James Cameron is an Academy Award-winning filmmaker from Canada. He is best remembered for films like Titanic (1997) and Avatar (2009), which revolutionized the cinema experience forever. His constant zeal to reinvent the world of technology and cinema has enabled him to shoot scenes that were previously considered impossible. Known for his perfectionist trait and unwavering determination, Cameron has made a name for himself in the film industry. In addition to being a meticulous director, he is also an explorer, environmentalist and philanthropist. James is equally passionate about the environment and promotes a vegan lifestyle.

Born name

James Francis Cameron

nickname

Iron Jim, Jim, James Cameron and his Attorneys, H, A. Milton, JC

Sun sign

Lion

Place of birth

Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada

Residence

• Malibu, California, USA
• Wairarapa, New Zealand
• Los Angeles, California, United States

nationality

training

James attended Stamford Collegiate School in Ontario. When he was 17, his family moved to Brea, California. He then attended Sonora High School and after dropping out enrolled at Brea Olinda High School .

Next he attended community college, Fullerton College in 1973, where he majored in physics. He switched to English and the next year, 1974, before the fall semester could begin, he left college.

occupation

Filmmaker, environmentalist, researcher, philanthropist

family

• Father – Phillip Cameron (Electrical Engineer)
• Mother – Shirley Cameron (née Lowe) (Artist, Nurse)
• Siblings – Mike Cameron (Younger Brother) (Stunt Performer), John David Cameron (Younger Brother) (Producer). He also has 2 other younger siblings.
• Other – Jasper Robards (step-son) (wife Suzy Ami’s son with ex-husband Sam Robards)

Manager

James is represented by Cameron l Pace Group in California.

To build

Slim

Height

188 cm (6 ft 2 in)

weight

78 kg or 172 lbs

girlfriend/spouse

James Cameron has dated –

1. Sharon Williams (1977-1984) – James’ first celebrity relationship was with actress Sharon Williams in 1977. The couple married on February 14, 1978 and stayed together for about 6 years until 1984. Their divorce was finalized in July 1984.
2. Storm Anne Hurd (1984-1989) – Film producer Gale Anne Hurd began a relationship with the director in 1984. She was the producer of the highly successful The Terminator (1984), directed by Cameron. They married in 1985 but 4 years later they had to divorce. They were officially separated in 1989.
3. Kathryn Bigelow (1988-1991) – In 1988, James fell in love with a director, Kathryn Bigelow. A year later, on August 17, 1989, he married for the third time. Their relationship deteriorated shortly after the couple ended their marriage in November 1991.
4. Linda Hamilton (1991-1999) – Cameron and actress Linda Hamilton, who starred in The Terminator films as Sarah Connor, began dating shortly after his divorce from Kathryn Bigelow. She moved in with him in 1991 and gave birth to their first (and only) child in 1993, a girl named Josephine Archer Cameron. After dating for about 6 years, James and Linda were broken on July 26, 1997. Hamilton spoke about her turbulent time with Cameron and considers the Titanic (1997) phase, the final straw in their crumbling marriage. It was also around this time that Cameron began dating Suzy Amis, an actress in Titanic. Hamilton filed for divorce in March 1998, days after Cameron’s Oscar win. She received $50 million for their divorce settlement, which was finalized in 1999.
5. Suzy Amis (1998–Present) – Actress and environmentalist Suzy Amis played the role of Lizzy Calvert in Cameron’s directorial project Titanic . Their affair began in 1998 and after his divorce was finalized, the two married on June 4, 2000. The couple have three children together – daughter Claire Cameron (born April 4, 2001), son Quinn Cameron (born September 2003) and daughter Elizabeth Rose Cameron (born December 29, 2006).

race/ethnicity

White

He has Scottish ancestry.

hair colour

dark brown

However, his hair has turned gray due to his advancing age.

eye color

Blau

sexual orientation

Just

distinguishing features

With a steely gaze

brand promotion

James has done endorsement work for the following brands –

• Rolex (2017)
• Walt Disney World (2017)
• New Zealand tourism

His film Avatar (2009) was used in a Japanese TV commercial by Panasonic.

