PHOTOS: Happy Birthday, George Clooney! His Life And Loves Over The Years

Born in Lexington, Kentucky on May 6, 1961, birthday boy George Clooney, whose aunt was legendary singer Rosemary, didn’t exactly have an easychildhood. Raised in Kentucky and Ohio, he suffered from Bell’s palsy for a year in middle school and was made fun of by his peers. Clooney later went on to attend college at Northern Kentucky University and University of Cincinnati, but didn’t graduate from either.

Clooney started acting in the late 1970s, with his first major role in the quickly cancelled sitcom E/R (not the successful medical drama he would star in a decade later!) but it was his role as a handyman on The Facts of Life in 1985 that put him on the radar.

One of Clooney’s early girlfriends was none other than John Travolta’s wife Kelly Preston, who he dated from 1987-1989. The couple even lived together.

Clooney’s other companion during the 1980s and 1990s? A potbellied big named Max, a gift from Preston, who lived with the actor from 1988 until his death in 2006.

In 1989, Clooney married his only wife, actress Talia Balsam. The couple divorced in 1993.

Clooney soon scored a role on the show Roseanne in 1988, playing Roseanne Barr’s supervisor, followed by roles in Baby Talk, 1991, and Sisters, 199

George Clooney’s luck really changed when he was cast as Dr. Doug Ross on ER in 1994. He was nominated for two Emmy Awards for his role as well as three Golden Globes.

Clooney immediately started nabbing big screen roles, with starring gigs in 1996s From Dusk Till Dawn and One Fine Day.

In 1997, Clooney scored the role as Bruce Wayne in Batman & Robin and was also voted People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive.

In 1996, Clooney dated French beauty Celine Balitran. The couple dated until 1999.

In 1998, Clooney graced the big screen alongside Jennifer Lopez in Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight.

Clooney left ER in 1999 to focus on his movie career, and soon starred in several successful films including 2000s The Perfect Storm and 2001s Ocean’s Eleven and Spy Kids.

Clooney started dating gorgeous British model Lisa Snowdon in 2000, and the couple dated on and off for around five years.

Clooney was briefly linked to Renee Zellweger in 2001.

In 2002, Clooney channeled his directing skills with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.

From 2002 to 2008, Clooney dated gorgeous brunette actress Krista Allen.

Over the next few years, Clooney starred in a slew of movies, but it was 2005s Syriana that won him his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

It was a fairytale love story when George Clooney met waitress Sarah Larson in the Las Vegas bar where she was working in 2007. The couple dated until May 2008, but not before she walked the red carpet of the 2008 Academy Awards on his arm.

In 2007, the actor and his girlfriend, Sarah Larson, got into a motorcycle accident in New Jersey and suffered minor injuries.

After starring in movies such as 2007s Michael Clayton and 2008s Burn After Reading, Clooney struck gold in 2009 with Up in the Air, getting nominated for an Oscar, a SAG Award, a BAFTA and a Golden Globe for his performance.

In July 2009, Clooney started dating smoking hot Italian model Elisabetta Canalis. The couple made it two years, until splitting in June 2011.

2011 was another epic year for Clooney, who received multiple nominations for his starring role in The Descendants, as well as an AcademyAward nomination for The Best Adapted Screenplay for his movie Ides of March.

In July 2011 Clooney started dating WWE’s Stacy Keibler, who is still on his arm years later.

In 2013, Clooney won big for Argo, a film he produced,making him the only person in Academy Award history to be nominated for Oscars in six different categories. Stacy Keibler was on his arm at the big show.

It’s hard to believe that birthday boy George Clooney turned 52-years-old on May 6, 2013!