James Byron Dean was born February 8, 1931 in Marion, Indiana, to Mildred Marie (Wilson) and Winton A. Dean, a farmer turned dental technician. His mother died when Dean was nine, and he was subsequently raised on a farm by his aunt and uncle in Fairmount, Indiana. After grade school, he moved to New York to pursue his dream of acting. He received rave reviews for his work as the blackmailing Arab boy in the New York production of Gide's "The Immoralist", good enough to earn him a trip to Hollywood. His early film efforts were strictly small roles: a sailor in the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis overly frantic musical comedy Sailor Beware (1952); a GI in Samuel Fuller's moody study of a platoon in the Korean War, Fixed Bayonets! (1951) and a youth in the Piper Laurie-Rock Hudson comedy Has Anybody Seen My Gal (1952). In this article, we will talk about James Dean's Biography including Net Worth, Age, Birthday, Height, Weight, Family, Children etc.
James Dean Biography

He had major roles in only three movies. In the Elia Kazan production of John Steinbeck's East of Eden (1955) he played Cal Trask, the bad brother who could not force affection from his stiff-necked father. His true starring role, the one which fixed his image forever in American culture, was that of the brooding red-jacketed teenager Jim Stark in Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause (1955). George Stevens' filming of Edna Ferber's Giant (1956), in which he played the non-conforming cowhand Jett Rink who strikes it rich when he discovers oil, was just coming to a close when Dean, driving his Porsche Spyder race car, collided with another car while on the road near Cholame, California on September 30, 1955. He had received a speeding ticket just two hours before. At age 24, James Dean was killed almost immediately from the impact from a broken neck. His very brief career, violent death and highly publicized funeral transformed him into a cult object of apparently timeless fascination.
To know his complete profile, check the following table.
Name | : | James Dean |
Birth Name/Full Name | : | James Byron Dean |
Nickname (s) | : | Jimmy Dean, "One-Speed Dean", JD |
Other Name (s) | : | Jimmy Dean |
Gender | : | Male |
Date of Birth | : | February 08, 1931 |
Birthplace | : | Marion, Indiana, USA |
Citizenship | : | Indian |
Height | : | 1.71 m |
Weight | : | - kg |
Profession (s) | : | Actor , Additional Crew |
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James Dean Age in 2023 and Birthday Info

In this section, we will add James Dean's birthday-related information. James Dean was born in Marion, Indiana, USA on February 08, 1931.He died on in Cholame, California, USA (road accident). Check the below table for more information.
Date of Birth | : | February 08, 1931 |
Birth Place | : | Marion, Indiana, USA |
Country | : | India |
Date of Death | : | 1955-9-30 |
Death Place | : | Cholame, California, USA (road accident) |
Aged | : | 24 years |
Next Birthday | : | 08 February, 2024 |
Horoscope(Zodic Sign) | : | Aquarius |
James Dean Height and Weight

Now we are going to add James Dean's Height (In Meter, Centi Meter, and Feet-Inches) and Weight (In Kilogram and Pounds). As weight changes frequently, we may not have the current weight of James Dean. The height of James Dean is 1.71 m. Check the below table to see in more units.
Height in Meter | : | 1.71 m. |
Height in Centimeter | : | 171 cm. |
Height in Feet-inches | : | 5'7" |
Weight in Kilogram | : | - kg |
Weight in Pounds | : | - lb |
James Dean Family (Spouse, Children, Parents, Siblings, Relatives)
In this section, we will add James Dean's complete family information including his martial status, husbandorwife, children, parents, relatives, and siblings.
Marital Status | : | Yet to update |
Parents (Father and Mother) | : | Wilson, Mildred , Dean, Winton |
Relatives | : | - |
James Dean Social Accounts (Facebbok, Instagram, Twitter, Website)
In this section, we will add James Dean's Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and personal website.
: | James Dean Facebook | |
: | James Dean Instagram | |
: | James Dean Twitter | |
Personal Website | : | James Dean Webiste |
James Dean Net Worth in 2023
You might be interested to know what was the net worth of James Dean at time when he died. The net worth of James Dean was $2 Million. We do not guarantee the net worth of James Dean is the exact amount. This is based on several sources on the internet.
James Dean Facts and Trivia
Here is the list of top facts about James Dean.
- He was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#42) (1995).
- In October 1997, he was ranked #33 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list.
- The famous Failure Analysis Associates, from Menlo Park, California, reconstructed and recreated all details of the accident at the same approximate time on September 30 and have concluded that James Dean was travelling 55 to 56 mph when the fateful accident occurred, thereby proving he had not been speeding, as rumor had it.
- Most of his so-called affairs with various starlets were made up by the Warner Brothers public relations. He did have love affairs with Pier Angeli and Liz Sheridan.
- He also worked as a "stunt tester" on the game show Beat the Clock (1950), testing the safety of the stunts that some of the studio audience members would later perform. However, he proved so agile at completing the stunts that his results could not be used to set time limits for contestants to complete them. So he was reluctantly released.
