PIERCE BROSNAN

Pierce Brendan Brosnan was born May 16, 1953, in Navan, County Meath, Ireland. His father, Thomas Brosnan, left the family when Pierce was at an early age, which left Pierce's mother, Mary "May" Brosnan, to raise her son alone. May left Pierce with his grandparents in Ireland and went to London to train as a nurse.The situation proved painful for the young Pierce, who wasn't reunited with his mother until he was 11 years old.

Pierce has said that shortly after arriving in England, he experienced something that would have a major effect on his life. He saw his first motion picture, which ironically turned out to be a James Bond film -- Goldfinger.

Pierce left school and began training as a commercial artist before being bitten by the acting bug. After dabbling in a few plays, Pierce began serious training at the Drama Centre in 1969. He worked either behind the scenes or onstage in various plays before being picked by Tennessee Williams to star in Williams' The Red Devil Battery Sign.

In 1978, while still in hot pursuit of a strong acting career, Pierce met his future wife, Cassandra Harris, at a party. Pierce and Cassie married on December 27, 1980, in a small ceremony attended by, among others, Pierce's new stepchildren -- Charlotte, then 9, and Christopher, then 8. Pierce soon adopted them, and has been known to them as "Daddy" since the wedding day. In 1984, he and Cassie had a son together, Sean.

After the wedding, the couple struggled financially. Pierce continued to pursue acting, but landed only small roles, for the most part. His motion picture debut came in 1980 with The Long Good Friday, in which he played an IRA hitman. He also had a bit part in The Mirror Crack'd, where he was clutched to the bosom of Elizabeth Taylor.

During this year, Cassie was given a role in the latest Bond flick, For Your Eyes Only, in which she played the doomed Countess Liesl. According to Pierce, Cassie introduced him to Bond producer Albert Broccoli, the man who would later offer him the coveted role -- twice.

In 1981, Pierce got his biggest breaks ever by starring in the miniseries The Manions of America. While Manions didn't get rave reviews, it became a hit in America, and laid the foundation for his stardom.

In late 1981, Pierce borrowed £2,000 and headed to the U.S., where he heard about a role being cast in a TV detective series. He tried out for the role, and quickly won the part as the suave, charming title character in the NBC series Remington Steele.

The series became a hit, and Pierce quickly became a star. He starred opposite Stephanie Zimbalist, an actress who already had several films and TV movies under her belt. The two actors had a cool relationship, which became strained by the massive attention paid to Pierce, and the small amount of attention paid to Stephanie.

During a break from Remington in 1984, Pierce starred in the BBC miniseries Nancy Astor, where he played Nancy's first husband, Robert Gould Shaw. The role netted him a Golden Globe nomination.

Ratings for Remington began to wane during the fourth season. In 1986, NBC cancelled Remington. That summer, Pierce began pursuing the role he coveted most -- James Bond. Roger Moore had announced his departure, and Broccoli offered the role to Pierce. Pierce quickly accepted. The deal sparked a stream of publicity. NBC saw a golden opportunity, and renewed Remington for another season, effectively killing his chances at playing Bond.

Pierce reluctantly returned to Remington, but after six less-than-perfect episodes, the series was cancelled again. Pierce was left to fend for himself.

Pierce began pursuing a career in movies, starting with Nomads in 1986, and in 1987, he starred in The Fourth Protocol with Michael Caine.

In 1987, Cassie became ill. Her illness grew worse during Pierce's stint filming Mister Johnson. After their return to the U.S., Cassie was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Pierce struggled to care for her and keep working to pay the bills. It was during her illness that he began delving heavily into one of his favorite pastimes -- painting.

On December 28, 1991, a day after their 11th wedding anniversary, Cassie died in Pierce's arms.

Financial troubles keep Pierce's grieving period short. Left with a family to support, he threw himself into work, trying to build a movie career, but many of his movies didn't do well at the box office. One of his biggest roles was in the cult classic The Lawnmower Man in 1992, a film based on virtual reality and co-starring Jeff Fahey. Pierce also starred in TV movies like Death Train. In 1993, he starred opposite Robin Williams and Sally Field in Mrs. Doubtfire.

In 1995, while filming Robinson Crusoe, which was originally slated to be a movie for CBS, Timothy Dalton announced he was leaving the role of James Bond after only two movies. On June 1, 1995, Pierce was offered the role, and this time, there were no contracts to get in his way.

Pierce's first stint as Agent 007 proved a huge success. Goldeneye netted over $350 million worldwide, and became the most successful Bond film of the series. His next Bond flick, Tomorrow Never Dies, grossed more than $300 million worldwide. He followed this with equally successful The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day with Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry. He has been dubbed "the Billion Dollar Bond," because his Bond films have grossed a combined total of more than a billion dollars worldwide.

Pierce also began his own production company, Irish Dreamtime Inc., with long-time friend Beau St. Clair. He produces and co-stars in The Nephew. He also stopped off in Scotland for a cameo in the comedy The Match. Pierce starred and produced a hit remake of the classic The Thomas Crown Affair, co-starring Rene Russo and Denis Leary. Irish Dreamtime also produced Evelyn, a touching story of a custody case in 1950s Ireland that shook up the system. Pierce's amazing performance even generated Oscar buzz, though he wasn't nominated.

Pierce hasn't limited himself to Bond or Irish Dreamtime. He has also done movies for other studios and production companies, including Grey Owl, directed by Sir Richard Attenborough and recent projects like Laws of Attraction with Julianne Moore, After the Sunset with Don Cheadle and The Matador with Greg Kinnear.

In addition to his three children from Cassie, Pierce became a father again in January 1997 to Dylan Thomas Brosnan. He had the child with TV correspondant Keely-Shaye Smith, whom he met during an interview in 1994. Pierce then became a grandfather when daughter Charlotte and her fiancè, Alex Smith, had their first child. They have since married, as have Pierce and Keely. They were married in August 2001, not long after Keely gave birth to their second child, Paris Beckett Brosnan.

Today, Pierce divides his time between his wife and five children, his steady work and charities and environmental causes close to his heart. With luck and his amazing acting abilities, his face will grace the silver screen for years to come.