John Travolta was the youngest of six children born in Englewood, New Jersey in 1954 to an entertainment-oriented family. His mother, Helen, was a drama teacher and also an alumnus of a radio vocal group. His father, Salvatore, was a former semi-pro football player and tire salesman. All but one of John's siblings pursued acting careers. By the age of twelve John joined a local theater group and was soon performing in musicals and dinner-theater productions. He also enrolled in singing and dance lessons. In fact, Gene Kelly's brother, Fred, taught him tap dancing.

With his parents blessing, John dropped out of high school, at the age of sixteen, to pursue his acting career full time. He relocated to Manhattan and got some work in a few Off-Broadway productions. His big break came in 1975 when the bright-eyed and boyish John was cast on the sitcom "Welcome Back Kotter" as Vinnie Barbarino. He became an overnight superstar and sexy teen-idol. He also recorded a series of pop music records, scoring a hit with "Let Her In." and won the tittle of Best Male Vocalist award from Billboard.

He burst onto the silver screen and "hustled" his way to mega movie stardom in the signature film of the 70's "Saturday Night Fever" (1977). His Italian-American posturing and bruised sensitivity along with his incredible dancing ability earned him an Oscar nomination. In 1978 Travolta proved capable of light romantic comedy staring opposite Olivia Newton-John in "Grease". It was an even greater hit than "Saturday Night Fever" had been. In 1980, John stared in the well-received "Urban Cowboy" with new comer Debra Winger. He was at the top of his game and had captured the heart and eye of America. Unfortunately his next string of films turned out to be flops and for nearly a decade we had all but forgotten the 70's icon.

His role in the sleeper hit "Look Who's Talking" (1990) helped Johns career along but he wasn't the main attraction. It wasn't until 1994's "Pulp Fiction" that Travolta was restored to tinsel-towns A-list and he's been on a roll ever since. With hits like "Get Shorty", "Face-Off", "Phenomenon", "Michael" and "Primary Colors" who can argue that the comeback kid is here to stay.

Travolta has always maintained a positive attitude about his losing streak: "I've always thought that as long as I did the right things and had the right intentions, everything would fall into place." He has been married to actress Kelly Preston since 1991 and they share a son, Jet. He named his son out of his love of flying. He has said that if he hadn't become an actor he would be a professional pilot. He does own 3 jet planes of his own that he pilots himself. He is also an active member of the Church of Scientology.