- Following his untimely death, he was interred at Park Cemetery in Fairmount, Indiana, which is nearly 2,300 miles from where he perished in his fatal car crash on the intersection leading to Cholame, California.
- Reportedly, Dean was very much in love with Pier Angeli and they planned to marry, but her mother blocked the union because Dean was not Catholic and she helped arrange Pier's marriage to Vic Damone. Before she committed suicide, Pier wrote that Dean was the only man she had ever really loved.
- He briefly studied dance with Katherine Dunham.
- He won the Bloom Award as "Best Newcomer" for early Broadway work in "The Immoralist".
- He was issued a speeding ticket only two hours and fifteen minutes before his fatal accident.
- He is the subject of the songs "James Dean" by Eagles and "Mr. James Dean" by Hilary Duff. He is mentioned in the lyrics of many other songs, including "Rock On" by David Essex, "Electrolite" by R.E.M., "Jack and Diane" by John Mellencamp, "Vogue" by Madonna, "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel, "Forever" by Skid Row, "American Pie" by Don McLean, "Speechless" by Lady Gaga, "Walk on the Wild Side" by Lou Reed, "Rather Die Young" by Beyoncé, "Choke On This" by Senses Fail, "Blue Jeans" by Lana Del Rey, "Style" by Taylor Swift and "Ghost Town" by Adam Lambert.
- He was the first actor to receive an Academy Award nomination posthumously, for his role in East of Eden (1955). However, he did not win.
- He was the grandson of Charles Dean and Emma Dean.
- He was the nephew of Ortense Winslow (sister of his father) and Marcus Winslow.
- He was the cousin of Marcus Winslow Jr..
- He is the only actor in history to receive more than one Oscar nomination posthumously.
- He was pictured on a 32¢ US commemorative postage stamp in the Legends of Hollywood series, originally issued on Monday, June 24, 1996.
- He pledged Sigma Nu fraternity but dropped out of college before being initiated.
- As promotion for Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Dean filmed an interview with actor Gig Young for the "Behind the Camera" segment of the ABC series "Warner Bros. Presents" in July 1955. Dean told Young, "I used to fly around quite a bit, you know, I took a lot of unnecessary chances on the highway.... Now when I drive on the highway, I'm extra cautious." When asked if he had advice for young drivers, Dean concluded the interview, "Take it easy driving. The life you might save might be mine." Dean died soon afterward and the interview was never aired.
- Donald Turnupseed, the driver of the other car involved in Dean's accident, died of cancer in 1995. Turnupseed could not swerve out of the way of Dean's Porsche Spyder, but he successfully swerved journalists who frequently pestered him for interviews about the accident.
- He is one of several famous and tragic figures from history to be featured on the sleeve artwork of the album "Clutching at Straws" by rock band Marillion (released in 1987).
- East of Eden (1955) was the only one of the three movies in which he had major roles to be released while he was alive.
- He is one of only six male actors to be posthumously nominated for an Academy Award as best actor in a leading role. The others were Spencer Tracy, Peter Finch, Massimo Troisi, Heath Ledger and Chadwick Boseman.
- Contrary to popular belief, Dean's middle name was not taken from Lord Byron, but from a relative, "Byron" Dean.
- During the filming of Giant (1956), he and Rock Hudson did not get along. This tension heightened their onscreen clashes. However, according to Hudson's ex-wife Phyllis Gates, he cried after hearing the news of Dean's untimely death. Gates wrote, "Rock couldn't be reached. He was overcome by guilt and shame, almost as though he himself had killed James Dean.".
- At the time of his untimely death, James Dean did not leave behind a will, so most of his possessions went to his father, Winton Dean, whose relationship with him was distant at best.
- In her book "Dizzy and Jimmy", Liz Sheridan claims she and Dean were engaged.
- Dean's acting breakthrough came on Broadway in the drama "See the Jaguar", despite its run of only four days.
- He was voted the 22nd Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
- He attended and graduated from Santa Monica College, a California junior college that boasts its elite drama program. Went on to UCLA but left after appearing in one stage production, as Malcolm in "Macbeth", as he was anxious to get his acting career started.
- According to "The Mutant King", David Dalton's 1974 biography of James Dean, the rumor that Dean was a masochist who liked to have cigarettes stubbed out on his naked body can be traced to a pencil sketch of his called "The Human Ashtray". The sketch featured a human body, in the guise of an ashtray, with many cigarette stubs in it. Dalton speculates that the sketch has nothing to do with Dean's sexual proclivities but much to do with the fact that he was a heavy smoker.
- Marlon Brando, in his 1994 autobiography "Songs My Mother Taught Me", says that Dean, who idolized him, based his acting on him and his lifestyle on what he thought Brando's lifestyle was.
- Elia Kazan, in his 1988 autobiography "A Life", says that during the production of East of Eden (1955), he had to have Dean move into a bungalow near his on the Warner Brothers lot to keep an eye on him, so wild was his nightlife.
