Norman Reedus biography, net worth, wife, accident, age, height 2025

Biography of Norman Reedus

Norman Reedus is an American actor, producer, and model who became famous for starring in the TV series The Walking Dead (2010-present) and the film The Boondock Saints. Net worth: $25 million.

Childhood and Early Life

Norman Mark Reedus was born in Hollywood, Florida, on January 6, 1969. Norman's paternal grandmother was Italian, with ancestors who came to the USA from Sicily, while his father's bloodline also includes British, Scottish, and Irish heritage.

The actor's mother, Marianne Yarber, worked as a Playboy Bunny when she was young. Later, she worked as a teacher in kindergarten and high school, and managed an orphanage. Reedus' parents separated, and his father, Ira Norman Reedus, a businessman, remained absent from Norman and his younger sister's lives. They reconnected with their father just before he died in 2002. Norman even got a tattoo of his father's name on his chest to honor him.

Reedus showed his hunger for bigger things in high school: he devoted all his time to his rock band called Vicious Prick, eventually dropping out and moving to Tokyo. Soon after, he lived in London and then Spain, where he made money selling photographs of stray cats. Love brought Reedus to Los Angeles, where he got a job at a motorcycle shop, though he didn't stay long. At a party celebrating his firing, Norman met a producer who invited him to join a theater production. He shared the stage with Lisa Kudrow, the future Friends star.

Norman Reedus was Photographed for Prada when He was Young

Meanwhile, Reedus tried his hand at modeling and found considerable success. He was photographed for Prada, Levi's, Lexus, and other brands. In the mid-1990s, he appeared in music videos of Keith Richards, Björk and Radiohead, and when the actor became famous, such pop and rap stars as Lady Gaga, Tricky, Hilary Duff and others started to invite him to their music videos.

Acting Career

Norman Reedus made his film debut in Mimic (1997) by Guillermo del Toro, a future maker of such Oscar-winning films as The Shape of Water and El Laberinto del Fauno. Mira Sorvino and Josh Brolin joined Reedus in that film.

Shortly after, Reedus landed his first leading role in the crime film Six Ways to Sunday by Adam Bernstein, who would later create the TV show Fargo. Norman played an 18-year-old boy with a split personality who had a complicated relationship with his mother, played by Debbie Harry, the lead singer of new wave band Blondie.

In 1999, the young actor landed the role that would make him a worldwide star. In the thriller, The Boondock Saints by Troy Duffy, Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery portrayed two ordinary brothers from Ireland who decided to cleanse the world of evil.

Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery in The Boondock Saints

Interestingly, this was Duffy's first time writing and directing - he was working as a bartender and bouncer at the time. After a decade-long battle over royalty payments and sequel rights, Duffy made The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day with Reedus and Flanery returning to star. This became the director's second and final feature film.

Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery in The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day

In 2002, the actor appeared in the sequel Blade II, based on the Marvel Comics character. Wesley Snipes played the title character, while Norman played Scud, a young weapons expert who helps Blade. Shortly after, Reedus appeared in two episodes of the hit TV show Charmed, playing Nate, the boyfriend of witch Paige (Rose McGowan).

In 2007, the actor had the opportunity to work with Ridley Scott in his crime thriller film American Gangster in which Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe starred. Though Reedus had a small role, the experience was invaluable - the film earned two Oscar nominations and numerous other prestigious awards.

The Walking Dead

According to Zoomboola.com, in 2010, Reedus was approved to portray Daryl Dixon in the TV show The Walking Dead, the post-apocalyptic drama about survivors battling zombies in a world gone mad.

Originally, Norman's character didn't exist in the comic series the show was based on – it was created specifically for Reedus after his screen-test for Merle Dixon. Eventually, Michael Rooker portrayed this character. The actor portrayed Merle's younger brother, a skilled hunter and tracker who preferred going it alone.

Comic book creator Robert Kirkman said that the exceptionally talented Reedus honored the show by bringing the character of Daryl Dixon to life. The multi-episode drama became one of the most popular and favorite shows among the audience, and Reedus was nominated for the Saturn Award for his role.

By the end of 2018, nine seasons of the TV show had been released. Every year Norman becomes more and more popular. Reedus receives so many gifts from his fans that he's had to dedicate three rooms in his New York apartment just to store them all. Members of the rock band Kiss are among his fans. One day, the band refused to start their Atlanta concert until Norman could rush over from set and snap a photo with them in full makeup.

Other Projects

Between filming The Walking Dead, Reedus found time to work on other projects. His most successful works include the drama Hello Herman (2012) by Michelle Danner, the crime comedy Pawn Shop Chronicles (2013) by Wayne Kramer, and the French-German comedy Sky.

Norman could join George Clooney and Hugh Laurie in the sci-fi film Tomorrowland (2015), but he had to pass on the role because he refused to cut his hair short.

Private Life of Norman Reedus

From 1998 to 2003, Reedus dated supermodel Helena Christensen. In October 1999, the couple had a son, Mingus Lucien Reedus. They have remained good friends and share joint custody of their son.

In 2015, while working on the film Sky, Reedus met a German actress, Diane Kruger. In fall 2018, the 49-year-old Norman and 42-year-old Diane welcomed their first child.

In February 2005, Reedus suffered a serious head injury when his car collided with a truck on a Berlin road. He spent four months in the hospital, and now has a titanium eye socket (his eye was saved) and four bone screws in his nose.

During rehabilitation, Norman got so bored that he agreed to leave the hospital and act in his friend's short film Meet Me in Berlin. It's about a man who misses a date with a woman because of a car accident on Berlin's roads.

Norman Reedus isn't just an actor; he's also an artist, sculptor, and a photographer

Norman Reedus isn't just an actor; he's also an artist, sculptor, and photographer. His works can be seen in galleries in New York, Berlin, and Frankfurt. He even used to have his own art gallery called Collective Hardware in Manhattan. On October 31, 2013, he released a book with his pictures The Sun's Coming Up... Like A Big Bald Head.

Norman Reedus Now

In 2019, Norman Reedus took on an unusual project - he played the main character (Sam Porter-Bridges) in the cult game "Death Stranding". Mads Mikkelsen also worked on the game alongside him. Gamers had been waiting for the game's release for several years, and after its launch, Hideo Kojima's "Death Stranding" became a hit and was nominated for The Game Awards 2019 in the "Game of the Year" category and several others.

Norman Reedus: latest news and articles

Hideo Kojima Talks About Creating an Animated Series Based on the Death Stranding Universe

19 Jun 2025

Tara Wright

Of course, I remember Reedus for his role in the walking dead, where he is a great hunter and tracker

2021-05-16 23:27:45
Bernard Thomas

The Boondock Saints showed Norman Reedius the other way around, he manages to play the bad guys very well.

2021-05-06 16:28:35
Rosa Willis

Didn`t know that Norman starred in commercials and was a fashion model. Well, it turned out great, I think.

2021-05-05 14:41:11
Shawn Davis

Norman Reedus was really cool in The Walking Dead. One of my favorite TV shows in general.

2021-04-10 21:53:13
Janet Thomas

For me, Reedus is not a handsome man, but judging by his filmography, he is a good actor.

2021-03-29 20:13:39

Photos: Norman Reedus