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1. Nicolas Cage was born in 1964, in California.

2. His actual birth name is Nicholas Kim Coppola. He is in fact related to the acclaimed film director Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather 1,2,3, The Outsiders, Dracula, Apocalypse Now…). Nicolas is Francis’s nephew.

3. Nicolas Cage changed his name from Coppola to Cage at the earliest stages of his career because he didn’t want any success he might have gained to be attributed to his name.

4. The name “Cage” is inspired from a comic book character named Luke Cage.

5. He is both of German and Italian descent.

6. He stands at 6' (1.83 m).

7. He has been married three times. He is currently married to his third wife – Alice Kim Cage. They got married in 2004 and they have a child together. They met a sushi place where she was waitressing. Alice was born in 1984, which makes her a good 20 years younger than Cage.

Nicolas Cage and his wife Alice Kim Cage

8. His first wife was Patricia Arquette, sister of actors David Arquette and Rosanna Arquette. According to IMDB, Nicolas Cage proposed to Patricia as soon as they met, which freaked her out a little. They got married after meeting again years later.

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Above: Nicolas Cage and Patricia Arquette

9. His second wife was Lisa Marie Presley, who is the daughter of Elvis Presley. They were married for 2 years. Her husband before Nicolas Cage was the late Michael Jackson, to whom she was also married for 2 years.

Above: Nic Cage with ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley

10. Nicolas has two children, one from his marriage to Kim and one from former girlfriend, actress Christina Fulton.

11. He is cousins with Sophia Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola’s actress/director/screenwriter daughter. Sophia is the writer and director of Lost in Translation (2003) starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johannson. She was nominated for Best Director, Best Film and Best Original Screenplay Oscars that year. She won the one for Best Original Screenplay.

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Above: Nicolas Cage with Sofia Coppola and Francis Ford Coppola

12. Nicolas has another cousin in the movie business, Jason Schwartzman. Jason is a part of director Judd Apatow’s crew and is currently starring in the comedy series Bored to Death.

Jason Schwartzman. Image via images.rottentomatoes.com

13. Sophia and Francis are not the only Oscar winners in the family. Nicolas won Oscar for Best Actor in a leading role for his role as an alcoholic falling in love with a prostitute in Leaving Las Vegas. The actress playing the prostitute is Elizabeth Shue and she was nominated for Best Actress in a leading role Oscar with this part as well. Writer/director Mike Figgis was also nominated for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Awards.

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14. Nicolas was also nominated for a Best Actor (Leading) Oscar for his part in Adaptation, where he played the real life writer Charlie Kaufman. The director was Spike Jonze, who was once married to his cousin Sophia Coppola.

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15. He graduated from UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.

16. He is one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors. While his salary changes from movie to movie, his salary for National Treasure was $20,000,000.

17. His female co-stars include Meryl Streep, Angelina Jolie, Penelope Cruz, Meg Ryan, Joan Allen, Monica Belluci, Diane Kruger, Eva Mendes, Shirley MacLaine, Bridget Fonda, Sarah Jessica Parker, Penelope Cruz, Kathleen Turner and Maria Bello.

18. His male co-stars include Sean Connery, Ed Harris, John Cusack, John Malkovich, John Travolta, Jon Voight, Michael Caine, Ethan Hawke, Jared Leto, Sam Rockwell, Chris Cooper, James Franco, Christian Slater and Christian Bale.

19. He is one of the most sought after action stars in Hollywood.

20. Some of his roles so far included a writer, an alcoholic, an obsessive compulsive con man, sorcerer, weather man, convict, psycho villain, angel, cop, a car thief, a soldier, paramedic, a private investigator, a man working at a bakery, a cheating husband, a treasure hunter and an ex-con.