Bill Paxton (real name William Archibald Paxton) is the son of actor John Paxton and was born in Fort Worth, Texas.

He became interested in cinema while still in school, making amateur films with friends. At the age of eighteen, Paxton moved to Los Angeles, where he made a living for three years parking cars. He finally managed to get a job as a costumer at Roger Corman's film company `New World Pictures`, and in 1975 he landed a small role in Corman's film `Crazy Mama`, which was directed by Jonathan Demme.

Encouraged by this success, Paxton moved to New York, where he studied acting at New York University under the renowned teacher Stella Adler. Returning to Los Angeles, from 1981 to 1986 Paxton appeared in 11 minor roles, and many of these films became well known - "The Terminator" (1984), "Streets of Fire" (1984), "Aliens" (1986), "Weird Science" (1985).

During this same period, Paxton made two award-winning short films in which he was simultaneously screenwriter, director, and producer; he worked in television and recorded an album as a member of the rock band `Martini Ranch`, and he also married Louise Newbury, whom he had met in London in 1982. From 1986 (after "Aliens") and throughout the 1990s, Bill Paxton considerably improved his acting status, appearing in notable roles in big-budget films such as "Predator 2" (1990) and "Navy SEALs" (1990), and "One False Move" (1992). The actor's popularity was further boosted by the lead role in Jan de Bont's "Twister" and roles in "Tombstone", "True Lies", and "Apollo 13". Paxton also appeared in one of the main roles in the 1997-1998 sensation "Titanic" by James Cameron.