Joaquin Phoenix was born on October 28,
1974 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
He was born Joaquin Raphael, but at the
age of four he decided that he wanted a more earthy name,
like his elder siblings River and Rain, so while he was
raking leaves with his father he decided on Leaf. In the
early 1990s he took back his birth name.
Phoenix once refused to wear shoes during
a photo shoot for Prada because they were made out of
leather. Joaquin's first real acting job was a guest appearance
on River's sitcom SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS (1982).
He made his big-screen debut as the youngest
crew member in 1986's SPACE CAMP. |