Jean claude van damme biography wikipedia

Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (French: [ʒɑ̃ klod kamij fʁɑ̃swa vɑ̃ vaʁɑ̃bɛʁɡ]; Dutch: [vɑn ˈvarə(n)ˈbɛrx]; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (French: [vɑ̃ dam]; Dutch: [vɑn ˈdɑmə]), is a Belgian martial artist, actor, and filmmaker. Nicknamed "The Muscles from Brussels", he is widely regarded as an icon of action and martial arts cinema. Van Damme's films have grossed over $1 billion worldwide, making him one of the most successful action stars of all time.

Born and raised in Brussels, his father enrolled him in a Shotokankarate school at the age of ten, which led Van Damme to earn his black belt in karate at the age of eighteen, and the rank of 2nd-dan black belt. He competed in severa

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (born 18 October 1960), professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme and abbreviated as JCVD, is a Belgian actor, martial artist, screenwriter, film producer, and director best known for his martial arts action films.

Early life[]

Van Damme was born Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg, on 18 October 1960, in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Brussels, Belgium, the son of Eliana and Eugène Van Varenberg, who was an accountant and florist. His father is Walloon (French-speaking) from Brussels, and his mother is Flemish (Dutch-speaking).

He began martial arts at the age of ten, enrolled by his father in a Shotokan karate school. His styles consist of Shotokan Karate and Kickboxing. He eventually earned his black belt in karate at 18. He started lifting weights to improve his physique, which eventually led to a Mr. Belgium bodybuilding title. At the age of 16, he took up ballet, which he studied for five years. According to Van Damme, ballet "is an art, but it's also one of the most difficult sports. If you can survive a ballet workout, you can survive a workout in any other sport." Later he took up both Taekwondo and Muay Thai.

Martial arts career[]

At the age of 12, Van Damme joined the Centre National De Karaté (National Center of Karate) under the guidance of Claude Goetz in Belgium. Van Damme trained for four years and he earned a spot on the Belgian Karate Team; later training in full-contact karate and kickboxing with Dominique Valera.

Semi-contact karate career

At the age of 15, Van Damme started his competitive karate career in Belgium. From 1976 to 1980, Van Damme compiled a record of 44 victories and 4 defeats in tournament and non-tournament semi-contact matches.

Van Damme was a member of the Belgium Karate Team when it won the European Karate Championship on 26 December 1979 at La C

Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (French: [ʒɑ̃ klod kamij fʁɑ̃swa vɑ̃ vaʁɑ̃bɛʁɡ]; Dutch: [vɑn ˈvarə(n)ˈbɛrx]; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (French: [vɑ̃ dam]; Dutch: [vɑn ˈdɑmə]), is a Belgian martial artist, actor, and filmmaker. Nicknamed "The Muscles from Brussels", he is widely regarded as an icon of action and martial arts cinema. Van Damme's films have grossed over $1 billion worldwide, making him one of the most successful action stars of all time.

Early life

Belgian actor and martial artist (born 1960)

"Van Damme" and "JCVD" redirect here. For other uses, see Van Damme (disambiguation) and JCVD (disambiguation).

In this Dutch name, the surname is Van Damme, not Damme.

Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (French:[ʒɑ̃klodkamijfʁɑ̃swavɑ̃vaʁɑ̃bɛʁɡ], Flemish:[vɑɱˈvaːrə(m)bɛr(ə)x]; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (French:[vɑ̃dam], Flemish:[vɑnˈdɑmə]), is a Belgian martial artist and actor. Born and raised in Brussels, his father enrolled him in a Shotokan karate school at th