Religion

atheism

Known for

• His record-breaking movies which include cult movies like The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), The Abyss (1989), Titanic (1997), Avatar (2009), etc
• Being at the forefront of 3D technology and revolutionizing 3D cinema with his film Avatar
• Being a die-hard environmentalist and using your status to raise awareness about climate change
• His contributions to science and technology, as well as his cutting-edge deep-sea explorations

first movie

James made his big screen debut in 1997 with his own directorial film Titanic . However, his minor role as a head dancer was uncredited.

His first earned performance was in 1999 when he played himself in the Albert Brooks comedy film The Muse .

First TV show

He made his first television appearance as a guest on the talk show Late Night with David Letterman in 1989.

Personal trainer

Cameron, along with his family, became vegan in 2012. He has been a supporter of veganism ever since and considers choosing a plant-based diet to be the biggest contributor to combating climate change. He has credited his new diet for his improved health and nutrition.

On a typical day, Cameron follows a meticulous routine like:

• 5 AM. – He starts his day early with a green pre-workout smoothie made with spinach, orange, banana and apple.
• 6 O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING. – He dedicates an hour to his training, which ranges from yoga to kickboxing to light training with high intensity intervals.
• 7:30 AM. – Breakfast for him includes scrambled eggs with tofu or quesadilla with plant-based cheese, red beans and rice. There is also a protein shake with nut butter, fruit and pea protein and a cup of oolong tea. In the form of dietary supplements, he consumes hemp oil capsules, vitamin D, MSM and B12.
• 11 am – Because of his morning hunger pangs, he prefers fresh fruits like watermelon, grapes, and berries.
• 1:30pm – He has vegan chefs Brad and Sandy prepare dishes from a variety of cuisines such as Mexican, Italian, Thai and Indian. Burger from Beyond Meat and The Hungry Planet , which specializes in plant-based meat substitutes, are also its top choices for ready meals. Finally a bowl of soup.
• 4:30 p.m. – In the evening he eats a green salad.
• 8 PM – He keeps his last meal of the day pretty easy going with a plant-based burger or some hummus with pita and olives or avocado with salsa. Finally he devours it with a glass of wine.

James Cameron Favorite Things

• Movies – The Wizard of Oz (1939), Dr. Strangelove (1964), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), The Godfather (1972), Taxi Driver (1976)
• Song to Sing in the Shower – Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner
• 2013 Movie – Heavy
• Guilty Pleasure Movie – Resident Evil (2002)

