Mark Ruffalo

Biography:

Mark Alan Ruffalo was born on November 22, 1967, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His mother, Marie Rose (née Hébert), worked as a hairdresser, while his father, Frank Lawrence Ruffalo Jr., was a construction painter. He grew up with two sisters, Tanya Marie (who passed away in 2023) and Nicole, and a brother, Scott (who died in 2008). His father’s family came from Girifalco, Calabria, Italy, while his mother was of French Canadian and Italian heritage. Raised in a household influenced by multiple faiths—Christianity, Catholicism, and the Baháʼí Faith—Ruffalo has said he learned early on to see all beliefs as valid through the example of his parents and grandmother.

Ruffalo attended both Catholic and progressive schools but struggled with undiagnosed dyslexia and ADHD. Despite this, he described himself as a “happy kid.” In his teens, his family moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia, where his father worked, and Ruffalo joined the wrestling team in school. He graduated from First Colonial High School in 1986, performing in school productions with the Patriot Playhouse. Later, his family relocated to San Diego and then Los Angeles, where Ruffalo studied acting at the Stella Adler Conservatory and co-founded the Orpheus Theatre Company. There he wrote, directed, and performed in stage plays while supporting himself as a bartender for nearly a decade.

Ruffalo made his screen debut in 1989 with CBS Summer Playhouse and appeared in small roles throughout the 1990s, including Mirror, Mirror II (1994) and Mirror, Mirror III (1995). He originated the role of Warren Straub in Kenneth Lonergan’s This Is Our Youth (1996) and later reunited with Lonergan for You Can Count on Me (2000), which brought him critical acclaim and comparisons to a young Marlon Brando. He followed with roles in The Last Castle (2001), XX/XY (2002), My Life Without Me (2003), and In the Cut (2003).

By the mid-2000s, Ruffalo gained popularity in romantic comedies such as View from the Top (2003), 13 Going on 30 (2004), and Just Like Heaven (2005), while also showing range in films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) and Michael Mann’s Collateral (2004). In 2006, he made his Broadway debut in Clifford Odets’s Awake and Sing!, earning a Tony nomination. That same year, he appeared in All the King’s Men alongside Sean Penn, Kate Winslet, and Anthony Hopkins.

Ruffalo drew critical praise for his work in David Fincher’s Zodiac (2007), portraying Inspector Dave Toschi, and went on to star in Reservation Road (2007), The Brothers Bloom (2008), Blindness (2008), and What Doesn’t Kill You (2008). He continued working steadily in both independent films and major productions before taking on his most iconic role: Bruce Banner / The Hulk in The Avengers (2012). His performance was praised for bringing depth and humor to the character, and he reprised the role in numerous Marvel films, including Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022). He is set to appear again in Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026).

Outside of Marvel, Ruffalo starred in Begin Again (2013), The Normal Heart (2014)—earning an Emmy nomination—Foxcatcher (2014), which brought him his second Oscar nod, and Spotlight (2015), for which he received his third. He has also appeared in Now You See Me 2 (2016), the HBO series I Know This Much Is True (2020), which won him an Emmy, and Dark Waters (2019), which he also produced. More recently, he has starred in The Adam Project (2022), Poor Things (2023)—earning Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice, and Academy Award nominations—and the Netflix miniseries All the Light We Cannot See (2023). In 2025, he appeared in Bong Joon-ho’s sci-fi film Mickey 17.

Ruffalo married actress Sunrise Coigney in 2000, and the couple has three children. In the early 2000s, he was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor, which caused temporary facial paralysis and left him deaf in his left ear after surgery. In 2008, tragedy struck when his brother Scott was killed in Beverly Hills in a case that remains unsolved.

Ruffalo and his family live in Sullivan County, New York, while also maintaining residences in New York City and spending summers in Maine. Known for his progressive activism, he has also faced challenges—including a 2022 lawsuit related to a fire on the set of I Know This Much Is True.