PAUL WALKER

Walker was born on September 12,

1973, in Glendale, California. His
mother, Cheryl , was a fashion model,
and his father, Paul William Walker
III, was a sewer contractor and former
amateur boxer, who was a two-time Golden Gloves champion.Walker's
paternal grandfather, William, had a short-lived boxing career as "Irish"
Billy Walker, while another raced factory cars for Ford in the 1960s.

Raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,

Walker had four younger siblings: Aimee, Ashlie, Caleb, and Cody. He
spent the majority of his early life in the Sunland neighborhood of Los
Angeles, and graduated from Village Christian School in 1991. Walker
subsequently attended several community colleges in Southern
California, majoring in marine biology.

In 2001, Walker's breakthrough role

was starring opposite Vin Diesel in
the action film The Fast and the
Furious; it was commercially
successful, and subsequently launched a media franchise. The film also
established Walker as a film star and leading man, as his performance
garnered the MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Team (shared with
Diesel) in 2002. Walker starred in the critically successful thriller Joy
Ride (2001), also focusing on car-related action, and reprised his role as
Brian O'Conner in the 2003 sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious. After this, he
starred either in low-budget or commercially unsuccessful films for a
time, notably Timeline (2003) and Into the Blue (2005).

Walker portrayed Hank Hansen in Clint Eastwood's war film Flags of

Our Fathers (2006) and starred in the survival drama Eight Below, both
released in 2006. Eight Below garnered critical acclaim and opened in
first place at the box office, grossing over US$20 million during its
opening weekend.[13] Walker then starred in the independent film The
Lazarus Project, which was released on DVD on October 21, 2008.

Despite initial reluctance, Walker reprised his role as Brian O'Conner

after seven years, in Fast & Furious (2009). The film became the
highest-grossing film in the franchise up until that point. He then
reprised his role in the fifth and sixth installments of the franchise,
which were commercially successful, while his performances were
praised. Walker was nominated for Choice Movie Actor – Action at the
2011 Teen Choice Awards for the former, and nominated for Choice
Movie: Chemistry (with Diesel and Dwayne Johnson) and won his
second MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo with Diesel for the
latter. Walker also starred in the heist film Takers (2010), and returned
to modelling in 2011, appearing as the face of fragrance brand Cool
Water. In 2012, he founded the film production company Laguna Ridge
Pictures, which signed a first-look deal with Fast & Furious distributor
Universal Pictures.

Personel Life

Walker was raised in a Latter-day Saint household, but later became a

non-denominational Christian.[25] He lived in Santa Barbara with his
dogs.[6][26] He and Rebecca Soteros, a one-time girlfriend, had a
daughter named Meadow Rain Walker,[27] who lived with her mother
in Hawaii for 13 years and then moved to California to live with Walker
in 2011.[28] Her godfather is Vin Diesel, with whom Walker shared a
close bond; Diesel gave him the nickname "Pablo",[29] while Walker's
mother referred to her son as Diesel's "other half".[30] Walker was also
close friends with fellow Fast & Furious co-star Tyrese Gibson.[31][32]
At the time of his death, Walker was in a relationship with Jasmine
Pilchard-Gosnell.[33][34][35]

He held a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Ricardo "Franjinha"

Miller at Paragon Jiu-Jitsu[36][37] and was awarded his black belt by
Miller posthumously.[38] Walker founded the humanitarian aid
nonprofit charity Reach Out Worldwide (ROWW) with financial adviser
Roger Rodas in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake.[39][40] He
traveled to a number of disaster-stricken areas to supply aid until his
death Walker had an interest in marine biology, and joined the board of
directors of The Billfish Foundation in 2006.[41] He fulfilled a lifelong
dream by starring in the National Geographic Channel series Expedition
Great White (retroactively retitled Shark Men), which premiered in June
2010.[42][43] Walker spent 11 days catching and tagging seven great
white sharks off the coast of Mexico. The expedition, led by Chris
Fischer, founder and CEO of Fischer Productions, and Brett McBride
and Michael Domeier of the Marine Conservation Science Institute, took
measurements, gathered DNA samples, and fastened real-time satellite
tags to the great white sharks, in order to study migratory patterns,
especially those associated with mating and birthing, over a five-year
period.[44]

