1964-04-24 ( 60 years old ) in Cotonou, Dahomey [now Benin]
Djimon Gaston Hounsou (born April 24, 1964) is a Beninese-American actor and model. He began his career appearing in music videos, made his film debut in Without You I'm Nothing and earned widespread recognition for his role as Cinqué in the Steven Spielberg film Amistad. As an actor, Hounsou has been nominated for two Academy Awards.
Hounsou became a naturalized American citizen in 2007. He was reluctant to renounce his Beninese citizenship and therefore opted to become a dual citizen of both Benin and the United States, effectively rendering him a Beninese-American.
Djimon Hounsou was born in Cotonou, Benin, in 1964, to lbertine and Pierre Hounsou. He immigrated to Lyon in France at the age of thirteen with his brother, Edmond. In 1987, he became a model and established a career in Paris. He moved to the U.S. in 1990. One year before obtaining his college degree, he dropped out of school.
In 1989, he appeared in a music video of Straight Up by Paula Abdul. Hounsou's film debut was in the 1990 Sandra Bernhard film Without You I’m Nothing, and he has had television roles on Beverly Hills, 90210 and ER and a guest starring role on Alias, but received a larger role in the science fiction film Stargate. His first on-screen appearance was in the 1990 Janet Jackson video “Love Will Never Do (Without You).” He also starred in a 2002 Gap commercial directed by Peter Lindbergh, dancing to a rendition of John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom" by Arrested Development's Baba Oje.
He received wide critical acclaim and a Golden Globe Award nomination for his role as Cinqué in the 1997 Steven Spielberg film Amistad. He gained further notice as Juba, in the 2000 film Gladiator. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for In America, in 2004, becoming the fourth African male to be nominated for an Oscar (along with Basil Rathbone, Cecil Kellaway and Omar Sharif). In 2006, he won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Blood Diamond; he received Broadcast Film Critics Association, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Academy Award nominations for this performance.
In 2007, Hounsou began dating model/CEO of Baby Phat, Kimora Lee Simmons. In 2008 Hounsou and Simmons visited Hounsou's family and while there, the two participated in a traditional commitment ceremony. On May 30, 2009, Simmons gave birth to their son, Kenzo Lee Hounsou, reportedly named because Kenzo means 3 (Kimora's third child).
Movies
Shiver
2026-07-02
A Quiet Place: Day One
2024-06-26
Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver
2024-04-19
Ozi: Voice of the Forest
2024-03-07
Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire
2023-12-15
Gran Turismo
2023-08-09
Shazam! Fury of the Gods
2023-03-15
Black Adam
2022-10-19
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank
2022-07-14
The King's Man
2021-12-22
Kimana Tuskers
2021-12-05
Marvel Studios' 2021 Disney+ Day Special
2021-11-12
A Quiet Place Part II
2021-05-21
Charlie's Angels
2019-11-14
Shazam!
2019-03-29
Captain Marvel
2019-03-06
Serenity
2019-01-24
Aquaman
2018-12-07
In Search of Voodoo: Roots to Heaven
2018-03-10
Same Kind of Different as Me
2017-10-20
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
2017-05-10
I Am Heath Ledger
2017-04-23
The Legend of Tarzan
2016-06-29
Air
2015-08-14
The Vatican Tapes
2015-07-23
Furious 7
2015-04-01
Seventh Son
2014-12-12
Guardians of the Galaxy
2014-07-30
How to Train Your Dragon 2
2014-06-05
Baggage Claim
2013-09-27
Special Forces
2011-11-02
Elephant White
2011-05-17
The Tempest
2010-09-11
Black Panther
2010-01-18
Push
2009-02-04
Never Back Down
2008-03-04
A Place in Time
2007-04-26
Eragon
2006-12-14
Blood Diamond
2006-12-08
The Island
2005-07-21
Beauty Shop
2005-04-22
Constantine
2005-02-08
Renegade
2004-02-09
In America
2003-10-31
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life
2003-07-21
Biker Boyz
2003-01-31
The Four Feathers
2002-09-08
Dead Weight
2002-04-10
The Middle Passage
2000-09-09
Gladiator
2000-05-04
Deep Rising
1998-01-30
Amistad
1997-12-10
Ill Gotten Gains
1997-12-05
Stargate
1994-10-28
Killing Zoe
1993-10-01
Unlawful Entry
1992-06-26
Without You I'm Nothing
1990-05-11
Powered by Powerxsoft Ltd using the TMDB API