Early life

Quaid was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Juanita Bonniedale "Nita" (née Jordan), a real estate agent, and William Rudy Quaid (November 21, 1923 - February 8, 1987), an electrician. His brother is actor Randy Quaid. Quaid has English, Irish, Scots-Irish, and Cajun (French) ancestry. He attended Paul W. Horn Elementary School in Bellaire, and Pershing Middle School in Houston. He studied Mandarin and dance at Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Texas, and later in college, at the University of Houston, under drama coach Cecil Pickett, who had previously taught at Bellaire High and whose daughter is actress Cindy Pickett.

Career

Quaid dropped out of the University of Houston before graduating and moved to Hollywood to pursue an acting career . He initially had trouble finding work but began to gain notice when he appeared in Breaking Away (1979) and earned good reviews for his role in The Right Stuff (1983).

Known for his grin, Quaid has appeared in both comedic and dramatic roles. Quaid had starring roles in the films Enemy Mine (1985), Innerspace (1987) and The Big Easy (1987). He also achieved acclaim for his portrayal of Jerry Lee Lewis in Great Balls of Fire! (1989). In 1989, he also appeared throughout the Bonnie Raitt music video for the song "Thing Called Love."

Quaid's career lost steam in the early 1990s, after he fought anorexia nervosa brought on when he lost 40 pounds to play the tuberculosis-afflicted Doc Holliday in Wyatt Earp and kicked a cocaine addiction as well. He continued to garner positive reviews in a variety of films, however. Quaid was also the guest star of a season 2 episode of Muppets Tonight (1997). He starred in the lead role in the 1996 adventure film Dragonheart, the remake of The Parent Trap (1998), playing the part of the twins' father, and as an aging pro football quarterback in Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday (1999). Some of Quaid's more recent film credits include Frequency (2000), The Rookie (2002), Far from Heaven (2002), Cold Creek Manor (2003), The Flight of the Phoenix (2004), The Alamo (2004), In Good Company (2004), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Yours, Mine and Ours (2005), Vantage Point (2008), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), and Pandorum (2009).

In 2009, Quaid guest starred in an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, playing Mr. Krabs' grandfather, Captain Redbeard.

He portrayed U.S. President Bill Clinton, alongside Michael Sheen as Tony Blair and Hope Davis as Hillary Clinton, in the 2010 film The Special Relationship.

In 2012 and 2013, Quaid played Sheriff Ralph Lamb in the CBS TV drama series Vegas.

Awards

For his role in Far from Heaven (2002) he won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. He received nominations for Best Supporting Actor from the Golden Globe Awards, the Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Quaid was also honored with a Distinguished Alumni Award from his alma mater, the University of Houston, in April 2012.

Personal life

Relationships and children

Quaid has been married three times and has three children.

Quaid and his first wife, actress P. J. Soles, were married on November 25, 1978. The couple divorced on January 23, 1983.

On February 14, 1991, Quaid married actress Meg Ryan. Quaid and Ryan are said to have fallen in love during the shooting of their second film together, D.O.A. Quaid and Ryan have a son, Jack Henry (born April 24, 1992). They were divorced on July 16, 2001.

Quaid dated model Shanna Moakler in 2001. They were together when she was approached by Playboy, and they discussed it before she posed nude in the magazine, which she publicly announced in W magazine as "embarrassing." The relationship lasted for eight months.

Quaid married Texas real-estate agent Kimberly Buffington, on July 4, 2004, at his ranch in Paradise Valley, Montana. They have fraternal twins, Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace, born via gestational carrier on November 8, 2007, in Santa Monica, California.

