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Born in New York City
July 18, 1967
Vin Diesel was born Mark Sinclair Vincent in New York City, the son of Delora, a psychiatrist and astrologer.[5][6] Diesel has Italian and African American ancestry.[7][8] He has described himself as "definitely a person of color"[9] and stated that he is "of ambiguous ethnicity - Italian and a lot of other stuff".[10] Diesel has never met his biological father, and was raised by his African-American stepfather, Irving, an acting instructor and theatre manager.[9][5] He made his stage debut at age seven when he appeared in the children's play Dinosaur Door, written by Barbara Garson. The play was produced at Theater for the New City in New York's Greenwich Village. His involvement in the play came about when he, his brother and some friends had broken into Theater for the New City's space on Jane Street with the intent to vandalize it. They were confronted by the Theater's Artistic Director, Crystal Field, who instead of punishing the kids, handed them scripts and offered them parts in the upcoming show.
Saving Private Ryan
June 12, 1998
Diesel was cast in Steven Spielberg's 1998 Oscar-winning film Saving Private Ryan on the poignancy of his performance in Multi-Facial.
Multi-Facial
January 1, 1999
Diesel produced, directed and starred in the 1994 short film Multi-Facial, a short semi-autobiographical film which follows a struggling actor stuck in the audition process, because he is regarded as either "too black" or "too white", or not black or white enough.
The Iron Giant
August 6, 1999
Diesel earned critical acclaim for voice work as the title character in the animation film The Iron Giant. The film tells the story of a lonely boy raised by his single mother, discovering an amnesiac "iron man" that fell from space. Hogarth, with the help of a beatnik named Dean, has to stop a military force and an egotistical federal agent from finding and destroying the Giant out of paranoia. The Iron Giant takes place during the height of the Cold War and deals with many pop culture festivities
Boiler Room
Feburary 18, 2000
Diesel had a major role in Boiler Room a film which takes a look at the world of "boiler room" (seedy, dishonorable) brokerage firms.
Pitch Black
Feburary 18, 2000
Diesel got his breakthrough role as the anti-hero Riddick in Pitch Black. In the film, a dangerous criminal (Richard B. Riddick) is being transported to prison in a cargo spacecraft. When the spaceship is damaged in a meteor shower and makes an emergency crash landing on an empty desert planet, Riddick escapes. However, when predatory flying alien creatures called "Bioraptors" (dubbed "Big Boys" by Riddick) begin attacking the survivors, Riddick joins forces with the crew to develop a plan to escape the planet.
The Fast and the Furious
June 22, 2001
Diesel attained action hero super stardom with the box office hit The Fast and the Furious.The Fast & The Furious is loosely based on an article in a magazine about street clubs that race Japanese cars late at night. The film stars Vin Diesel as Domenic Toretto, the leader of a street gang that is under suspicion of stealing expensive electronic equipment. Paul Walker plays an undercover police officer that attempts to find out who exactly is stealing the equipment, while falling for Domenic's younger sister played by Jordana Brewster.
xXx
August 9, 2002
XXX, also written xXx and pronounced "Triple X", is a 2002 action movie starring Vin Diesel. XXX was marketed as a James Bond style film for the new millennium and featured similar gadgetry, international schemes and intrigues, villain-sponsored take-over-the-world schemes backed up by doomsday devices, a female co-star/love interest, and elaborate stunts
A Man Apart
April 4, 2003
Sean Vetter (Vin Diesel) and Demetrius Hicks (Larenz Tate), who are ex-thugs, are members of the US DEA working on the California/Mexico border. After arresting a drugs baron named "Memo" Lucero (Geno Silva), the mysterious "Diablo" steps in and organizes the assassination of Vetter, but his wife, Stacy (Jacqueline Obradors), is killed instead.
The Chronicles of Riddick
June 3, 2004
Diesel reprised his role as Pitch Black's Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick which did only moderately well at the box office. The Chronicles of Riddick centers around the character of Richard B. Riddick from the film Pitch Black. Riddick’s Chronicles opens with a high speed chase on the far-flung ice planet of UV 6. Following the events of Pitch Black, Riddick has been on the run for the last five years, in an attempt to keep his friends Imam and Jack (survivors from Pitch Black) safe. A bounty hunter named Toombs finds Riddick in exile, and attempts to capture him for a '1.5 million' bounty. This attempt ultimately fails, when Riddick steals Toombs’ ship and flies off towards the planet Helion Prime, in search of Imam. In some versions, during transit Riddick is plagued by visions from a character named Shira, who tells Riddick that he is the last of a warrior-race known as Furyans.
The Pacifier
March 4, 2005
A U.S. Navy SEAL named Shane Wolfe (Vin Diesel) is assigned to rescue a man called Howard Plummer, who is working on a top-secret government project, from a group of Serbian rebels. Wolfe and his team manage to get Plummer off the enemy boat; moments later, Wolfe and Plummer are shot while boarding the escape helicopter. Plummer is killed in the attack. Wolfe spends two months in the hospital. Wolfe's C.O., Captain Bill Fawcett (Chris Potter), is assigned to escort Plummer's widow Julie (Faith Ford) to Zurich, where a safety-deposit box belonging to the Plummers has been discovered. Wolfe is assigned to stay at the Plummer residence to search for the secret project called GHOST, hidden somewhere in the house, and to look after the family's five children: Zoe (Brittany Snow), Seth (Max Thieriot), Lulu (Morgan York), Peter (Logan and Keegan Hoover), and Baby Tyler (Bo and Luke Vink).
Find Me Guilty
March 17, 2006
Diesel attempted a dramatic role when he played real-life mobster Jack DiNorscio in Find Me Guilty. Although he was critically acclaimed for his performance, the film bombed at the box office.
Find Me Guilty is a 2006 comedy-drama based on the longest Mafia trial in American history. Mobster Giacomo "Jackie" DiNorscio (played by Vin Diesel) faces a series of charges even though he has a prior 30 year conviction, but he decides to stand trial instead of ratting out his family and associates. A wrench is thrown into the system when DiNorscio attempts to defend himself and act as his own lawyer at trial.
Dating Paloma Jimenez
January 1, 2007 - Now
Diesel has been dating Paloma Jimenez. The two had a daughter in April 2008.
Daughter Born
April 2, 2008
Vin Diesel and his girlfriend, model Paloma Jimenez, have quietly become parents of a baby girl. Her name has not been made public.
Daughter Born
April 2, 2008
Vin Diesel and his girlfriend, model Paloma Jimenez, have quietly become parents of a baby girl. Her name has not been made public.
Daughter Born
April 2, 2008
Vin Diesel and his girlfriend, model Paloma Jimenez, have quietly become parents of a baby girl. Her name has not been made public.
Babylon A.D.
August 29, 2008
Diesel's upcoming film release is the science-fiction action thriller Babylon A.D.
In the near future, Toorop (Vin Diesel) is a mercenary who takes the job of escorting a woman from Russia to China. While he thinks this is just an ordinary mission, he gradually finds out that his guest is carrying an organism that has the potential to become the next Messiah — and everybody wants to get their hands on it.
