Harrelson was born in Midland, Texas, the son of Diane Lou (née Oswald) and Charles Voyde Harrelson, who divorced in 1964; he has two brothers, Jordan and Brett, the latter of whom is a professional motorcycle racer. In 1979, in San Antonio, Federal Judge John H. Wood, Jr. was shot and killed by rifle fire by Charles Harrelson, who was a free-lance contract killer. He was convicted and eventually Read more...

After graduation, Harrelson moved to New York City. In 1985, he was cast as the naive but genial Midwestern bartender Woody Boyd on the classic television series Cheers, and won an Emmy for the role. His first film was 1986's Wildcats with Goldie Hawn. Harrelson became friends with Wesley Snipes and starred with him in the box-office hits White Men Can't Jump and Money Train. He appeared in mostly Read more...

In 1985, Harrelson married Nancy Simon, daughter of playwright Neil Simon, in Tijuana. The two intended to divorce the following day, but the storefront marriage/divorce parlor was closed when they had returned to it, and the two remained married for ten months.

On January 11, 1998, Harrelson married Laura Louie, his former assistant of two years and a co-founder of Yoganics, an organic food Read more...