On November 18, 2007, hospital staff mistakenly gave Quaid's ten-day-old twins a dosage of heparin 1,000 times the common dosage for infants. Their attorney said the newborns will "be fine now," but Quaid filed a lawsuit against the drug manufacturer, Baxter Healthcare, claiming that packaging for the two doses of heparin are not different enough. In May 2008, the Quaids testified before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, asking U.S. Congress not to preempt the right to sue drug manufacturers for negligence under state law.This incident led Quaid to become an active patient safety advocate, producing a series of documentaries on preventable medical errors that aired on the Discovery Channel as well as co-authoring a medical journal article addressing the positive influence of patient stories in motivating change in healthcare. The first documentary, Chasing Zero: Winning the War on Healthcare Harm, aired on the Discovery Channel in 2010, and the second documentary, Surfing the Healthcare Tsunami: Bring Your Best Board, aired on the Discovery Channel in 2012.

Buffington filed for divorce from Quaid in March 2012. According to the divorce petition, the marriage had "become insupportable because of discord or conflict of personalities." Buffington's attorney then withdrew the divorce papers on April 26, 2012. In the summer of 2012, Quaid and Buffington moved to California. In October 2012, Quaid and Buffington again decided to separate, and Buffington filed for legal separation, seeking joint legal and sole physical custody of the twins. After waiting to establish the required six months of residency in California, Quaid filed for divorce on November 30, 2012, asking for joint legal and physical custody of the children and offering to pay spousal support to Buffington. They have since reconciled and the divorce was dismissed with prejudice in the spring of 2013.

Interests

Quaid was raised in the Baptist faith.

In addition to acting, Quaid is a musician and plays with his band, the Sharks. He wrote and performed the song "Closer To You" in the film The Big Easy (1987). Quaid also has a pilot's license and owned a Cessna Citation, he also is a one-handicap golfer. In 2005, he was named as the top golfer among the "Hollywood set" by Golf Digest.

Quaid is an avid fan of the Houston Astros, and after their 2005 National League Championship winning season, he narrated their commemorating DVD release. He coined the phrase "Go 'Stros."

After the filming of The Express: The Ernie Davis Story, Quaid went to Cleveland Browns Stadium to dedicate Davis's jersey.

Substance use

There have been extensive stories about Quaid's past abuse of cocaine. In a candid 2002 interview with Larry King on his talk show, after King asked about his motives for using drugs, Quaid responded, "Well, you got to put it in context. Back in the late '60s, early '70s. That was back during the time where, you know, drugs were going to expand our minds and everybody was experimenting and everything. We were really getting high, we didn't know it. And cocaine at that time was considered harmless. You know. I remember magazine articles in 'People' Magazine of doctors saying, it is not addicting. It is just—alcohol is worse. So I think we all fell into that. But that's not the way it was." When asked if he believed he had ever been addicted to the drugs, he responded, "It was a gradual thing. But it got to the point where I couldn't have any fun unless I had it. Which is a bad place to be." Later in the interview he said, "But I saw myself being dead in about five years if I didn't stop.

Charities

Quaid lends his name to the annual "Dennis Quaid Charity Weekend" (formerly the "Jiffy Lube/Dennis Quaid Charity Classic") in Austin. The golf tournament attracts numerous celebrities with the proceeds split among local children's charities. He is a member of the Bel-Air Country Club in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, and tries to stay at homes on private courses when he is on the road.

