For roughly thirty years, Brad Pitt has remained in the spotlight. However, it doesn’t seem like the world knows much about the man, except for his highly publicized romances. With unbeatable looks and undoubted talent, Pitt has definitely achieved stardom. Find out more about him by taking a look at these rarely-seen photos of the star through the years.
Brad Pitt Like You’ve Never Seen Him Before
Making A Name For Himself (1986)
Pitt in Los Angeles prior to becoming a household name. Raised in Springfield, Missouri, the actor was born to conservative Baptist parents. In 1986, he dropped out of college and headed west with the goal of making a name for himself.
Making A Name For Himself (1986)
First Role (1988)
Pitt’s first role was in the aptly titled film Hunk as “boy on the beach”. His career started with uncredited walk-on roles and then guest appearances on sitcoms.
First Role (1988)
Romance On Set (1988)
Pitt started going out with Shalane McCall soon after he moved to LA. It is believed that they met on the set of CBS’s Dallas. He played Randy, a boyfriend of McCall’s character, in a four-episode arc. It was his second credited role.
Romance On Set (1988)
At A Benefit For Children (1988)
Pitt together with then-girlfriend McCall and Goofy, the special guest, at a benefit for children who were terminally ill in February 1988. At the time, Pitt was 24 years and McCall was just 15.
At A Benefit For Children (1988)
New Romance (1988)
At the LA premiere of Red Heat in June 1988, Pitt was spotted with Jill Schoelen, his new girlfriend. The couple met while filming the Cutting Class. This is the second (but definitely not last) time Pitt fell for a costar.
New Romance (1988)
Night Out With Famous Friends (1988)
Pitt together with Christina Applegate at an event by Amnesty International. This summer evening would not be the last big night out they had together.
Night Out With Famous Friends (1988)
Big Heartbreak (1989)
Pitt and Schoelen got engaged in 1989, but it just lasted three months. Pitt revealed in a 2011 interview that he went to Budapest to visit his then-fiancée while she was shooting a film. When he got there, Schoelen admitted she had fallen in love with her movie’s director and she and Pitt called it quits. According to Pitt, his first big heartbreak was Schoelen.
Big Heartbreak (1989)
Guest Appearances (1989)
In January 1989, Pitt made an appearance on Head of the Class. Offscreen, Pitt and costar Robin Givens hit it off. It was reported that he was Givens’ rebound after her divorce from Mike Tyson.
Guest Appearances (1989)
Guest Star (1989)
Pitt guest starred on the fourth season of Growing Pains in February 1989. He played Ben’s favorite (yet rude) rockstar. However, in season three, he guest starred as Jeff, Carol’s crush. Oops.
Guest Star (1989)
Red Carpet Date (1989)
If you are wondering why Pitt looks glum beside Christina Applegate, the Married … With Children star later confessed that they went together to the MTV Video Music Awards. However, she later ditched Pitt for another guy at the show.
Red Carpet Date (1989)
New Girl (1989)
Pitt with then-girlfriend Elizabeth “E.G.” Daily at a party for her album release in September 1989. Did you know she’s the voice behind Buttercup from The Powerpuff Girls and Tommy Pickles from Rugrats. After dating, Pitt and Daily remained close friends.
New Girl (1989)
More Guest Appearances (1989)
In October 1989, Pitt appeared in a Thirtysomething episode. Pitt’s good looks helped his Hollywood career, but he says that they also influenced the kinds of offers that he received when he was starting out. In 2007, he told Interview, “When I first got out to Hollywood they were pushing me for sitcoms, and I didn’t really have an interest in them.” He added, “I wanted to do films and slowly worked that way. And then it became, I guess, this curse of the leading man.”
More Guest Appearances (1989)
Other Jobs (1990)
Before Pitt made it big in acting, he modeled and worked different odd jobs in order to get by. According to Entertainment Tonight, his work included dressing up as a chicken in order to promote El Pollo Loco and being a chauffeur for some stripagram service.
Other Jobs (1990)
Breakout Role (1991)
Pitt’s breakout role was the thieving hitchhiker that seduces Thelma (Geena Davis) in the film Thelma and Louise. In 2014, Davis told The Hollywood Reporter, “I actually read with him first—there were five candidates for the role.” She added, “And then he came in—this is so embarrassing—but I got a little distracted during the scene, you know? I was forgetting my lines. I was like, ‘I’m totally screwing up this kid’s audition.'”
Breakout Role (1991)
Another Romance (1991)
Pitt gets close to Juliette Lewis, his then-girlfriend, at the premiere of Thelma and Louise. The couple started dating when Pitt was 27 and Lewis was 17. Their relationship lasted three years until 1993. In 2014, Lewis griped to People that most stories the press wrote about her are “usually about Brad Pitt or drug addiction, which hasn’t been me since I was 22.” She was described by Pitt as “genius.”
Another Romance (1991)
A Hit (1993)
Pitt poses with Michael Rapaport at the Independent Spirit Awards. Pitt and the comedian were part of the cast for Tony Scott and Quentin Tarantino’s 1993 hit True Romance.
A Hit (1993)
Distinct Style (1993)
One of the most notable features of Pitt during his early days as a heartthrob was his hair, in spite of its often-changing style and color.
Distinct Style (1993)
Model Girlfriend (1994)
Pitt with then-girlfriend model Jitka Pohlodek at the Legends of the Fall premiere. According to the actor, he enjoyed making the movie much more than Interview with the Vampire, his previous hit, because the actor “never saw the sun” while playing the undead Louis. Pitt told Vanity Fair it “messed with [his] day.”
Model Girlfriend (1994)
Success After Success (1995)
Pitt was on a roll in the mid-nineties. He co-starred in the David Fincher film Se7en, which was another success for the actor. Pitt delivered the iconic line in the movie – “What’s in the box?”
