Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is

an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is

best known for playing Dominic Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise.
Early life
Diesel was born Mark Sinclair[2] on July 18, 1967,[3] in Alameda County, California, where his
mother was also born, though later moved to New York City with his fraternal twin brother, Paul.
[4][5]
His mother, Delora Sherleen Vincent (née Sinclair), is an astrologer.[6] He was raised by his
white mother and adoptive African-American father, Irving H. Vincent, an acting instructor and
theater manager.[5][7][8] Diesel has stated that he is "of ambiguous ethnicity."[9] His mother has
English, German, and Scottish roots.[10] He has never met his biological father, and has said that
"all I know from my mother is that I have connections to many different cultures," [11] Diesel
believes that his parents' relationship would have been illegal in parts of the United States due
to anti-miscegenation laws.[12]
Diesel made his stage debut at age seven when he appeared in the children's play Dinosaur
Door, written by Barbara Garson. The play was produced at Theater for the New City in New
York's Greenwich Village. His involvement in the play came about when he, his brother and
some friends had broken into the Theater for the New City space on Jane Street with the intent
to vandalize it. They were confronted by the theater's artistic director, Crystal Field, who offered
them roles in the upcoming show instead of calling the police.[13][14][15] Diesel remained involved
with the theater throughout adolescence, going on to attend NYC's Hunter College, where
studies in creative writing led him to begin screenwriting. He has identified himself as a "multi-
faceted" actor.[16] Sinclair began going by his stage name Vin Diesel while working as
a bouncer at the New York nightclub Tunnel, wanting a tougher sounding name for his
occupation. Vin comes from his mother's married last name Vincent, while the surname Diesel
came from his friends due to his tendency to be energetic

Personal life
Sometime around 2001, Diesel dated his Fast & Furious co-star Michelle Rodriguez.[42] Since
2007, he has been in a relationship with Mexican model Paloma Jimenez; the couple have three
children: daughter Hania Riley (born April 2008),[43][44] son Vincent Sinclair (born 2010),[45] and
daughter Pauline (born March 2015).[46] The last is named in honor of his co-star and friend Paul
Walker, who died in November 2013.[47] He is also the godfather of Walker's daughter, Meadow.

Career

Diesel in 2005

Diesel's first film role was a brief uncredited appearance in the drama film Awakenings (1990).
In 1994, he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the short drama film Multi-Facial, a semi-
autobiographical film which follows a struggling multiracial actor stuck in the audition process.
The film was selected for screening at the 1995 Cannes Festival. As well as acting, Vin Diesel
supported himself by working as a bouncer and telemarketer selling lightbulbs.[18]
In 1997, Diesel made his first feature-length film, Strays, an urban drama in which he played a
gang leader whose love for a woman inspires him to try to change his ways. Written, directed,
and produced by Diesel, the film was selected for competition at the 1997 Sundance Festival,
leading to an MTV deal to turn it into a series. Director Steven Spielberg took notice of Diesel
after seeing him in Multi-Facial[19] and cast him in a small role as a soldier in his 1998 Oscar-
winning war film Saving Private Ryan. In 1999, he provided the voice of the title character in the
animated film The Iron Giant.[20]
In 2000, Diesel had a supporting role in the drama thriller Boiler Room, where he appeared
alongside Giovanni Ribisi and Ben Affleck. He got his breakthrough leading role as the anti-
hero Riddick in the science-fiction film Pitch Black later that year. Diesel attained action
hero stardom with two box office hits: the street racing action film The Fast and the
Furious (2001), and the action thriller XXX (2002). He turned down the chance to reprise his
roles in the sequels 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and XXX: State of the Union (2005).[21] Instead he
chose to reprise his role as Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick, which was a box office failure
considering the large budget.[22] He also voiced the character in two spin-off video games and
the anime film The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury. In a change from his previous action hero
roles, in 2005, he played a lighthearted role in the comedy film The Pacifier, which was a box
office success.[23]

Diesel with the Fast Five cast and Natalie Morales for Today in 2011

In 2006, he chose a dramatic role playing real-life mobster Jack DiNorscio in Find Me Guilty.
Although he received critical acclaim for his performance,[24] the film did poorly at the box office
grossing only $2 million against a budget of $13 million.[25] Later that year, Diesel made a cameo
appearance in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, reprising his role from The Fast and the
Furious.

Diesel's main car, a Dodge Charger, from Fast & Furious

In 2007, Diesel was set to produce and star as Agent 47 in the film adaptation of the video
game Hitman, but eventually pulled back and served as executive producer on the film instead.
In 2008, he starred in the science-fiction action thriller Babylon A.D. which was a critical and box
office failure. Diesel returned to Fast & Furious series, alongside most of the principal cast from
the original 2001 film, in Fast & Furious, which was released in April 2009.
Diesel reprised his role as Dominic Toretto in installments five through nine of the Fast &
Furious franchise, Fast Five (2011), Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Furious 7 (2015), The Fate of the
Furious (2017) and F9 (2021).[26][27] He reprised his role as Riddick in the third film of The
Chronicles of Riddick series, simply titled Riddick (2013). In August 2013, Diesel received a star
on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[citation needed] He voiced Groot in the 2014 Marvel Cinematic
Universe film Guardians of the Galaxy.[28] He starred in the supernatural action film The Last
Witch Hunter (2015).[29] In 2016, Diesel appeared as a supporting character in Ang Lee's war
drama Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk.
In 2017, Diesel also reprised his roles as Xander Cage in XXX: Return of Xander Cage,[29] and
Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.[30] Over the course of several years, Diesel has
discussed playing two separate roles within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[31][32][33][34][35] In
November 2016 director of Guardians of the Galaxy, James Gunn, confirmed that Diesel had
been in talks to play Blackagar Boltagon / Black Bolt for the planned Inhumans film, but it was
turned into a television series instead without Diesel involved.
Diesel reprised his role of Groot once again in the crossover films Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
and Avengers: Endgame (2019) which combined the superhero teams of Guardians of the
Galaxy and The Avengers. He has said, "[I] think there's gonna be a moment that we're all
waiting for, and whether you know it or not, you are waiting to see [Groot] and [the Hulk] get
down."[36]
Diesel portrayed Valiant Comics character Bloodshot in the film of the same name[37] which
released in March 2020. He is also joining the cast of James Cameron's Avatar 2.[38]
In September 2020, Diesel announced his venture into music, with the release of the song "Feel
Like I Do", produced by Kygo.[39] He debuted the song on The Kelly Clarkson Show on
September 24, stating: "I am blessed that on a year that I would normally be on a movie set —
and as you know, that's not possible — I've had another creative outlet. Another way to show
you, or share with you, my heart."[40]