Quaid works with the International Hospital for Children in New Orleans. He makes trips to Central America to help build medical clinics and transport sick children back to the U.S. for treatment they cannot get locally.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1975	Crazy Mama	Bellhop	(uncredited)
1977	I Never Promised You a Rose Garden	Shark, Baseball Pitcher
1977	September 30, 1955	Frank
1978	Our Winning Season	Paul Morelli
1978	Seniors, TheThe Seniors	Alan
1979	Breaking Away	Mike
1980	Long Riders, TheThe Long Riders	Ed Miller
1980	Gorp	Mad Grossman
1981	All Night Long	Freddie Dupler
1981	Caveman	Lar
1981	Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia, TheThe Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia	Travis Child
1981	Stripes	Extra at Graduation Ceremony	(uncredited)
1983	Tough Enough	Art Long
1983	Jaws 3-D	Michael 'Mike' Brody
1983	Right Stuff, TheThe Right Stuff	Gordon Cooper
1984	Dreamscape	Alex Gardner
1985	Enemy Mine	Willis Davidge
1987	Big Easy, TheThe Big Easy	Det. Remy McSwain	Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Male Valladolid International Film Festival Award for Best Actor
1987	Innerspace	Lt. Tuck Pendleton
1987	Suspect	Eddie Sanger
1988	D.O.A.	Dexter Cornell
1988	Everybody's All-American	Gavin Grey
1989	Great Balls of Fire!	Jerry Lee Lewis
1990	Come See the Paradise	Jack McGurn
1990	Postcards from the Edge	Jack Faulkner
1993	Wilder Napalm	Wallace Foudroyant/Biff the Clown
1993	Undercover Blues	Jefferson 'Jeff' Blue
1993	Flesh and Bone	Arlis Sweeney
1994	Century of Cinema, AA Century of Cinema	Himself	Documentary
1994	Wyatt Earp	Doc Holliday
1995	Something to Talk About	Eddie Bichon
1996	Dragonheart	Bowen
1997	Gang Related	Joe Doe/William
1997	Switchback	Frank LaCrosse
1998	Parent Trap, TheThe Parent Trap	Nick Parker
1998	Savior	Joshua Rose/Guy
1998	Playing by Heart	Hugh
1999	Any Given Sunday	Jack 'Cap' Rooney
2000	Frequency	Frank Sullivan	Nominated — Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor - Suspense Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
2000	Traffic	Arnie Metzger	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2002	Rookie, TheThe Rookie	Jim Morris
2002	Far from Heaven	Frank Whitaker	Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
2003	Cold Creek Manor	Cooper Tilson
2004	Alamo, TheThe Alamo	Sam Houston
2004	Day After Tomorrow, TheThe Day After Tomorrow	Jack Hall
2004	In Good Company	Dan Foreman
2004	Flight of the Phoenix	Frank Towns
2005	Yours, Mine and Ours	Rear Admiral Frank Beardsley, USCG
2006	American Dreamz	President Joseph Staton
2007	Battle for Terra	Roven	Voice role
2008	Vantage Point	Thomas Barnes
2008	Smart People	Lawrence Wetherhold
2008	Express, TheThe Express	Ben Schwartzwalder
2009	Horsemen	Aidan Breslin
2009	G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra	General Hawk
2009	Pandorum	Payton
2010	Legion	Bob Hanson
2011	Soul Surfer	Tom Hamilton
2011	Footloose	Rev. Shaw Moore
2012	Beneath the Darkness	Vaughn Ely
2012	What to Expect When You're Expecting	Ramsey
2012	The Words	Clay Hammond
2012	Playing for Keeps	Carl
2012	At Any Price	Henry Whipple
2013	Movie 43	Charlie Wessler	Segment: "The Pitch"
2015	Truth	Colonel Roger Charles
2016	A Dog's Purpose		Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	Bill	Barry Morrow	Television film
1982	Johnny Belinda	Kyle Hager	Television film
1998	Everything that Rises	Jim Clay	Television film
2001	Dinner with Friends	Gabe	Television film
2009	SpongeBob SquarePants	Grandpa RedBeard	Voice role; Episode: "Grandpappy the Pirate/Cephalopod Lodge"
2010	Special Relationship, TheThe Special Relationship	Bill Clinton	Television film Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Miniseries or a Movie Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2010	Chasing Zero: Winning the War on Healthcare Harm	self/narrator	Television documentary
2012-2013	Vegas	Sheriff Ralph Lamb	21 episodes, also executive producer
2015	Inside Amy Schumer	Chief / Judge	2 episodes
2015	Drunk History	Lucky Luciano	Episode: "Las Vegas"
2015	The Art of More	Samuel Brukner	Main Role

[ Source: Wikipedia ]