The son of the renowned French sculptor Paul Belmondo, he studied at Conservatoire National Superieur d'Art Dramatique (CNSAD); after the minor stage performances he made his screen debut in À pied, à cheval et en voiture (1957) but the episodes with his participation were cut before release. However, the breakthrough role in Jean-Luc Godard 's À bout de souffle (1960) made him one of the key figures in the French New Wave. Since mid-60s he completely switched to commercial mainstream pictures and became a big comedy and action star in France. Following the example of Alain Delon he founded his own production company Cerito named after his grandmother's maiden name. In 1989 he was award ed Cesar for his performance in Itinéraire d'un enfant gâté (1988) . Recently he returned to stage performing in the Theatre Marigny in Paris. He still appears in the movies but not so often as before preferring mostly dramatic roles. The president of France distinguished him with order of Legion of Honour. Belmondo has daughter Florence and son Paul. His elder daughter Patricia died in a fire in 1994. None of his children became actors though you could have seen his son Paul in the episodic role in Itinéraire d'un enfant gâté (1988).

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#52) (1995).Divorced in 1965, he later had long relationships with actresses Ursula Andress and Laura Antonelli .Belmondo always performed all the stunts himself but ceased to do that after the accident during the filming of Hold-Up (1985).While in Corsica, Jean-Paul suffered a stroke that left the right side of his face paralyzed. He was transferred to a Paris hospital and was released from intensive care after 6 days (8 August 2001).Father of Paul BelmondoHas three children with his first wife, dancer Elodie Constantin: Patricia (born in 1958, died in 1994), Florence (born in 1960) and racing car driver Paul (born in 1963).Enjoyed boxing and football in his youth.Has his look-alike puppet in the French show "Les guignols de l'info" (1988).He was awarded the César (French Oscar) for Itinéraire d'un enfant gâté (1988) but refused to take the trophy because César, the sculptor who designed the award and gave it his name, had once expressed bad opinions about the work of his father, fellow sculptor Paul Belmondo.Co-owner of Stressa, an italian restaurant on rue Chambiges located behind the Plaza Athena Hotel in Paris' 8th arrondisement. His partners are two brothers who manage the day to day operations of the restaurant.His wife Natty gave birth to a girl Stella on 13 August 2003.Is the favorite action star of Jackie Chan and Yun-Fat Chow .Several action icons in comics books such as "Cobra" or "Blueberry" are based on him.Was a longtime business partner of French mogul René Chateau.Made his stage debut in 1950.Has been Commander of France's Legion of Honor since 2007.Brother of Alain Belmondo and Muriel Belmondo .Son of Paul Belmondo (1898-1982), a French sculptor of Italian descent.Supports Paris Saint-Germain.