Edward James Norton Jr. (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor, and a notoriously private figure who does not typically embrace his celebrity status. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, but he grew up in Columbia, Maryland. His mother Robin was an English teacher who died of a brain tumor in 1997, and his father, Edward Sr. was an attorney and one-time federal prosecutor under the Carter administration, who now works for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He is the grandson of developer James Rouse, designer of the city of Columbia, Maryland, as well as Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and Boston’s Quincy Market. He graduated from Yale with a degree in history and has since played roles in many movies including a film adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s cult hit Fight Club. Norton was launched into the spotlight by Primal Fear, for which he garnered numerous nominations, including one for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and won a Golden Globe for the same, playing a young, sociopathic convict. He has since earned numerous nominations for his role as a reformed neo-Nazi in American History X. Norton continues to be a dedicated social activist, working to improve the quality of living in low-income communities among many other projects. He previously dated actress Salma Hayek.