Born in St. Louis, MO; educated at Indiana University (music, drama, mime); Juilliard (drama). A founding member of John Houseman's prestigious The Acting Company of Juilliard School, Kevin Kline has gone on to establish himself as one of the most versatile performers of his generation. A dynamic leading man with rakish good looks (he was dubbed "The 1980s Errol Flynn" by Vanity Fair), Kline won Tony® awards for two of his early, flamboyant stage performances: as an egomaniacal producer, in the musical On the Twentieth Century; and as the swashbuckling pirate king in The Pirates of Penzance. He made an impressive screen debut as a charismatic schizophrenic opposite Meryl Streep in SOPHIE'S CHOICE (1982). Kline continued to make regular stage appearances, notably in Shaw's Arms and the Man (1985) and the New York Shakespeare Festival's Hamlet (1986 and 1990, the second time also directing). Meanwhile, he has etched some memorable movie characters, frequently in the films of Lawrence Kasdan. He played the definitive post-radical, young suburban professional in Kasdan's THE BIG CHILL (1983) and a revisionist Western hero in his SILVERADO (1985); a volatile, gloriously stupid hit man in A FISH CALLED WANDA (1988); a second-rate "serious" actor starring on daytime TV in SOAPDISH (1991); a middle-aged yuppie with a conscience in GRAND CANYON (1991, again directed by Kasdan); and, in a highly effective cameo role, Douglas Fairbanks, in Richard Attenborough's 1992 biopic, CHAPLIN. In the title role of Ivan Reitman's DAVE (1993), Kline gave one of his most endearing performances, playing dual roles as the President of the United States, and as the nearly identical working-class everyman who is hired to pose as the president during public appearances, then takes his place after the real chief executive falls into a coma. He was also effective as the acting teacher who is "outed" on national TV by one of his former students in IN & OUT (1997). Other notable credits include PRINCESS CARABOO (1994), FRENCH KISS (1995), LOOKING FOR RICHARD (1996), FIERCE CREATURES and THE ICE STORM (both 1997), A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM and WILD WILD WEST (both 1999), THE ANNIVERSARY PARTY and LIFE AS A HOUSE (both 2001), ORANGE COUNTY (uncredited), THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (voice) and THE EMPEROR'S CLUB (both 2002), DE-LOVELY (2004), THE PINK PANTHER, A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION and "As You Like It" (TV) (all 2006), TRADE (2007), and DEFINITELY, MAYBE and THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX (voice) (both scheduled for 2008). Kline has been married to actress Phoebe Cates since 1989. He is one of the few actors to win an Academy Award® for a performance in a comedy.  Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role 1988: A FISH CALLED WANDA 1 nomination, 1 Award