Today, he's one of the most recognizable faces in the world.
While looks may have nabbed him some early roles, it took great ambition, talent, and the ability to swivel between acting and producing to create a career that could stand the test of time.
Even today, as he's moved more to producing rather than acting in films, his name is recognizable everywhere.
Pitt has starred in many of the most enduring and beloved movies in entertainment history, including "Thelma and Louise," "Interview With the Vampire," "Moneyball," "A River Runs Through It," and "Ocean's Eleven."
As with any Hollywood heart throb, Pitt's personal life has sold a great numberof magazines. He has been attached to some of the biggest actresses in the entertainment business, from Gwyneth Paltrow to Jennifer Aniston, and his ex-wifeAngelina Jolie.
Here'show this Missouri kid found his way to Hollywood and rose to fame:
Brad Pitt was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma on December 18, 1963 and grew up in Springfield, Missouri. He was the eldest of three children in a conservative household of parents, truck company owner Bill Pitt and family counselor Jane Pitt.
Just two credits shy of a journalism degree at the University of Missouri, Pitt gave in to his love of films and set off for Los Angeles in the late-1980s.
Kickapoo High School/Public Domain
In LA, Pitt worked as a limousine driver for a few months, while taking acting classes. Within seven months, he found an agent and began booking acting work, including the soap opera Another World"in 1987, and Growing Pains in 1987 and 1989 (in two different roles).
Kickapoo High School/Public Domain
Pitts big break was a small, but memorable role in 1991s "Thelma and Louise," in which he played a charming hitchhiker and one-night-stand to Geena Davis character.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
After doing a few more films after "Thelma and Louise," Pitt landed the part of a gambling, fly-fisher in Robert Redfords 1992 film "A River Runs Through It." This would earn Pitt respect in Hollywood for his dramatic acting chops.
By 1992, Brad Pitt had been romantically linked to actresses Jill Schoelen, Robin Givens, and Juliette Lewis. He would go on to co-star with Lewis in "Kalifornia," about a couple on a cross-country murder spree.
His next major career step would be the coveted lead role in "Interview With the Vampire" opposite one of the hottest actors in Hollywood, Tom Cruise, and a young Kirsten Dunst in 1994.
In 1995, People magazine named Pitt that years "Sexiest Man Alive."
Officially part of Hollywoods A-List, Pitt followed "Interview" with 1994s "Legends of the Fall" and David Fincher thriller, "Seven." But it was Terry Gilliams 1995 psychological thriller "Twelve Monkeys" that would earn Pitt his first Oscar nomination and first Golden Globe win.
In 1995, Pitt began dating Hollywood it girl Gwyneth Paltrow. They dated for two years and became engaged. In 1997, they called off the engagement and broke up for unknown reasons.
AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
Pitt shot in Argentina for his most ambitious film to date, 1997s "Seven Years in Tibet."
In 1998, Brad Pitt and "Friends" star Jennifer Aniston were set up on a date by their agents. They married two years later with a huge wedding in Malibu.
AP Photo/Michael Caulfield
Pitt did several big films between 1998 and 2001, including David Finchers "Fight Club," Guy Ritchies "Snatch," "The Mexican," opposite Julia Roberts, "Meet Joe Black," and Steven Soderberghs "Oceans Eleven," co-starring George Clooney and Matt Damon.
In 2000, People once again named Pitt its "Sexiest Man Alive," making him the first male to hold the title twice.
The 2004 movie "Troy" would become Pitts next big role, but its box office didnt meet expectations and it got mixed reviews from critics.
It has a critics rating of 54% and an audience score of 73% on Rotten Tomatoes .
But "Troy" was important for another reason: It was the first film under Pitts production company, Plan B Entertainment. "The Departed" was the first film Pitt produced to win a Best Picture Oscar, in 2007, but Pitt wasnt personally eligible for the award.
2004 would be a big year in Pitts life. He began shooting "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" with Angelina Jolie. At the same time, there were reports of a romance between the co-stars and marital problems between Pitt and Aniston.
In 2008, Pitt told Rolling Stone that "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" was his favorite Jolie movie because he "fell in love."
Aniston and Pitt announced their separation in January 2005 and their divorce was finalized in October.
Bruno Vincent/Getty Images
Over the next several years, Pitt would star in several well-received films, including "Babel" (2006), the Coen brothers "Burn After Reading" (2008), "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (2008), Quentin Tarantinos "Inglorious Basterds" (2011), and "Moneyball" (2011).
Warner Bros./Paramount Pictures
In 2014, Pitt would win his first Oscar for "12 Years a Slave" but not for acting. It was for producing the epic historical drama, under his production company, Plan B Entertainment.
After dating since 2005, Pitt and Jolie married in 2014 in a private ceremony in France.
Pitt and Jolie have six children together , including three adopted children: Maddox, Pax Thien, and Zahara.
In 2015, Pitt co-starred with Jolie in the art house film, "By the Sea." Jolie also wrote and directed the film about a couple trying to repair their marriage while staying at a hotel in France.
In 2015, Pitt produced and appeared in "The Big Short," a movie about the housing market bubble. The film earned him another Oscar nomination for producing.
In September 2016, Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt after two years of marriage and 11 years together. She requested sole physical custody of their six children.
Junko Kimura/Getty Images
While his acting career has slowed down his Netflix film "War Machine" got mixed reviews Pitt is actively producing movies like Oscar winner "Moonlight" and the well-received "Lost City of Z." He remains one of the most recognizable stars in the world.
Next, hell star alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Quentin Tarantinos "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," which takes place in Los Angeles, California in 1969. The movie hits US theaters in July 2019.
SEE ALSO: The first trailer for Quentin Tarantino's new movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt is out, and we can't wait to see more
DON'T MISS: All the details of Quentin Tarantino's new movie, which stars Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Margot Robbie
