You won't believe Jack Nicholson's biggest secret

One of the greatest actors cinema has ever produced, Jack Nicholson was born on 22 April 1937 in Neptune City, New Jersey. His early life was shrouded in mystery. Only at a later age, the Hollywood star found out about his life's biggest secret.

Jack Nicholson had no official birth certificate and, as an established actor, he wanted to know why. At that point, he found out that his real mother was the woman he always thought of as his sister: June.

June had been 17 when she became pregnant. Jack's grandmother, Ethel May, decided to act as his mother and hide the story, which was scandalous at that time.

Jack Nicholson's family was humble but nevertheless managed to prosper and settle in the affluent Spring Lake area. There, Jack Nicholson attended the prestigious Manasquan High School. It was a normal childhood and adolescence that hid an enormous secret.

Jack Nicholson's career began when he moved to spend some time with his "sister June" who lived in Los Angeles. Film was his dream and he began working in an administrative position in the offices of Metro-Goldwin-Mayer. There he met Roger Corman, the B-movie director who would give him his first jobs in films such as 'The Terror'. He met with stars like Cicely Tyson (image, 1954).

Throughout the 1960s, Jack Nicholson worked in 18 films, none of them very successful. The exception is 'Easy Rider', a countercultural classic directed by Dennis Hopper, which earned him his first Oscar nomination.

The 1970s were his golden decade: critics and audiences began to adore him and he was nominated for Oscars for 'Five Easy Pieces', 'The Last Detail' and, above all, 'Chinatown' (pictured).

In various biographical profiles published throughout his long career, it has been noted that Jack Nicholson's youthful years were full of parties, toxic excesses and a bad life. Or good, depending on how you look at it.

The picture shows Jack Nicholson with the Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni. His absolute idol was always Marlon Brando. He became his friend and neighbour in Beverly Hills. Musically, his favourites were Bob Dylan and Louis Armstrong.

In 1975 he won his first Oscar for 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'.

His 1980 performance in 'The Shining' may have been the most iconic of his entire career. The character of Jack Torrance allowed him to make a terrifying interpretative display and a summary of his style as an actor: the mastery of excess. Stephen King never liked Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of his novel, but audiences will never forget it.

Jack Nicholson is a Hollywood star who is very social with his colleagues but elusive with the press. He rarely gives interviews, apart from a few occasional promotional engagements. His explanation: "I'm just a guy who makes movies."

In 1983, 'Terms of Endearment' becomes the big winner at the Oscars. Jack Nicholson (alongside Shirley MacLaine) wins his second statuette.

All the men who ever won an Oscar (or two) for Best Actor

Jack Nicholson's romantic relationships have been numerous. In 1962 he married actress Sandra Knight whom he'd met on the set of 'The Terror'. It was a short-lived marriage, but the couple had a daughter. After Sandra Knight, the actor had more or less serious relationships with Anjelica Huston (in the picture), Rachel Ward, Candice Bergen, and Lara Flynn Boyle, among others.

Jack Nicholson had a daughter and a son (Lorraine and Raymond) with actress Rebecca Broussard, with whom he is seen in the picture. The photo is also graphic proof of the actor's lack of sympathy for the paparazzi.

This is how happy Jack Nicholson looked during the promotion of 'Prizzi's Honor', another hit from the 80s.

Jack Nicholson is a basketball fan in general and a Los Angeles Lakers fan in particular. For years, he paid more than $100,000 a year to have a courtside seat.

Jack Nicholson's personality is peculiar. His humour tends to extremes and he has strong personal convictions that he refuses to change. For example, Nicholson has an aversion to mobile phones. He doesn't use them. (In the picture, face to face with Sean Penn, another strong character.)

And then came the third statuette in 1998 for his role in 'As Good as It Gets.'

When Jack Nicholson played the Joker in Tim Burton's first 'Batman' movie (1989), he was applauded. The role is so rich, however, that other actors managed to surpass Nicholson's work: Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix. Jack Nicholson's Joker was more gentle than the villain of his younger colleagues.

Spiderman, Joker, Lara Croft: iconic characters by different actors. Who played them best?

Jack Nicholson is a star who loves life's pleasures: golf, yachts, and holidays in Saint-Tropez (where this photo with his daughter was taken). Life's excesses have increased the actor's weight noticeably over the years, but that has never bothered him.

In 2010 Jack Nicholson shot what is so far the last film of his filmography: 'How Do You Know.' Since then, the actor's biography has been a bit of a mystery. No one knows why exactly he stopped working and there has been some speculation about health problems.

Be that as it may, Jack Nicholson still appears (when he can) courtside at the Los Angeles Lakers. This image was taken in 2020, before the pandemic burst into our lives.

Jack Nicholson is a venerable, retired Hollywood octogenarian (though we wish he would act again!) and he will always be a star. His great performances are part of cinema history.