James Cameron Facts

1. Cameron has resided in the United States since 1971. He had applied for American citizenship in 2004, but withdrew it after George W. Bush came to power in his second term. He still holds Canadian citizenship.
2. He was recruited for Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2010.
3. Pristimantis jamescameroni is a newly discovered frog species that was named after Cameron in October 2013. It was chosen to recognize his long-term efforts to raise environmental awareness and promote veganism.
4. Classic films like Star Wars (1977) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) convinced Cameron that art and science could be seamlessly integrated into films. It inspired him to work as a director in the film industry.
5. His first film project was a 10-minute sci-fi story Xenogenesis, which he wrote after reading Syd Field’s book on film techniques entitled “Screenplay” . The film was shot with the help of his friends using a 35mm lens and rented cameras.
6. Early in his career he worked at Roger Corman Studios . There he worked in various capacities such as art director, special effects designer, production designer and assistant director. His time there taught him valuable skills and techniques that can help produce quality content on a budget.
7. The central idea for The Terminator came to Cameron in his sleep. During an illness, he had a nightmare that a futuristic robot killer was sent to kill him. He developed this concept to make his first feature film, which launched his career.
8. He sold the script to Pacific Western Productions ‘ Gale Ann Hurd for $1 on the condition that he direct the film. The Terminator , made on a budget of $6.4 million, made $78.3 million at the box office. Later in life, he lamented his decision to sell the rights to the story, which has since spawned several sequels and a television series.
9. James is notorious for stretching his filming schedules and going well over budget on all of his films. The same was the case with Titanic . Its budget reached $200 million and was considered the most expensive film of its time. After all, it was the first film to gross $1 billion worldwide.
10. James jokingly refers to Titanic as the $190M Chick Flick.
11. Cameron is left-handed. Actress Kate Winslet had revealed in 2004 that James had drawn the portrait of Rose in a pivotal scene in Titanic . His hands were used in the close-ups, which were then rotated to denote Leonardo Dicaprio’s character’s right-handedness.
12. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic In April 2012, Cameron’s film was re-released in 3D. The final worldwide collection reached $2.18 billion. The only other film in history to break the $2 billion mark is his 2009 sci-fi film Avatar .
13. Cameron and his brother John David founded a digital media company called Earthship Productions in 1998 . The company has already collaborated on several underwater documentaries Expedition: Bismarck (2002), Ghosts of the Abyss (2003), Tony Robinson’s Titanic Adventure (2005), etc.
14. He produced the controversial documentary The Lost Tomb of Jesus with Israeli journalist Simcha Jacobovici on March 4, 2007. The series documented the excavation of Talpiot’s tomb and claimed that it contained the human remains of Jesus’ family. However, the views expressed by Cameron and his team on the series have been controversial.
15. His love of deep-sea exploration led him back to Titanic. In 2012, Cameron and eight experts re-examined the site of the shipwreck and used their analysis to challenge public perceptions of the nature of the sinking that had been occurring since 1995.
16. His 2009 sci-fi drama Avatar revolutionized filmmaking forever. The film, which cost more than $300 million to produce, has gone on to become the highest-grossing film of all time, with worldwide grossing of $2.78 billion.
17. He founded his own production company Lightstorm Entertainment in 1990.
18. He is close friends with Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, whom he met in del Toro’s 1993 film Cronos. When Guillermo’s father was Federico del Toro, Cameron was kidnapped in 1997 and paid the $1 million ransom for his release. His father was eventually released after living in captivity for 72 days. After this incident, del Toro relocated his family to the United States.
19. Cameron is the first soloist to reach the deepest part of the world Mariana Trench dubbed the Challenger Deep . Located in the Pacific Ocean , the Challenger Deep is the deepest point on Earth’s sea floor. On March 26, 2012, he submersibly piloted the Deepsea Challenger to reach a depth of 35,787 feet. Before him, Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh were the only two men aboard the Bathyscaphe Trieste James spent 3 hours at the bottom of the seabed and his exploration helped discover many new species of marine life.
20. Cameron’s technological expertise has shown that he is a part of NASA’s Advisory Board . He had helped build 3-D cameras for the Curiosity rover on its mission to Mars , but the devices could not be tested in time and were therefore retired by the space agency.
21. Cameron’s wife Suzy co-founded the MUSE school with her sister Rebecca in 2006 in Calabasas, California. The school has brought prominence to being the first of its kind to be a vegan K-12 school in the United States.
22. In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sex abuse scandal in 2017, Cameron reported an incident in which he nearly hit the nefarious mogul with his Oscar. At the 1998 Academy Awards , Weinstein reached out to James to talk about how his company Miramax was great for talented artists. Cameron responded with a scathing reply about how Miramax had manhandled his friend Guillermo del Toro during filming of his movie Mimic (distributed by Miramax), which almost escalated into an actual fight.
23. James is the first director to have 2 of his films ( Titanic and Avatar ) each earn more than $1 billion in global box office collections. Only 2 other directors have managed this feat; Christopher Nolan for The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012); and Peter Jackson for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012).
24. Roger Dean, a British artist, sued Cameron for $50 million in June 2013. He accused the director of plagiarizing his original images for his film Avatar but later lost the case.
25. His directing style has influenced generations of filmmakers. Among them are Joss Whedon, Quentin Tarantino, Peter Jackson, Baz Luhrmann, Neill Blomkamp and Michael Bay.
26. Cameron’s on-set behavior has often come under fire, and over the years he’s been criticized for his dictatorial shooting manners. Many of his actors, including Kate Winslet, found his uncompromising ways and flaming spirits difficult to deal with.
27. He had a falling out with longtime collaborator James Horner after working with him on Aliens (1986). The two only worked on Titanic a decade later after settling their differences.
28. Cameron was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in June 2012.
29. He received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame on June 3, 2008. The next year, on December 18, 2009 (btw, that was also the avatar release date), he was inducted into Hollywood’s Walk of Fame .
30. Follow James Cameron on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.