(1970-)
Synopsis
Actor Kirk Cameron was born in Panorama City, California, on October 12, 1970. He began acting at a young age and found early success as teenage-heartthrob, Mike Seaver on the popular family sitcom Growing Pains. As Cameron grew up he focused his attention on religious activism. He runs the organization "Way of the Master" which spreads what he believes to be the truths about Christianity.
Early Life
Kirk Cameron was born on October 12, 1970, in Panorama City, California, to a schoolteacher father and a stay-at-home mother. He is one of four children and was not the only child-star in the family. Both Cameron and his younger sister, Candace, found fame at a young age. Cameron began acting professionally at 9 years old. Friend and young actor Adam Rich introduced Cameron to acting, and helped him acquire an agent.
Cameron was soon landing commercials and earning small television appearances. His first starring role was on the television series Two Marriages in 1983.
Commercial Success
Two years after Cameron's first starring role, he earned his career-defining big break as Mike Seaver on the popular family sitcom Growing Pains. The young actor grew up on set, spending seven years of his childhood with the show. Growing Pains not only launched Cameron's acting career, it turned him into a teen heartthrob and pin-up boy. The young star told reporters around this time that stardom was "just his job," not his identity. He even had early aspirations of becoming a brain surgeon.
During the last few seasons of Growing Pains, Cameron began separating himself from the rest of the cast, turning his attention toward religion and preferring to spend time with his family. The young star eventully became an Evangelical Christian, and further isolated himself by insisting his story lines not include any racy or adult material.
While working on Growing Pains, Cameron appeared as a guest star on many other TV shows. On the popular sitcom Full House, he played the cousin of D.J. Tanner, portrayed by his real-life sister, Candace Cameron.
Cameron also expanded his career beyond the small screen, appearing in such films as Like Father Like Son (1987) with Dudley Moore, the romance Listen to Me (1989) and 2008's Fireproof.
Religion
Cameron was an atheist in his youth, but, at the age of 20, he became a born-again Christian and turned his focus toward religious activism. Around this same time, he and evangelist colleague Ray Comfort began running a religious organization, Way of the Master. The group has a cable TV show (which began airing in 2003) and a website—mediums through which they preach what they believe to be the truth about Christianity.
Cameron received much criticism and backlash in 2012 following an interview with Piers Morgan, in which he stated that homosexuality was "unnatural" and "ultimately destructive."
In 2013, the former child star returned to the headlines when his evangelical-themed film, Unstoppable, was banned from Facebook and YouTube. Both websites claimed that their malware systems mistakenly identified the promotion as spam. Cameron described the work as his "most personal film about faith, hope and love, and why God allows bad things to happen to good people."
Personal Life
In 1991, a 20-year-old Cameron married his Growing Pains on-screen girlfriend, Chelsea Noble, who was then 26 years old. The couple has six children together.
QUICK FACTS
- Name: Kirk Cameron
- Birth date: October 12, 1970
- Birth State: California
- Birth City: Panorama City
- Best Known For: Child actor Kirk Cameron rose to fame as Seaver on the family sitcom Growing Pains. As an adult, he focuses his attention on religious activism.
- Astrological Sign: Libra
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