Richard Dreyfuss Bio
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (born October 29, 1947) is an American actor who emerged from the New Hollywood wave of American cinema and became one of the defining leading men of the 1970s. He is noted for starring roles in American Graffiti, Jaws, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and for winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Goodbye Girl. Over a career that began in 1964, Dreyfuss has also worked as a producer and has remained active in film, television, and stage. His accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe.
Early Life and Background
Richard Dreyfuss was born on October 29, 1947, in Brooklyn, New York City. He is the son of Norman Dreyfuss, an attorney and restaurateur, and Geraldine Dreyfuss, a peace activist. His older brother, Lorin Dreyfuss, went on to work as an actor, film producer, and screenwriter, and he also has a younger sister, Cathy. The family is Jewish, with roots tracing to immigrants from Russia and Poland.
After being raised in the Bayside area of Queens from 1950 until the age of eight, Dreyfuss relocated with his family to Los Angeles in 1956. He attended Beverly Hills High School, where he first developed an interest in acting. As a young performer, he trained at Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills Arts Center and the Westside Jewish Community Center under drama teacher Bill Miller.
Dreyfuss later enrolled at San Fernando Valley State College, now known as California State University, Northridge, where he studied for a year. During the Vietnam War era, he registered as a conscientious objector and completed two years of alternate service as a hospital clerk in Los Angeles.
Path to Acting
Dreyfuss made his on-screen debut as a teenager in the television production In Mama’s House when he was fifteen. Throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, he built his résumé through small television roles on shows such as Peyton Place, Room 222, Gidget, That Girl, Gunsmoke, Bewitched, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, and The Big Valley, and through stage work on Broadway, Off-Broadway, repertory, and improvisational theater. His first film appearance was a brief, uncredited role in The Graduate (1967), followed by small parts in Valley of the Dolls (1967) and Hello Down There (1969).
His first significant film role came with the 1973 George Lucas hit American Graffiti, in which he acted alongside other future stars including Harrison Ford. Dreyfuss then took his first lead role in the Canadian film The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974), earning positive reviews and attention from major critics. These early successes positioned him for the breakthrough roles that would define the next phase of his career.
Richard Dreyfuss Career
Early Career (1964–1974)
Dreyfuss’s professional career began in 1964 with television and stage work while he was still a teenager. Through the late 1960s and into the early 1970s, he accumulated experience in episodic television, repertory theater, and small film parts. By 1972, he was appearing in stage revivals such as The Time of Your Life at the Huntington Hartford Theater in Los Angeles.
His early film work, including uncredited appearances and supporting roles, gradually led to his casting in American Graffiti (1973) and his first lead role in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974). These projects established him as a rising talent capable of anchoring a feature film.
Breakthrough (1975–1995)
Dreyfuss achieved major stardom with a string of high-profile films in the mid-1970s, beginning with Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975) and continuing with Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Between 1973 and 1978, the films he appeared in collectively grossed upwards of $900 million. He won the 1978 Academy Award for Best Actor at the 50th Academy Awards ceremony for his portrayal of a struggling actor in the romantic comedy The Goodbye Girl (1977), becoming the youngest Best Actor winner at the time.
After struggling with substance abuse in the early 1980s, Dreyfuss completed court-appointed rehabilitation and returned to the screen with Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986) and Stakeout (1987). He went on to appear in Stand by Me (1986), Nuts (1987), Moon over Parador (1988), Always (1989), What About Bob? (1991), and The American President (1995). He received his second Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his title role in Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995).
Notable Works and Milestones
Among Dreyfuss’s most recognized works are American Graffiti (1973), Jaws (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), The Goodbye Girl (1977), Stand by Me (1986), and Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995). His signature achievement remains the 1978 Academy Award for Best Actor for The Goodbye Girl, a milestone that cemented his place among the leading American actors of his generation. He also made his producing debut with The Big Fix (1978) and produced and starred as Georges Picquart in the HBO film Prisoner of Honor (1991).
Richard Dreyfuss Award Nominations
Richard Dreyfuss has received multiple major award nominations across his career. He earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his title role in Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995), and was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor for his work on the CBS drama series The Education of Max Bickford (2001–2002). He has also been nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his performance in the courtroom thriller Nuts (1987).
Richard Dreyfuss Awards Won
Richard Dreyfuss has won an Academy Award, a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe Award. His Academy Award came at the 50th Academy Awards ceremony in 1978, when he won Best Actor for The Goodbye Girl (1977). He was also recognized with a BAFTA and a Golden Globe for his work across the same era of celebrated performances.
Richard Dreyfuss Family
Richard Dreyfuss is the son of Norman Dreyfuss and Geraldine Dreyfuss. His older brother, Lorin Dreyfuss, is an actor, film producer, and screenwriter, and his niece is the actress Natalie Dreyfuss. Lorin Dreyfuss is also credited for inspiring Richard’s early interest in film and storytelling.
Personal Life
Richard Dreyfuss married writer and producer Jeramie Rain in the early 1980s, and the couple had three children: Emily Robin Dreyfuss, Benjamin Darrow Dreyfuss, and Harry Spencer Dreyfuss. They divorced in 1995. He married Janelle Lacey in 1999, with the marriage ending in divorce in 2005, and in 2006 he married Svetlana Erokhin. The couple has resided in the San Diego, California area. In 2006, Dreyfuss publicly discussed his diagnosis of bipolar disorder in the documentary Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive.
