River Phoenix
Sign in to saveAlso known as River Jude Phoenix
River Jude Phoenix was an American actor and musician. The older brother of actor Joaquin Phoenix, he was known as a teen actor before taking on leading roles in critically acclaimed films, becoming one of the preeminent acting talents of his generation. Phoenix's numerous accolades include the Volpi Cup and the Independent Spirit Award, as well as nominations for an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award.
OverviewAI-generated
River Phoenix was an American actor and street artist born in Madras in 1970. His birth name was River Jude Bottom. He began his work period in 1981 and continued until 1993. Phoenix was a male who spoke English and practiced vegetarianism. He resided in San Juan, Gainesville, and Crockett. He was the sibling of Joaquin Phoenix, Summer Phoenix, and Rain Phoenix.
Phoenix received the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor, the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. He was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, and another National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor. He died in West Hollywood in 1993 due to an opioid overdose.
Synthesized by Vinony from 25 facts across 2 sources: Wikidata, MusicBrainz. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
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Within Vinony's link graph, River Phoenix is referenced by 550 other articles, and connects out to dyslexia, hippie and Robert F. Kennedy Jr..
It is catalogued under topics including 1970 births, 1993 deaths and 20th-century American guitarists.
Its subject is documented across 55 Wikipedia language editions.
Film & TV
Metolius, Oregon USA
River Jude Phoenix (née Bottom; August 23, 1970 – October 31, 1993) was an American actor, musician, and activist. Phoenix grew up in an itinerant family, as the oldest brother of Rain Phoenix, Joaquin Phoenix, Liberty Phoenix, and Summer Phoenix. He had no formal schooling, but he showed an instinctive talent for the guitar, and he played and sang on the streets for money. He began his acting…
Known for
- Butthole Surfers: The Hole Truth and Nothing Butt — Self (archive footage)2026
- Joaquin Phoenix: An Actor of Extremes — Self - Actor (archive footage)2024
- Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford — Self (archive footage)2023
- Showbiz Kids — Self2020
- My Own Private River — Michael "Mike" Waters (archive footage)2012
- Dark Blood — Boy2012
- Too Young to Die — Self (archive footage)2012
- Final 24: River Phoenix — Self (archive footage)2006
- The Phoenix Portal — Wolfgang Müller / Michael "Mike" Waters (archive footage)2005
- The Making of ‘Sneakers’ — Self2003
via TMDB
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Country
- United States
- Active from
- 1970
- Active to
- 1993
Member of
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Wikipedia views (30d)
171,872 totalvia Wikimedia Pageviews API
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Madras
- Place of death
- West Hollywood
- Occupation
- guitarist
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Native language
- English language
- Genre
- alternative rock
- Instrument
- guitar
- Image
- RIVERP1989.jpg
- Residence
- Crockett
Show 12 more facts
- Commons category
- River Phoenix
- date of birth
- 1970-08-23
- date of death
- 1993-10-31
- lifestyle
- vegetarianism
- nominated for
- Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead
- birth name
- River Jude Bottom
- cause of death
- opioid overdose
- name in native language
- River Phoenix
- start of work period
- 1981-00-00
- end of work period
- 1993-00-00
- time period
- 20th century
- writing language
- English language
Sources (12)
via Wikidata · CC0
~31 min read
Encyclopedic overview
River Jude Phoenix (né Bottom; August 23, 1970 – October 31, 1993) was an American actor and musician. The older brother of actor Joaquin Phoenix, he was known as a teen actor before taking on leading roles in critically acclaimed films, becoming one of the preeminent acting talents of his generation. Phoenix's numerous accolades include the Volpi Cup and the Independent Spirit Award, as well as nominations for an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award.
Phoenix grew up in an itinerant family as the older brother of Rain, Joaquin, Liberty and Summer Phoenix. He began his acting career at age 10 in television commercials. His early film roles include Explorers (1985), Stand by Me (1986) and The Mosquito Coast (1986). Phoenix then made a transition into adult-oriented roles, earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the Sidney Lumet drama Running on Empty (1988). He earned the Volpi Cup for Best Actor and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead for his performance as Michael Waters, a gay hustler in search of his estranged mother, in the Gus Van Sant drama My Own Private Idaho (1991).
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “River Phoenix” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.