Susan Sarandon was born Susan Tomalin in New York City, the eldest of nine children in 1946. She was raised Roman Catholic and attended The Catholic University of American from 1964 to 1968, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Drama. While in college she met and married fellow student Chris Sarandon in 1967.

In 1969, the Sarandons auditioned for the movie, Joe; Susan was cast as a disaffected teen and Chris did not get any role in the film. In 1975, Susan was cast in the cult film The Rocky Horror Picture Show. That same year, she appeared in The Great Waldo Pepper. In 1979, she and Chris divorced, but she kept her married name as her stage name.In 1983, she appeared in the film The Hunger, a modern vampire story with was considered controversial for his graphic lesbian love scene between Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve. Also in the mid 1980’s, Susan dated director Franco Amurri, with whom she had a daughter, Eva Amurri.

In 1988, Sarandon starred in the film Bull Durham with Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins. It was this role that won her acclaim and made her a household name. It was also during this time that she began a relationship with Robbins. The couple had two children, son Jack in 1989 and son Miles in 1992.Susan Sarandon has received five Academy Award nominations for best actress – Atlantic City in 1981, Thelma and Louise in 1991, Lorenzo’s Oil in 1992, The Client in 1994, and Dead Man Walking in 1996. She won the award in 1996 for Dead Man Walking. Other significant roles include Stepmom, The Banger Sisters, Shall We Dance, Alfie and Elizabethtown.

She has also appeared on television in The Simpsons (as herself), Friends, Saturday Night Live, and Rescue Me. Her recent films include The Lovely Bones and Middle of Nowhere with her daughter, Eva. Another role that Sarandon is most known for is that of political activist. She’s most noted for her support of progressive and left-liberal political causes. She has also supported tolerance and human rights. In 1995, she was one of many Hollywood A-listers who took part in the documentary, The Celluloid Closet, which looked at how Hollywood depicts homosexuality in films.

In 1999, Sarandon was appointed UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and has actively supported the organization’s global advocacy as well as working with the Canadian UNICEF Committee. Her presidential support has been active as well, supporting Ralph Nader in 2000 and then turning to John Kerry in 2004. Susan was among the first who took an early stance against the 2003 invasion of Iraq, stating that Americans do not want to risk their children or the children of Iraq. In 2005, she hosted a portion of the Live 8 concert in Scotland; and in 2006, appeared at a Mother’s Day protest. In January 2007, she and Robbins appeared with Jane Fonda at an anti-war rally in D.C. to support the measure to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq.