Jeremy Renner

Early life and education

Jeremy Lee Renner was born on January 7, 1971 in Modesto, California. His mother, Valerie Cearley ( Tague), and father, Lee Renner, managed McHenry Bowl, a Modesto bowling alley, in the 1980s. His parents married as teenagers and divorced when he was ten. He is the oldest of seven siblings, the youngest of whom was born in 2011. He is of Irish and German descent.

Renner graduated from Fred C. Beyer High School in Modesto in 1989.

Career

1995–2001: Early work

Renner made his film debut as an underachieving student in the 1995 comedy National Lampoon's Senior Trip. Although the film was critically panned, he went on to guest star on two television shows, Deadly Games and Strange Luck, and had a minor role in the television film A Friend's Betrayal as the friend of Paul Hewitt (Brian Austin Green). Over the next few years, Renner had guest roles in Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane (1999), The Net (1999), The Time of Your Life (1999), and Angel (2000). In 2001, Renner had a small role in an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Renner worked as a makeup artist during this period to help make ends meet.

2002–2008: Early success

In 2002, Renner starred in Dahmer as the eponymous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. He found the non-fiction role a challenge to cope with after he had finished shooting the film, knowing that Dahmer had murdered seventeen victims. His performance was well received, and he gained a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Male. He also appeared in Pink's 2003 music video for her song "Trouble" as a Bad Boy Sheriff. Renner went on to appear in S.W.A.T. as the former police partner of Colin Farrell's character in 2003 and The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things in 2004.

In 2005, Renner starred with Julia Stiles and Forest Whitaker in A Little Trip to Heaven, with roles in North Country and 12 and Holding. He next starred as a neo-Nazi skinhead who is admitted into a psychiatric hospital in Neo Ned with Gabrielle Union. The film won awards at multiple film festivals, including the Palm Beach International Film Festival Award for Best Actor. After shooting Neo Ned, Renner was offered the lead in the Las Vegas indie Northtown, but the project never happened. Renner also had a small (though uncredited) role in skateboard film Lords of Dogtown as the manager of Emile Hirsch's character. In 2006, he starred with Ginnifer Goodwin in Love Comes to the Executioner.

In 2007 Renner had supporting roles in the critically acclaimed The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford as Wood Hite, the cousin of outlaw Jesse James (portrayed by Brad Pitt), and as Sergeant Doyle in 28 Weeks Later. He starred with Minnie Driver in Take and guest-starred as a patient (a reckless rock musician) in an episode of House. Renner had a role in the pilot of The Oaks, but the series was not picked up.

2009–2013: Critical and commercial breakout

After starring in the comedy-drama Ingenious and the short-lived television series The Unusuals, Renner portrayed U.S. Army bomb disposal expert Sergeant First Class William James in the 2009 Iraq War thriller The Hurt Locker, directed by Kathryn Bigelow. The role earned him several Best Actor awards and his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor as well a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination.

In 2010, Renner's performance in Ben Affleck's The Town, alongside Jon Hamm and Blake Lively, received extremely positive reviews and earned him his second Academy Award nomination, for Best Supporting Actor. He also gained his first Golden Globe nomination in the same category and his second Screen Actors Guild nomination. The Hollywood Reporter named Renner as one of the young male actors who are "pushing – or being pushed" into taking over Hollywood as the new "A-List".

In 2011, Renner starred as William Brandt in the fourth Mission: Impossible film, Ghost Protocol, and made his screen introduction as Hawkeye in an uncredited cameo appearance in Marvel Studios' Thor, teasing his starring role in The Avengers, released in May 2012. The same year, he also starred in the fourth film in the Bourne franchise, The Bourne Legacy, written and directed by Tony Gilroy. Renner played a new lead character, Aaron Cross, in place of Jason Bourne, played by Matt Damon in the first three films. Renner has expressed interest in doing a Bourne film with Damon in the future, stating that "[it] would be kick-ass. I love Matt".

Renner starred in Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters in a titular role alongside Gemma Arterton. Filmed in 2011 and released in January 2013, the 3-D fantasy action film was set 15 years after Hansel and Gretel killed the witch who kidnapped them. Renner was also featured in the ensemble cast of David O. Russell's American Hustle (2013), based on the controversial FBI ABSCAM operation of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The film, with Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence in principal roles, received much critical acclaim, including a Screen Actors Guild Award for the cast and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

2014–2020: Mainstream success

In October 2014, Renner starred as journalist Gary Webb in the Focus Features film Kill the Messenger, based on Webb's book Dark Alliance. Renner also co-produced the film. In December 2014, Crackle aired The Throwaways, a film for which Renner served as executive producer.

In 2015, Renner reprised his role as Hawkeye in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the sequel to The Avengers. He returned to the Mission: Impossible franchise in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, released in July 2015. In 2016, Renner played Hawkeye again in the summer blockbuster film Captain America: Civil War, and starred with Amy Adams in the sci-fi film Arrival. Renner is a producer of the 2016 film The Founder starring Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc. In 2015, his production company The Combine signed a deal with PalmStar Media.

In 2016, Renner was an executive producer on History's historical drama Knightfall. In 2017, while working on the film Tag (2018), Renner fractured his right elbow and his left wrist. He appeared in the film Wind River with his MCU co-star Elizabeth Olsen in 2016.

Renner filmed scenes as Hawkeye for Avengers: Infinity War (2018), but ultimately did not appear in the film, with his scenes instead moved to Avengers: Endgame (2019), where he had a starring role. Because of scheduling conflicts resulting from the filming of Infinity War and Endgame, he was unable to reprise his role as William Brandt in Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018). In July 2018, Renner was announced to play Twitch Williams in Todd McFarlane's King Spawn.

2021–present: Current projects

He reprised his role as Hawkeye in the eponymous 2021 Disney+ series. In the same year, Renner began starring in the Paramount+ series Mayor of Kingstown.

In 2024, Renner appeared in a Super Bowl commercial for the brand Silk, alongside his daughter.

Following his accident and recovery, Renner's first major feature film role was in the 2025 Rian Johnson mystery Wake Up Dead Man. His return to acting was a significant focus of the film's media coverage.

Other activities

Music

Renner is a singer-songwriter, guitarist, keyboardist, and drummer. Early in his acting career, he performed in the Sons of Ben. He has performed songs on several film soundtracks: "I Drink Alone" for North Country, "American Pie" for Love Comes to the Executioner, and "Good Ole Rebel" for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. He also appeared in music videos for "Trouble" by P!nk and "Scenes on Sunset" by Brother Sal. He was featured on Sam Feldt's 2018 single, "Heaven (Don't Have a Name)". Renner subsequently released his first EP, The Medicine, on March 27, 2020. In 2024, he released the EP Love and Titanium, a musical project directly inspired by his recovery journey.

Mobile app

Main article: Jeremy Renner Official

Renner released a mobile app called Jeremy Renner (Android) and Jeremy Renner Official (iOS) in March 2017. The app was created by Escapex, a company that specializes in monetized apps for celebrities. Fast Company wrote extensively about Renner's app in April 2019, calling it "a surprising new kind of social media".

The community developed to include memes, selfies, and a "Happy Rennsday" event on Wednesdays. As early as October 2017, there were claims of censorship, bullying, and "contest-rigging". In September 2019, comedian Stefan Heck publicized his discovery of the fact that replies through the app appear as if they were sent by Renner himself in push notifications. After several users abused this feature, Renner asked Escapex to shut down the app.

Book

Renner wrote a memoir about his life and recovery following the snowplow incident, titled My Next Breath. It was published April 29, 2025, by Flatrock, a subsidiary of MacMillan. The audio format of the book is read by Renner and includes recordings of the event and a special recording. It was also made available on April 29, 2025.

RennerVation Foundation

Renner founded the charity RennerVation Foundation in 2023 to support foster kids and at-risk youth. The foundation hosts a summer camp at Lake Tahoe.

Personal life

Renner married Canadian model Sonni Pacheco on January 13, 2014. Renner and Pacheco have a daughter. On December 30, 2014, Pacheco filed for divorce from Renner, citing irreconcilable differences. They share custody of their daughter. Pacheco and their daughter made cameo appearances in the film American Hustle.

Since 2014, Renner lives in Washoe County, Nevada,{{Cite web |access-date=February 6, 2021

Renner is a fan of the San Francisco 49ers. He narrated the NFL Network documentary series The Timeline episode "A Tale of Two Cities", which chronicles the history of the team's rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys, with Renner narrating from the San Francisco perspective and the Dallas perspective narrated by actor Sam Elliott. Renner also narrated the introductory video for the grand opening of Levi's Stadium.

2023 snowplow accident

On January 1, 2023, Renner was hospitalized after suffering blunt chest trauma and 38 broken bones. He saved his nephew from being run over by his snowplow, but was hit, by a snowcat weighing 14330 lb. Renner was flown by helicopter to Renown Regional Medical Center. He underwent surgery and remained in the intensive care unit in critical condition. By January 17, he was released from the hospital and had returned home to continue his recovery.

Approximately three months after the accident, Renner was beginning to be able to walk with a cane. Doctors said that his survival was probably aided by his health and fitness. By June 2024, he had recovered enough to be the subject of a cover story in that summer's issue of Men's Health, which included his first-person recollection of the accident and a detailed description of his injuries. Renner has admitted struggling with the fame from his Hawkeye character before the accident, but since then he has been more amicable in public as fans have wished him well and could relate to his recovery struggles.

Sexual harassment and abuse allegations

In November 2025, filmmaker Yi Zhou alleged that Renner had subjected her to sexual misconduct and abuse. Zhou, a Chinese national, alleged that Renner threatened to "call ICE" on her after she confronted him about alleged misconduct, which involved sending her unsolicited sexual photos of himself earlier that year, and shouting at her while drunk at his home, leading her to fear for her life. Renner denied the allegations, insisting they had shared a "brief consensual encounter". Renner's attorney responded with a cease-and-desist letter to Zhou.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Commercials

Discography

Extended plays (EPs)

''The Medicine'' (2020)

''Live For Now'' (2020)

''Love and Titanium'' (2024)

Other music

Singles

• "Heaven (Don't Have a Name)" (with Sam Feldt) (2018)
• "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" (2018)
• "House of the Rising Sun" (2019)
• "Main Attraction" (2019)

''Arctic Dogs'' soundtrack

• "Believer"
• "Dinner for One"
• "Have You Seen the Light"
• "Nomad"
• "Sign"

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Jeremy Renner

References

References

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