Alec Guinness Height, Weight, Age, Net Worth, Family, Biography

Alec Guinness Height, Weight, Age, Net Worth, Family, Biography

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Alec Guinness Quick Info
Height 5 ft 9¼ in
Weight 72 kg
Date of Birth April 2, 1914
Zodiac Sign Aries
Date of Death August 5, 2000

Alec Guinness was a veteran English actor who is widely remembered for his career-defining role as the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars Trilogy. Additionally, he had starred in several popular films including Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), The Ladykillers (1955), Great Expectations (1946), Oliver Twist (1948), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), A Passage to India (1984), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), the latter of which earned him the Academy Award for ‘Best Actor’ in 1957.

Born Name

Alec Guinness de Cuffe

Nick Name

Alec Stiven

Alec Guinness as seen in 1973Alec Guinness as seen in 1973 (Allan Warren / Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 3.0)

Age

He was born on April 2, 1914.

Died

Guinness was diagnosed with prostate cancer a few months before and liver cancer 2 days before his death on August 5, 2000, in Midhurst, West Sussex, England. He was 86 years old at that time.

Sun Sign

Aries

Born Place

Maida Vale, London, England, United Kingdom

Nationality

English

Occupation

Actor

Family

  • Mother – Agnes de Cuffe
  • Others – Edward Cuff (Maternal Grandfather), Mary Ann Benfield (Maternal Grandmother)

Net Worth

At the time of his death, Alec Guinness’ net worth was $60 million according to CelebrityNetWorth.com.

Build

Slim

Height

5 ft 9¼ in or 176 cm

Weight

72 kg or 158.5 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Alec had dated –

  • Merula Salaman (1937-2000) – He wed the artist, playwright, and actress Merula Salaman on June 20, 1938. The couple was married for more than 62 years, during which, they welcomed a son named Matthew Guinness (b. June 6, 1940). Furthermore, their marriage lasted until Alec’s death on August 5, 2000.

    • Alec Guinness seen performing at the Old Vic theatre in London in 1938Alec Guinness seen performing at the Old Vic theatre in London in 1938 (Unknown / Wikimedia / Public Domain)

    Race / Ethnicity

    White

    He was of English and Scottish descent on his mother’s side.

    Hair Color

    Dark Brown

    However, his hair had turned ‘Gray’ by the time of his death.

    Eye Color

    Blue

    Sexual Orientation

    Straight

    There was speculation about him being ‘Bisexual’, but without any concrete evidence.

    Distinctive Features

    • Pointed chin
    • Reserved personality

    Religion

    Roman Catholicism

    Alec Guinness Favorite Things

    • Hotel In London – Connaught
    • Actor – Pierre Fresnay
    • Comedian – Stan Laurel

    Source – IMDb

    Alec Guinness and Rita Tushingam as seen in a screenshot from the trailer for the 1965 film Doctor ZhivagoAlec Guinness and Rita Tushingam as seen in a screenshot from the trailer for the 1965 film Doctor Zhivago (Freddie Young / Wikimedia / Public Domain)

    Alec Guinness Facts

  • Five of his films have been selected by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry due to them being ‘culturally, historically or aesthetically’ significant. They are The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), and Lawrence of Arabia (1962).
  • Out of all the actors in the Star Wars movie franchise, Guinness was the only one to earn a best acting Oscar nomination. In his case, it was for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977).
  • He had met James Dean in Hollywood a few days before his untimely death at the age of 24 years. Upon seeing Dean’s brand-new Porsche, he had warned the actor saying “Get rid of that car, or you will be dead in a week!”. Sadly, his premonition came true as Dean died in a car crash on September 30, 1955.
  • Alec’s widow Merula Salaman died just 2½ months after him on October 17, 2000. They both were 86 years old at the time of their passing.
  • If you rearrange the characters in the words ‘genuine class’, you get the actor’s name: Alec Guinness.
  • Ewan McGregor, who played the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) prepared for his role by watching Alec’s previous films to accurately portray his accent, tempo, and diction.
  • He was a fiercely private person who disliked giving autographs and doing interviews to promote his films.
  • The famous actor John Hurt was inspired to become an actor after watching Alec’s outstanding performance as Fagin in Oliver Twist (1948).

    • Featured Image by Allan Warren / Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 3.0

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