PAUL WALKER

Walker was born on September 12, 1973, in Glendale, California. His

mother, Cheryl , was a fashion model, and his father, Paul William
Walker III, was a sewer contractor and former amateur boxer, who was a
two-time Golden Gloves champion.Walker's paternal grandfather,
William, had a short-lived boxing career as "Irish" Billy Walker, while
another raced factory cars for Ford in the 1960s.
Raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
Walker had four younger siblings: Aimee, Ashlie, Caleb, and Cody. He
spent the majority of his early life in the Sunland neighborhood of Los
Angeles, and graduated from Village Christian School in 1991. Walker
subsequently attended several community colleges in Southern
California, majoring in marine biology.

In 2001, Walker's breakthrough role was starring opposite Vin Diesel in

the action film The Fast and the Furious; it was commercially
successful, and subsequently launched a media franchise. The film also
established Walker as a film star and leading man, as his performance
garnered the MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Team (shared with
Diesel) in 2002. Walker starred in the critically successful thriller Joy
Ride (2001), also focusing on car-related action, and reprised his role as
Brian O'Conner in the 2003 sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious. After this, he
starred either in low-budget or commercially unsuccessful films for a
time, notably Timeline (2003) and Into the Blue (2005).
Walker portrayed Hank Hansen in Clint Eastwood's war film Flags of
Our Fathers (2006) and starred in the survival drama Eight Below, both
released in 2006. Eight Below garnered critical acclaim and opened in
first place at the box office, grossing over US$20 million during its
opening weekend.[13] Walker then starred in the independent film The
Lazarus Project, which was released on DVD on October 21, 2008.
Despite initial reluctance, Walker reprised his role as Brian O'Conner
after seven years, in Fast & Furious (2009). The film became the
highest-grossing film in the franchise up until that point. He then
reprised his role in the fifth and sixth installments of the franchise,
which were commercially successful, while his performances were
praised. Walker was nominated for Choice Movie Actor – Action at the
2011 Teen Choice Awards for the former, and nominated for Choice
Movie: Chemistry (with Diesel and Dwayne Johnson) and won his
second MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo with Diesel for the
latter. Walker also starred in the heist film Takers (2010), and returned
to modelling in 2011, appearing as the face of fragrance brand Cool
Water. In 2012, he founded the film production company Laguna Ridge
Pictures, which signed a first-look deal with Fast & Furious distributor
Universal Pictures.
On November 30, 2013, at about 3:30 p.m. PST, Walker, 40, and Roger
Rodas, 38, left an event for Walker's charity Reach Out Worldwide for
victims of Typhoon Haiyan, with Rodas driving his 2005 Porsche
Carrera GT. Traveling between 80 mph (130 km/h) and 93 mph (150
km/h) in a 45 mph (72 km/h) speed zone on Hercules Street in Valencia,
a neighborhood of Santa Clarita, California, the car crashed into a
concrete lamp post and two trees, catching fire. Rodas died of multiple
trauma while Walker died from the combined effects of trauma and
burns. Both of their bodies were burned beyond recognition.
The curve where Walker and Rodas died is a popular spot for drifting
cars. No alcohol or other drugs were found in either man's system,and
neither mechanical failure nor road conditions appeared to play a role.
Police found no evidence of drag racing. The investigation concluded
that the car's speed and age of the tires were the primary reasons for
tWith Furious 7 in the middle of filming at the time of Walker's death,
Universal announced an indeterminate hiatus on the production, citing a
desire to speak with his family before determining what to do with the
film.
Numerous friends and movie stars posted tributes to Walker on social
media. His body was cremated and his ashes were buried in a non-
denominational ceremony at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. His life was
later chronicled in the documentary “I Am Paul Walker”, which was
released on August 11, 2018.