Success After Success (1995)
Engaged For The Second Time (1995)
Pitt and Paltrow met while they were filming Se7en in 1994 and quickly became a Hollywood “it” couple. They later got engaged but ended up breaking things off in 1997.
Engaged For The Second Time (1995)
A Family Picture (1997)
Pitt with William and Jane Pitt, his parents, and Paltrow, his then-fiancée, at The Devil’s Own premiere. Paltrow later joked about having the same haircut as Pitt. In January 2019, Oscar winner Paltrow commented on a story that Pitt likes looking like his girlfriends. She said, “Or we like to look like him, let’s face it.”
A Family Picture (1997)
With Annaud (1997)
Pitt poses with director Jean-Jacques Annaud at the Seven Years in Tibet premiere. How the Chinese government is portrayed in the film resulted in Pitt and Annaud getting banned from China after the release of the movie. However, the Associated Press reports that in 2014 Pitt returned to the country with then-wife Angelina Jolie.
With Annaud (1997)
Hollywood Stars (1998)
Pitt makes Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman laugh at an event hosted in honor of the Top Gun star in April 1998. Cruise co-starred with Pitt in the 1994 film Interview with the Vampire. In July 2019, Quentin Tarantino revealed on the Happy Sad Confused podcast by Josh Horowitz that Cruise nearly nabbed Pitt’s role in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Hollywood Stars (1998)
The New Hollywood “It” Couple (1999)
According to reports, Pitt and Jennifer Aniston met after Pitt asked their agents to set the two up on a date back in 1998. Here, the couple are spotted leaving Barfly nightclub in Los Angeles, the same club where Pitt threw Aniston a massive party for her 30th birthday in February 1999.
The New Hollywood “It” Couple (1999)
Engaged For The Third Time (1999)
In November 1999, Pitt and Aniston flashed her engagement ring onstage during a Sting concert in New York City. In 2000, the couple married.
Engaged For The Third Time (1999)
At The Academy Awards (2000)
The actor may be known for his smile, but most people have no idea that he actually has a chipped tooth. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he recalled he was in the fourth grade when it happened: “I was sick. You know: big fever and delirious dreams. I passed out in the bathroom, woke up, and the tooth was chipped.” Later, he voluntarily chipped a front tooth for Fight Club, where he played Tyler Durden.
At The Academy Awards (2000)
Hollywood Friends (2003)
Pitt with Jim Carrey in April 2003. They are at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards. In 2009, Carrey said on Chelsea Lately that Pitt “can do no wrong.”
Hollywood Friends (2003)
Campaigning (2004)
In October 2004, Pitt campaigned for John Kerry, then-Democratic presidential candidate, at the University of Missouri. In Pitt’s speech to 1,700 students, he urged them to have an understanding of the issues at hand in preparation for the November 2004 election.
Campaigning (2004)
A Final Appearance (2004)
Pitt and Aniston in September 2004. They were together at the Primetime Emmys. This was one of the final appearances of the couple before they announced their split.
A Final Appearance (2004)
The Announcement (2005)
In January 2005, Pitt and Aniston announced they were separating. At the time, there were rampant rumors that Pitt and Angelina Jolie, his costar in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, were having an affair.
The Announcement (2005)
First Joint Appearance (2005)
Pitt and Jolie appeared in public together for the first time at ShoWest in March 2005 to promote Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The duo kept each other at arm’s length for pictures.
First Joint Appearance (2005)
At The Premiere (2005)
Pitt and Jolie were also careful not to get really close on the red carpet during the premiere of Mr. and Mrs. Smith in Los Angeles in June 2005. However, no one was fooled by the then-secret couple.
At The Premiere (2005)
Expecting (2006)
The couple at The Good Shepherd premiere in November 2006. Pitt and Jolie announced they were expecting, which was also acknowledging their relationship in public for the first time, in January 2006. The couple welcomed Shiloh Nouvel on May 27, 2006.
Expecting (2006)
Hollywood Handprint (2007)
While Pitt was on an Ocean’s Thirteen press tour, a handprint and footprint ceremony was held at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood honoring the actor.
Hollywood Handprint (2007)
Expecting Twins (2008)
The couple announced they were expecting twins at the 61st International Cannes Film Festival. Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon were born in July. Since the couple also adopted three children, that means there were eight people in the family in total.
Expecting Twins (2008)
The Wedding (2014)
The couple said ‘I do’ in August 2014. It was a small, private ceremony with their children held in France.
The Wedding (2014)
A Rare Appearance (2015)
Pitt makes an appearance with son Knox, which is rare, at the British MotoGP Grand Prix. A fan of the sport for a long time, Pitt narrated and produced the motorcycle racing documentary Hitting the Apex.
A Rare Appearance (2015)
Marital Issues (2015)
The couple attend an event for By the Sea, which Pitt starred in with Jolie, who also directed it. The film was a commercial and critical disappointment and the event was one of the final public appearances together of the couple prior to Jolie filing for divorce in September 2016. On the Awards Chatter podcast by the Hollywood Reporter in 2017, Jolie said about the movie, “I wanted us to do some serious work together. I thought it would be a good way for us to communicate. In some ways it was, and in some ways we learned some things. But there was a heaviness, probably, during that situation that carried on, and it wasn’t because of the film.”
Marital Issues (2015)
‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ (2018)
Pitt was cast in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino’s highly-anticipated new movie, and was seen filming scenes for the production.
‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ (2018)
A New Movie (2019)
Pitt laughs with Leonardo DiCaprio, his costar in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The two immediately hit it off, in part because, according to Pitt, they both started on Growing Pains (though the two did not cross paths on set).
A New Movie (2019)