Beloved by countless fans, you may think you know everything about The Dude from "The Big
Lebowski."
But there's a lot more to him than his iconic bathrobe and shades.
Here's the truth about Jeff Bridges you never knew.
Back in 1974, Jeff Bridges was in Paradise Valley, Montana, working on the film "Rancho
Deluxe" when he met the woman who would become his wife: Susan Geston.
He told People it was, quote, "love at first sight," and although she initially said no
when he asked her on a date, they met up days later and fell for each other.
When the actor returned to California, she went with him.
However, while Bridges was quick to fall in love, he wasn't as quick to propose.
In fact, Susan decided to leave, which is when he realized he couldn't be without her.
Bridges told OWN,
"I said, 'Oh God, I can't let this woman go.'
[...] I had this vision of me as an old guy thinking, God, there was that girl from Montana,
man, why didn't I marry her."
He proposed, and they said "I do" five days later.
They have now been married for over 40 years.
Bridges told People,
"We are quite different as people, and we celebrate that rather than making it drive
us apart.
I respect her wisdom.
I've really been blessed."
The star also noted on OWN,
"I realized how wonderful marriage is, and what a great opportunity [it is] [...] Saying
we're gonna do this together and we're gonna learn and experience all kinds of joyful things
and sorrowful things, but we're gonna do it together."
Jeff Bridges and his wife Susan are the parents of three daughters: Isabelle, Jessica, and
Haley.
They are also grandparents to Grace and Ben.
The actor talked to "The Off Camera Show" about raising a family while having a career
that was, quote, "very self-involved," crediting his wife for bringing up the children.
"But later on in my life, I remember I've cried with my daughters.
You know it's like, oh fuck.
What did I…
I've missed out."
Isabelle also opened up about her parents to People, saying,
"They love each other, but they like each other, they spend time together.
They make an effort to ask each other questions about what the other is interested in."
Isabelle is, in fact, so fond of her parents that she collaborated on a children's book,
"Daddy Daughter Day," with her dad in 2020.
She took the lead on the writing side while he did the illustrations.
She told The Hollywood Reporter,
"I am so excited to share this book with anyone who wants to have a peek into what it was
like to grow up being my dad's daughter, as well as anyone who is curious about creating
their own Daddy Daughter Day."
If Jeff Bridges seems chill, that's perhaps because he studies Buddhism and meditates,
even traveling with a meditation bell.
He told Rolling Stone that Zen Master Bernie Glassman once surprised him by saying,
"You realize that many people in the Buddhist community look at The Dude as a Zen master?"
Bridges and Glassman went on to collaborate on a book called "The Dude and the Zen Master."
In 2017, Bridges explained to CNN that a little mindfulness and meditation might help in today's
troubled political times.
"That's what I think is needed today, to kind of put a check on ourselves."
Although Jeff Bridges got an early start in show business thanks to his famous family,
he wasn't always in the industry.
When he was a freshman in high school, he was sent off to military academy in an attempt
to instill some discipline and set him on the straight and narrow path.
But he hated it, and ended up leaving to finish his education at a public high school.
Still, that wasn't the end of his military involvement.
After graduation, Bridges ended up enlisting in the Coast Guard Reserves: his brother Beau
had already enlisted, and his father Lloyd Bridges had connections with the Coast Guard
thanks to his hit TV show "Sea Hunt."
Bridges ended up serving for seven years, and during that time he was given less-than-thrilling
tasks like chipping paint off of old buoys, which he told AV Club was the worst job he
ever had.
He said conditions on the boat were terrible.
"The ceiling is about 7 feet tall and below the racks where you sleep there's three or
four racks stuffed into that space and you're out in the ocean at sea in a flat-bottomed
boat up against the wind and the swells and everyone is puking."
He added,
"I'm glad it's in the rearview mirror."
Jeff Bridges' most famous role is surely The Dude from the 1998 film "The Big Lebowski."
Made by the legendary Coen brothers, "The Big Lebowski" wasn't exactly a hit when it
first came out, but it's gone on to become a worldwide cult classic.
And one of the big reasons is Bridges' portrayal of the main character, Jeff Lebowski, aka
'The Dude."
While Bridges will always be associated with the iconic role, it turns out that the star
also personally related to The Dude.
In 2012, he told Rolling Stone,
"It reminded me a lot of myself back in [the '60s].
I smoked my share of pot and all that, and the long hair."
He said that when he creates a character, he works on the whole character, with the
character's internal and external life both informing the other.
So figuring out the mindset informed the wardrobe choices, and vice versa.
The fact that he identified with The Dude helped a lot, especially after they raided
his own clothes to help find The Dude's signature look.
"And we just found all kinds of stuff.
Those jelly sandals, some T-shirts that I had."
In addition to being an award-winning actor, Bridges also has a love of music.
In 2014, Rolling Stone reported that the star had been spending time on tour with a backing
band called the Abiders, whose name was of course a reference to one of the most famous
lines from "The Big Lebowski."
"The Dude abides."
Bridges revealed that he wanted to name the band after a different "Big Lebowski" reference,
but was overruled.
