Steven Seagal was born in Lansing, Michigan on April 10, 1951.  It was at the age of seventeen that Seagal traveled to Japan to learn about martial arts.  After acquiring his black belt in karate, judo, knedo and aikido, he became the first westerner to open up a martial arts school in Japan.

Seagal didn't start acting until his first major movie in 1988, which was called "Above the Law."  It did well and Seagal found himself an instant movie star and was casted for the film "Hard To Kill" in 1989 opposite his ex-wife Kelly LeBrock.

Seagal's most famous movie was "Under Siege," which he filmed in 1992.  The movie did so well that he also starred in the sequel.  His last major movie that did well was "Executive Decision" in 1996.  Seagal filmed a couple of movies after that, but they did not do to well.

What has he been up to in the last few years?

Seagal has become a very devoted Buddhist and spends hours meditating, studying, and practicing the tenets to help him become a teacher and healer.  It was in 1997 that Seagal publicly announced that one of his,  His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, had proclaimed him a tulku, the reincarnation of a Buddhist lama.

Seagal just recently finished a movie called "Belly of the Beast" that was released in December 2003.  He has a three movies planned to be released in 2004 and currently one movie planned for 2005.