Kris Kristofferson

Born in 1936 in Brownsville, Texas, he was the son of an air force major general, and served as an army captain during his own stint in the service. As a Rhodes Scholar, he studied literature at Oxford University after finishing his undergraduate degree at Pomona College in California. Two weeks before Kristofferson was to begin teaching English literature at West Point, however, he resigned his army commission and headed for Nashville, where he pursued his dream of becoming a professional songwriter. Early on, he found encouragement from publisher Marijohn Wilkin at Buckhorn Music, and later from Fred Foster and Bob Beckham at Combine. With Rita Coolidge, to whom he was married from 1973–80, Kristofferson made several duet albums and won two Grammy Awards for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. Kristofferson has acted in dozens of films and made-for-television movies, including Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974), and Songwriter (1984), in which he teamed with fellow legend Willie Nelson. For the latter film, he received an Oscar nomination for Original Song Score.