A car enthusiast, Walker competed in the Redline Time Attack racing

series in which he raced on the AE Performance Team driving a BMW
E92 M3. His car was sponsored by Etnies, Brembo Brakes, Öhlins,
Volk, OS Giken, Hankook, Gintani, and Reach Out Worldwide.[45]
Walker had been preparing for an auto show prior to his death.[46]
Walker owned Always Evolving, a Valencia high-end vehicle
performance shop, where Rodas, a pro-am racer,[47][48] acted as
CEO.[49]

Walker also had a large car collection of about 30 cars, a portion of

which he co-owned along with Rodas.[50] In January 2020, twenty-one
vehicles owned by Walker were sold for a combined $2.33 million
during spirited bidding at an annual car auction in Arizona

Awards and nominations

Nominated
Year Award Category Result
work

MTV Movie Best On-Screen The Fast and the

2002 Won[a]
Award Team Furious

Choice Movie
2011 Fast Five Nominated
Teen Choice Actor – Action
Awards Choice Movie:
2013 Nominated[b]
Chemistry Fast & Furious

MTV Movie Best On-Screen 6

2014 Won[a]
Award Duo
 Choice Movie
Won
Teen Choice Actor: Action
2015 Furious 7
Awards Choice Movie:
Nominated[c]
Chemistry

On November 30, 2013, at about 3:30

p.m. PST, Walker, 40, and Roger
Rodas, 38, left an event for Walker's
charity Reach Out Worldwide for
victims of Typhoon Haiyan, with Rodas
driving his 2005 Porsche Carrera GT.
Traveling between 80 mph (130 km/h)
and 93 mph (150 km/h) in a 45 mph (72
km/h) speed zone on Hercules Street in Valencia, a neighborhood of
Santa Clarita, California, the car crashed into a concrete lamp post and
two trees, catching fire. Rodas died of multiple trauma while Walker
died from the combined effects of trauma and burns. Both of their bodies
were burned beyond recognition.

The curve where Walker and Rodas died is a popular spot for drifting
cars. No alcohol or other drugs were found in either man's system,and
neither mechanical failure nor road conditions appeared to play a role.
Police found no evidence of drag racing. The investigation concluded
that the car's speed and age of the tires were the primary reasons for
tWith Furious 7 in the middle of filming at the time of Walker's death,
Universal announced an indeterminate hiatus on the production, citing a
desire to speak with his family before determining what to do with the
film.
Numerous friends and movie stars posted tributes to Walker on social
media. His body was cremated and his ashes were buried in a non-
denominational ceremony at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. His life was
later chronicled in the documentary ―I Am Paul Walker‖, which was
released on August 11, 2018.
After his death in 2013, four films starring Walker were released; the
thriller film Hours (2013), the action film Brick Mansions (2014), itself
a remake of the French film District 13 (2004). He also served as
executive producer on the film Pawn Shop Chronicles (2013), while
Furious 7, originally slated for release in 2014, was pushed back to
recreate Walker's likeness. The filmmakers hired Peter Jackson's Weta
Digital visual effects house to complete this,[18] using existing
reference materials, Walker's brothers Caleb and Cody, as well as actor
John Brotherton, as stand-ins,[19] and outtakes or older
footage,[18][20][21] to create an accurate remodel of Walker's face. The
film was then released in 2015,[22] and Walker won the award for
Choice Movie Actor: Action at the 2015 Teen Choice Awards, and was
nominated for Choice Movie: Chemistry (shared with Diesel, Johnson,
Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, and Ludacris).

Walker was also set to play Agent 47 in the film adaptation Hitman:
Agent 47 (2015), but died before production began.[23] It was later
revealed Walker declined the role of Superman in Superman Returns
(2006), allegedly due to the "Superman curse" and the celebrity
associated with the role
"[Walker] is that guy. As a director, [Walker is] completely supportive
of my vision of what the film is. And even better, he's completely game
for it."
—Wayne Kramer, who directed and cast Walker in
Running Scared (2006)