Depending on how you feel about him, George Clooney is the suave, sophisticated star of the revived 'Ocean's Eleven' movie series, the charming and handsome doctor who was the main reason people tuned into 'E.R,' or the man who was wearing the famous bat suit when the 'Batman' franchise crashed and burned in the late 1990s. It's been a career of highs and lows for the man from Lexington, Kentucky, who once worked cutting tobacco and selling women's shoes door to door.
He's still very active as an actor and filmmaker, but these days he's just as well-known as an activist as a performer. Clooney has been a firm backer of socially progressive causes, including gay rights and gun control. He was a vocal supporter of Barack Obama during both of his presidential campaigns, and also unsuccessfully lent his weight behind Hilary Clinton's campaign in 2016. The United Nations appointed him as an international messenger of peace in 2008.