Baldwin was born in Massapequa, New York, USA, the son of Carolyn Newcomb (née Martineau) and Alexander Rae Baldwin, Jr., a high school history/social studies teacher and football coach. Baldwin was raised in a Catholic family of Irish and French descent. He attended Alfred G. Berner High School in Massapequa, Long Island, and played football there under Coach Bob Reifsnyder, who is in the College Football Hall of Fame. Baldwin worked as a busboy at the famous New York City disco Studio 54. He attended George Washington University from 1976 to 1979, where he was known as "Alex." After losing a student body president election, he transferred to New York University to study acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute under Elaine Aiken and Geoffrey Horne. He returned to NYU in 1994 and graduated with a BFA that year.
The other Baldwin brothers, Daniel (Homicide: Life on the street), William (Backdraft), and Stephen (The Usual Suspects) all followed him in becoming actors.
Baldwin's marriage to Kim Basinger came to an end in 2000 when they officially separated. A year later, Basinger filed for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court. In March 2004, Baldwin and Basinger agreed to share custody of their daughter, Ireland Eliesse (born October 23, 1995) . The judge presiding over the case issued a gag order, requiring Baldwin and Basinger to avoid commenting publicly about the case.
On April 11, 2007, Ireland failed to answer a pre-arranged phone call from her father, and Baldwin left an angry voicemail message for her, calling her a "thoughtless little pig". The child's private message was then leaked to the celebrity website TMZ.com on April 19, 2007. Baldwin's lawyers filed court papers accusing Basinger and her lawyer, Neal Hersh, of giving the tape to the website TMZ.com, run by Harvey Levin, in violation of a court order protecting the child's privacy. Basinger, who is already facing charges for a previous violation of court orders concerning Baldwin's visitations rights, denied that she leaked the tape to the press. Baldwin subsequently apologized for losing his temper, stating, "I have been driven to the edge by parental alienation for many years." Baldwin discussed his outburst in the media, including an appearance on The View. Baldwin stated that he is writing a book about the issue of messy divorce. He said that once his book is published, "I'm sure more people will understand the incredible strains created by parental alienation".
Baldwin is an animal rights activist and follows a mostly vegetarian diet. He is a strong supporter of PETA and has done work for the organization including narrating the video entitled 'Meet your Meat'.
Quick Info
Born Alexander Rae Baldwin III
April 3, 1958, Massapequa, New York, USA
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