
John Travolta
Department: Acting
Biography
John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He began acting on television before transitioning into a leading man in film. His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards. Travolta came to prominence starring in the sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979), followed by leading roles in Carrie (1976), Grease (1978), Urban Cowboy (1980), and Blow Out (1981). He earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his roles in Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Pulp Fiction (1994). His other notable films include Get Shorty (1995), Broken Arrow (1996), Michael (1996), Face/Off (1997), A Civil Action (1998), Primary Colors (1998), The General's Daughter (1999), The Punisher (2004), Wild Hogs (2007), Hairspray (2007), Bolt (2008), and Savages (2012). Travolta returned to television, portraying lawyer Robert Shapiro in the series The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story. He received an Emmy Award as a producer and nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. He was also Emmy-nominated for his role in the action-comedy web series Die Hart (2021). Travolta has released nine albums outside of acting, including four singles that charted on the Billboard Hot 100's Top 40. His albums typically accompanied films he starred in, such as Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture (1978), which topped the Billboard 200. Travolta is also a private pilot.
Known For

Lonely Hearts
2006

Grease
1978

Pulp Fiction
1994

Face/Off
1997

Die Hart
2023

The General's Daughter
1999

Michael
1996

Be Cool
2005

Hairspray
2007

Basic
2003

Lucky Numbers
2000

Staying Alive
1983

Ladder 49
2004

Saturday Night Fever
1977

Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon
2005

Battlefield Earth
2000

Wild Hogs
2007

Old Dogs
2009

I'm Still Here
2010

Carrie
1976

Domestic Disturbance
2001

Get Shorty
1995

Blow Out
1981

White Man's Burden
1995

The Punisher
2004

Look Who's Talking Now!
1993

The Thin Red Line
1998

A Civil Action
1998

Primary Colors
1998

Shout
1991

Look Who's Talking
1989

Swordfish
2001

From Paris with Love
2010

Two of a Kind
1983

Phenomenon
1996

Mad City
1997

A Love Song for Bobby Long
2004

Look Who's Talking Too
1990

Bolt
2008

The Boy in the Plastic Bubble
1976

She's So Lovely
1997

Chains of Gold
1991

The Devil’s Rain
1975

Urban Cowboy
1980

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
2009

Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s
2002

The Shepherd
2023

Cash Out
2024

Perfect
1985

Casting By
2012

Eyes of an Angel
1991

That's Amore!
—

Savages
2012

John Travolta Remembers James Cagney
2003

The Experts
1989

Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
2012

Killing Season
2013

High Rollers
2025

Close Encounters with Vilmos Zsigmond
2016

Moment by Moment
1978

Tony Bennett: An American Classic
2006

John Travolta: The Inside Story
2004

Basements
1987

Bio.
2005

Mob Land
2023

Rona Barrett Looks at 1978
1979

The Forger
2014

Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's
1998

American Badass: A Michael Madsen Retrospective
2022

In a Valley of Violence
2016

Pattern Recognition
2017

Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles
2023

Criminal Activities
2015

Orientation: A Scientology Information Film
1996

Seriously... Phil Collins
1990

James Bond: The First 21 Years
1983

Close Up
2012

David Blaine: Beyond Magic
2016

Nos Bastidores de Hollywood
2005

I Am Wrath
2016

The Grand Knockout Tournament
1987

Life on the Line
2016

2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
2010

Our Friend, Martin
1999

Junket Whore
1998

Happy Birthday Elizabeth: A Celebration of Life
1997

Brando
2007

Austin Powers in Goldmember
2002

Gotti
2018

Stayin' Alive: A Grammy Salute to the Music of the Bee Gees
2017

Quentin Tarantino: 20 Years of Filmmaking
2013

Welcome to Hollywood
2000

Speed Kills
2018

Trading Paint
2019

The Grease Story
2017

Saturday Night Fever: The Ultimate Disco Movie
2017

The Fanatic
2019

The Poison Rose
2019

Grease Day USA
1978

Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History
2008

Forever Hollywood
1999

Urban Cowboy: The Rise and Fall of Gilley's
2015

Everyday Heroes: Real Stories from Real Firefighters
2005

Nightmare
1974

The Tenth Level
1976

John Travolta, le miraculé d'Hollywood
2017

Studio 54
2018

Paradise City
2022

Boris and Natasha
1992

Quentin Tarantino: From a Movie Buff to a Hollywood Legend
2021

Broken Arrow
1996

AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the Movies
2004

November 1963
2026

Cash Out 3
—

Pulp Fiction: The Facts
2002

Be Cool, Very Cool
2005

Black Tides
2026

Syndicate
—

Trailer Camp
1995

Scientology: The Road to Total Freedom?
1987

The Kick That United A Nation
2025

That's Dancing!
1985

ABC's 50th Anniversary Celebration
2003

America's Flying Aces: The Blue Angels 50th Anniversary
1996

ED
—

Pulp Fiction: Behind The Scenes Montages
2002

Bee Gees: One Night Only
1998

Propeller One-Way Night Coach
2026

Welcome Back, Kotter
1975

Inside the Actors Studio
1994

The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2003

Fear Factor
2001

The Rookies
1972

LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988

The View
1997

Fat Actress
2005

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992

The Early Show
1999

Oprah's Big Give
2008

The Jay Leno Show
2009

Celebrities Uncensored
2003

Mr. T and Tina
1976

Harty
1983

Where Are They Now?
1999

The Oscars
1953

Good Day Live
2001

The Captain and Tennille
1976

The Scrat Show
2012

Hart to Heart
2021

Saturday Night Live
1975

Top of the Pops
1964

Wetten, dass..?
1981

American Crime Story
2016

The True Story of...
2017

The Mike Douglas Show
1961

Rove
1999

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962

The Reichen Show
2005

LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988

Goldene Kamera
1984

Emergency!
1972

Panorama
1953

Sanremo Music Festival
1951

Entertainment Tonight
1981

Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
1975

Jay Leno's Garage
2015

Il était une fois Champs-Élysées
2022

Die Hart
2020

Champs-Elysées
1982

Kirstie
2013

The Playboy Murders
2023

Behind Closed Doors with Natalie Morales
2015

Golden Globe Awards
1944

Golden Globe Awards
1944

Golden Globe Awards
1944

Fifth Gear
2002

Great Performances
1971

Golden Globe Awards
1944

Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
2014

Sacrée Soirée
1987

Medical Center
1969

MTV Video Music Awards
1984

El hormiguero
2006

Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
1971

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015

Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003

Tony Awards
1956