- Director Elia Kazan did not believe that Dean would have been able to sustain the momentum of his career. He felt that Dean's career, had he lived, would have sputtered out, as he was not well-trained and relied too much on his instincts, as opposed to his idol Marlon Brando, who, contrary to what people believed, had been very well-trained by his acting teacher Stella Adler and relied on that training to create his characters.
- His favorite book was "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. James Franco - who played Dean in the biopic James Dean (2001), voiced The Fox in the animated film adaptation of the book, Le Petit Prince (2015).
- He was voted the 30th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere magazine.
- He was named #18 greatest actor on the 50 Greatest Screen Legends list by the American Film Institute.
- He loved playing practical jokes on friends and reading.
- He had a fondness for auto racing and had purchased the 1955 Porsche Spyder sports car, one of only 90 made of that year model, planning to participate in the upcoming races in Salinas, California on October 1, 1955.
- He was descended largely from early British settlers to America.
- He received posthumous Oscar nominations for his his first and last ever screen performances: East of Eden (1955) and Giant (1956).
- Imitating Marlon Brando, he also bought a Triumph motorcycle. Instead of Brando's 650cc 6T Thunderbird model, which he used in the film The Wild One (1953), he bought the smaller 500cc TR5 Trophy model. This Triumph featured in a famous series of photographs by Phil Stern, the motorcycle itself being recovered, restored and currently displayed at the "James Dean Museum" in Fairmount, Indiana.
- He lost his two front teeth in a motorcycle accident in his youth.
- President Ronald Reagan referred to Dean as "America's Rebel".
- His tastes in music were eclectic. He liked African Tribal music and Afro-Cuban music, as well as classical (Béla Bartók, Igor Stravinsky); jazz/blues (Billie Holiday) and pop (Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra). His favourite song was Holiday's "When Your Lover Has Gone" and his favourite album was Sinatra's "Songs for Young Lovers".
- Dean's first filmed appearance was in a commercial for Pepsi-Cola in 1950. He is the character who puts money in the piano/jukebox.
- His final screen test for East of Eden (1955) was shot with Paul Newman, who also was in the final running for one of the roles. Originally, director Elia Kazan had considered casting Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift in the roles of the two brothers, but they were too old to play teenagers as they were both in the their 30s in 1954. Newman's age, 29, also put him at a disadvantage. Dean, 23 years old and Richard Davalos, aged 19, were cast as the fraternal twins.
- At the time of his untimely death, Dean was signed to appear in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) at MGM and The Left Handed Gun (1958) at Warner Brothers. Both roles subsequently were taken by Paul Newman and helped make him a star. Newman's career may very well have been retarded if Dean had lived as, while still alive, they competed for the same roles (East of Eden (1955)).
- He signed a nine-picture, $1-million deal with Warner Brothers before his untimely death. He did not live long enough to honor that deal.
- Like his hero Marlon Brando (Dean had been separated from his own father as a child and was distant from him. Brando apparently served as a role model for Dean) Dean wanted to write. He told gossip columnist Hedda Hopper that writing was his supreme ambition.
- According to Marlon Brando, Dean would often call him, leaving messages with Brando's answering service. Brando would sometimes listen, silently, as Dean instructed the service to have Brando call back. Brando, disturbed that Dean was copying his lifestyle (motorcycle, bongo drums) and acting techniques, did not return his calls. The two met at least three times: on the set of East of Eden (1955); on the set of Désirée (1954) and at a party, where Brando took Dean aside and told him he had emotional problems that required psychiatric attention.
- While a struggling actor in the 1950s, he once lived at 19 West 68th Street, off Manhattan's Central Park West.
- He was good friends with Martin Landau.
- His performance as Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause (1955) is ranked #43 on Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).
- Just before his untimely death, his agent, Jane Deacy, negotiated a 9-picture deal over six years with Warner Brothers worth $900,000. Dean's next project was to be a television version for NBC of Emlyn Williams' play "The Corn is Green", in which he was to star with Judith Anderson. His next film was to be Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956), a biopic of boxer Rocky Graziano, for which Warners were loaning him to MGM and in which he was replaced by Paul Newman. Newman also replaced him in the role of Billy the Kid in The Left Handed Gun (1958). Three other roles with which he was being linked were the leads in Gun for a Coward (1956), This Angry Age (1957) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958).
- He was Oscar nominated in two-thirds of his films, a record which will probably never be bettered.
- He was known to have loved animals as he spoke fondly of being raised around cows, pigs and chickens when he was young. He also was given a Siamese kitten named Marcus as gift by Elizabeth Taylor.
- He was terribly nearsighted and wore thick glasses when not on the screen.
- He was biggest idol of Elvis Presley.
- His closest and most intimate friend for the last five years of his life was William Bast.
- The day when James Dean was born was Sunday.
FAQ
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Conclusion
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