"I wanted to go with 'The Royal We,' another Lebowski reference.
But all the guys said, 'no, the Abiders, man,' so we went with that."
Bridges explained to Rolling Stone that he has a big back catalog of songs because he
first started playing and creating music when he was a kid.
And he passed his love of music on to his own kids, especially his daughter Jessie,
who sometimes plays with his band.
"She took to it quickly.
Now she writes so beautifully and has some great songs."
As for the star's tunes, be sure to check out "What A Little Bit Of Love Can Do" and
"Maybe I Missed The Point."
You might also recognize "The Weary Kind," "I Don't Know," and "Fallin' And Flyin'" from
the 2009 film "Crazy Heart."
The movie stars Bridges in his Academy Award-winning role as a country music singer who's fading
from the spotlight while also navigating a romance with a journalist played by Maggie
Gyllenhaal.
Clearly, Bridges has what it takes to be a performer on the big screen and the concert
stage.
Oh, and Jeff Bridges is also a photographer!
Along with showing off his work on his website, he's held exhibits of his photography and
released books of pics he's taken on the sets of his films.
In 2003, Bridges' first book of behind-the-scenes images, simply titled "Pictures by Jeff Bridges,"
came out, and the description noted,
"For more than twenty years, on dozens of film sets, Bridges has perfected his own photography
[...] [The ] fascinating, surprisingly candid body of work began as a personal project,
as he recorded the arduous, emotionally intense, evanescent work of the film shoot in books
that were privately printed and given as gifts to cast and crew."
"Jeff Bridges: Pictures Volume Two" came out in 2019, and The Washington Post noted that
his photos, which are shot with "a specialized panoramic camera, the Widelux F8," earned
him an Infinity Award from the International Center of Photography.
Bridges talked to The Hollywood Reporter about photography in 2019, saying,
"It started on [the 1984 film] 'Starman,' and I just kept doing it.
And you do something for so long, it sort of becomes part of what you do — a habit,
as natural as picking up a book or magazine."
Jeff Bridges is the famous name behind Sleep Club.
No, that's not a movie, even though it could be the snoozy sequel to "Fight Club."
Instead, it's an organization that promotes the health benefits of getting a good night's
sleep.
The Sleep Club website notes that in our, quote, "fast-paced, over-stimulated world
[...] we are more sleep-deprived than ever."
In turn, the quality of life during our waking hours is less than ideal.
Sleep Club wants to change that, with Bridges, of course.
At Sleep Club, you can find the star's, quote, "Inspirations," which he hopes will help you,
"do some cool sleepin', some cool dreamin', and some cool wakin' up."
Beyond that, his Sleeping Tapes are also the inspiration for the original digital series
'Life is But a Dream.'
He talked about the project to AP, saying,
"For me, sleeping is about dreaming and waking up.
The possibilities are limitless and Sleep Club is a sandbox to play with those possibilities."
Activist and philanthropist
Bridges also spends a portion of his time supporting worthy causes.
The star is a spokesperson for No Kid Hungry, which gets food to children in need.
He has also worked with the Amazon Conservation Team, which,
"partners with indigenous and other local communities to protect tropical forests and
strengthen traditional culture."
On top of that, Bridges lent his voice to "Living in the Future's Past," which, according
to Entertainment Weekly, is a documentary that takes a close look at how humanity has
created and can still react to imminent environmental disasters.
He told EW,
"Our movie takes a good look under the hood of humanity.
It incorporates elements of evolution, emergence, energy, phycology, to show how these [affect]
our environment, our planet."
He also added,
"It's not fear that should drive us to act, it's love."
"I love the planet!
I love, look at where we live, I want this to go on!"
It's not surprising that Jeff Bridges has a lot of money.
After all, he's a Hollywood legend who's been in the business since he was a handsome young
lad.
However, thanks to his many roles and various money-making endeavors, it turns out that
he's not just wealthy — he's super-rich.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, he has a whopping $100 million.
In 2010, Bridges opened up to the Daily Mail about picking the right roles.
He said that at this point in his career, he's rich enough that money isn't really a
factor in choosing his roles.
He just wants to do good work.
"You just get a feeling when a film is going to be good, and when I get that, I'll do it."
Considering he's earned so much money over the course of his career, you might assume
that he's motivated to work a lot.
However, he admitted,
"I spend most of my time avoiding work.
Honestly, I'm a pretty lazy guy.
[...] Also, it takes me away from my sweetheart, from the woman I love, my leading lady."
Whatever your favorite Bridges' role might be, you have to also admire the way he faced
a Lymphoma diagnosis in 2020.
The star took to his website to send a message directly to his fans, writing,
"This cancer thing is bringing on feelings of preciousness, & gratitude, & good old fashion
love."
Throughout his battle with cancer, Bridges kept his fans updated through his Instagram
feed and his website.
He also shared that in addition to cancer, he contracted COVID-19 and for a time could
only walk with the aid of oxygen.
Thankfully, though, in September 2021, Bridges announced that his cancer was in remission
and that he had recovered from COVID with the help of the vaccine.
In other words:
"The Dude abides.
I don't know about you, but I take comfort in that."
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