francis Ford Coppola. His last name Cage was meant as a tribute to comic-book superhero Luke Cage.

Making his film debut in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982), Cage snatched the leading role as a punk rocker in "Valley Girl" (1983). During the next years untilearly 1990s, he played minor parts in films of various genres, including in "Racing with the Moon" (1984), "Birdy" (1984), "Peggy Sue Got Married" (1986), "Raising Arizona" (1987), "Moonstruck" (1987), "Vampire's Kiss" (1989), "Wild at Heart" (1990), and "Honeymoon in Vegas" (1992). After that starring as an alcoholic Hollywood writer in "Leaving Las Vegas" (1995), the role won him multiple awards, naming few were Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award.

The breakthrough paved his way into wider audiences through starring roles in other notable films, like "The Rock" (1996), "Face/Off" (1997), "Con Air" (1997), "City of Angels" (1998), and "National Treasure" (2004). He earned several other accolades after appearing in "The Weather Man" (2005), "Lord of War" (2005), "The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" (2009), and "Kick-Ass" (2010). Cage, moreover, was also known for starring in box office hits "Ghost Rider" (2007) and "% mKnowing%" (2009) in addition to landing parts in "Kick-Ass" (2010), "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" (2012), "Outcast" (2014), as well as "Pay the Ghost" (2015).

Cage was born on January 7, 1964 in Long Beach, California. He has been married for three times. His first one was to actress Patricia Arquette from April 1995 to May 2001. His second wife was Lisa Marie Presley. The pair got married from August 2002 to May 2004. His third marriage was to Alice Kim on July 30, 2004. They have a son Kal-El born in October 2005. The actor also has another son, named Weston Coppola Cage (b. 1990), with former girlfriend, actress Christina Fulton.