Ben Mendelsohn - Biography

Who is Ben Mendelsohn?

Ben Mendelsohn has been known to play villains, criminals, and troubled young man in Hollywood movies. But before that, he was a well-known actor in his homeland Australia. While starting to act when he was a teenager.

Source: Getty Images (from left- Ben Mendelsohn, Loene Carmen, and Noah Taylor in 1987 movie The Year My Voice Broke)

Ben Mendelsohn – Age, Parents, Siblings

Ben Mendelsohn, whose full name/birth name is Paul Benjamin Mendelsohn was born on 3 April 1969. His birthplace is in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. His father Frederick Arthur Oscar Mendelsohn is a medical researcher who is given the status of Professor Emeritus while his late mother Carole Ann Ferguson worked as a registered nurse.

Mendelsohn has two siblings- brothers named Tom Mendelsohn and David Mendelsohn. Their parents divorced when he was 6 years old. He also has two half-brothers from his father’s second marriage. 

While growing up, Ben Mendelsohn along with his mother and brothers lived in Europe until the age of 13. He then moved with his father to Washington DC, United States. It was only while he was in high school that the family returned to Melbourne, Australia. 

He had actually moved in with his grandmother after getting expelled from a boarding school Mercersburg Academy just after six months for burning things. As Mendelsohn lived with his grandmother, he began acting to support himself.

Education, Ethnicity

Talking about his educational background, Mendelsohn attended Heidelberg Primary School and Eltham High, and Banyule High schools. While in school, he took drama because he thought it was an easy class.

His ethnicity includes Greek, German, Polish, English, Irish, and Scottish.

Also read: Kaitlyn Dever - Actress of Booksmart 

Ben Mendelsohn – Girlfriend, Wife, Children, Divorce, Affair

Mendelsohn dated a series of actresses during his prime years. He dated actress Kate Fischer in 1993, Nadine Garner in 1994, Justine Clarke, and Kate Beahan in 2010. The same year his girlfriend was Emily Barclay, also an actress very much younger than him.

Ben Mendelsohn began dating British author Emma Forrest and married her on June 3, 2012, at the Chateau Marmont hotel. The couple has welcomed one child, a daughter named Carolina Mendelsohn. Their daughter was born in 2014. 

Only after 4 years of marriage, Mendelsohn and his now ex-wife, Forrest divorced on December 1, 2016. Forrest had filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. Mendelsohn also has an older daughter from his previous relationship.

Currently, he resides in Los Angeles and is thought to be single without any affairs.

Source: people (Ben Mendelsohn and Emma Forrest)

Ben Mendelsohn – Career

Early Days

Although not professionally, Ben Mendelsohn had experience in acting in his drama class. In his professional career, he had several television roles and in The Henderson Kids, he worked alongside Kylie Minogue. His breakthrough finally came in 1987 with the film The Year My Voice Broke. Next, he landed major roles in The Big Steal (1990), Spotswood (1992),  Metal Skin (1994), Cosi (1996), Idiot Box (1996), Amy (1997).

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Films, Series

Since 2000, Ben Mendelsohn has starred in Sample People, Mullet (2001), The New World (2005), Australia (2008), Beautiful Kate (2009), Animal Kingdom (2010), alongside actor Robert DeNiro in Killer Elite (2011), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Starred Up (2013), Mississippi Grind (2015), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story  (2016), Darkest Hour (2017), Ready Player One (2018), Robin Hood (2018), Captain Marvel (2018), The King (2019), Spies in Disguise (2019). 

Ben Mendelsohn has lent his talent to TV series as well. Since 1984, he has portrayed characters in Fame and Misfortune (1986), Neighbours (1986-1987), The Secret Life of Us (2005),  Love My Way (2006-2007), Tangle (2009), and Bloodline (2015-2017).

Also read: Steve Yzerman - Former ice hockey player, Ice hockey executive 

Source: IMDb (Ben Mendelsohn and Sissy Spacek in Bloodline)

Co-stars

On the set of Bloodline, Mendelsohn has worked with Kyle Chandler, Sissy Spacek, Andrea Riseborough, Owen Teague, and John Leguizamo.

Ben Mendelsohn – Awards, nominations

The gifted actor has won numerous awards over the years. He has been nominated for eight AACTA Awards, four Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards, Camério Award, an IF Award, a BIFA,  a Village Voice Film Poll, an Independent Spirit Award, two Logie Awards, two ASTRA Awards, two Primetime Emmy Award, two Satellite Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Critics' Choice Television Award.

Among all the nominations, Ben Mendelsohn has won two AACTA Awards, a Film Critics Circle of Australia Award, a Camério Award, an IF Award, a BIFA Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award.      

Also read: Soni Nicole Bringas - Actress, Dancer of Jane the Virgin, Fuller House

Ben Mendelsohn – Net Worth, Salary

The net worth of Mendelsohn is estimated at around $9 million but his annual salary/income is yet to be estimated.

Ben Mendelsohn – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

On the social media site Twitter, Ben Mendelsohn is followed by thousands of followers but is absent from Instagram, and Facebook.

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