Vincent Anthony Vaughn^[1] (born March 28, 1970)^[2] is an American actor. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 comedy Swingers. Vaughn then appeared in the sci-fi action movie The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), the dramas The Locusts (1997) and Return to Paradise (1998), the Western South of Heaven, West of Hell (2000), and the thriller Domestic Disturbance (2001). He starred as Frank Semyon in the second season of the HBO anthology crime drama television series True Detective (2015).

Vaughn's comedy films include Old School (2003), Dodgeball (2004), Wedding Crashers (2005), The Break-Up (2006), Fred Claus (2007), Four Christmases (2008), Couples Retreat (2009), The Dilemma (2011), The Watch (2012), The Internship (2013), Delivery Man (2013), and Unfinished Business (2015). He returned to serious genres with roles in Hacksaw Ridge (2016), Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017), and Dragged Across Concrete (2018).

Vaughn was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.^{[1][3][failed verification]} His mother, Sharon Eileen (née DePalmo),^[4] is a real estate agent and stockbroker who was once ranked as one of the United States' top money managers by Bloomberg Wealth Manager magazine. His father, Vernon Lindsay Vaughn, worked as a salesman for a toy company.^[5] As a child, he was raised both Protestant and Catholic by his Catholic mother and Protestant father.^[6][7] He has Italian, Irish, English, Lebanese, and German ancestry.^[8]

Vaughn grew up in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, where he played football and baseball and wrestled, although he has called himself "unathletic" and "very average" at high school sports.^[9] He then moved to Lake Forest, where he graduated from Lake Forest High School in 1988. He was introduced to musical theater at a young age and decided to become an actor in 1987. He has credited his mother as the inspiration for his career, saying, "I saw her overcome stuff, and I thought if you worked hard at something you'd give yourself a chance".^[10]

In 1988, Vaughn was cast in a Chevrolet commercial and subsequently moved to Hollywood. He appeared in the 1989 season of the television series China Beach and in three CBS Schoolbreak Specials in 1990. His first film role was 1993's Rudy as Notre Dame football tailback Jamie O'Hara. He struck up a friendship with Jon Favreau, who was also a first-time actor. Two years later, he was cast in a lead role in a proposed revival of 77 Sunset Strip that was to air on the fledgling WB Television Network, but the project ceased development after initial testing. Vaughn did not gain wider success until his role in 1996's Swingers with Favreau.

Afterward, Steven Spielberg cast Vaughn in the 1997 blockbuster The Lost World: Jurassic Park, which gave him increased exposure. He followed that up with the lead role in The Locusts the same year. In 1998, he starred in the critically acclaimed drama Return to Paradise with Anne Heche, and starred in Clay Pigeons with Janeane Garofalo and Joaquin Phoenix. In 2000, he starred in The Cell with Jennifer Lopez and in 2001, appeared in Made, another film penned by Favreau. Vaughn also appeared in Dwight Yoakam's directorial debut, South of Heaven, West of Hell (2000). He also starred with John Travolta in the thriller Domestic Disturbance (2001). Vaughn's performance in the 2003 comedy Old School increased his popularity.^{[citation needed]}

In 2004, Vaughn appeared alongside Ben Stiller in the hit films Starsky & Hutch and Dodgeball. After this series of roles, he was dubbed one of the Hollywood "Frat Pack", a group of actors who frequently co-star in film comedies. He appeared in 2005's Thumbsucker, Be Cool, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Also in 2005, Vaughn starred alongside Owen Wilson in Wedding Crashers, which grossed over $200 million at the U.S. box office. In 2006, Vaughn starred with Jennifer Aniston in the comedy drama The Break-Up.

In 2007, Vaughn starred in Fred Claus as a sarcastic, wild-at-heart older brother of Santa Claus (Paul Giamatti). The film was directed by David Dobkin, who had directed Vaughn in Wedding Crashers, and co-starred Elizabeth Banks and Kevin Spacey. Next, he moved from comedy to drama in Sean Penn's Into the Wild, a film about the adventures of Christopher McCandless, based on the best-selling book by Jon Krakauer.

In 2008, Vaughn starred in his second Christmas comedy, Four Christmases, with Reese Witherspoon. The film portrays a couple who struggle to visit all four of their divorced parents on Christmas.^[11] In 2009, he starred in Couples Retreat, a comedy chronicling four couples who undergo therapy sessions at a tropical island resort. Malin Åkerman played his wife.^[12] Vince's father, Vernon, portrayed his father in the film. In February 2010, Vaughn was among the nearly 80 musicians and actors to sing the charity-single remake of We Are the World.

Vaughn starred in Ron Howard's comedy The Dilemma, released in January 2011. It was produced by Wild West Picture Show Productions, his production company.^[13][14] On July 31, 2012, it was announced that Vaughn would be developing a reboot produced by CBS to the sitcom The Brady Bunch, which was taken off the air in 1974.^[15]

In 2013, Vaughn co-wrote and starred alongside Owen Wilson in The Internship. In 2015, he starred in Unfinished Business, which grossed $4.8 million in its opening weekend, a career low for Vaughn. He also starred in the second season of True Detective alongside Colin Farrell, which premiered on June 21. In 2016, he starred in the crime thriller Term Life, which featured Favreau in a supporting role and was directed by Peter Billingsley.^[16] Also in 2016, he played a drill sergeant in the war film Hacksaw Ridge.^[17]

In 2018, Vaughn co-starred alongside Mel Gibson in Dragged Across Concrete, his second collaboration with S. Craig Zahler, whom he worked with the year before on Brawl in Cell Block 99. In 2020, he starred with Kathryn Newton in the horror-comedy film Freaky, in which they play a serial killer and a teenage girl who switch bodies.

On January 20, 2022, it was announced that Vaughn will produce a sequel to the 1983 film A Christmas Story titled A Christmas Story Christmas with Peter Billingsley (who will reprise his role as Ralphie) through his production company Wild West Picture Show Productions for Warner Bros. Pictures and HBO Max.^[18]

In March 2022, Vaughn, Greg Olsen, and Ryan Kalil launched a podcast network and production company named Audiorama.^[19] The first podcast available from the network, "Youth, Inc.", focuses on youth sports.^[20]

In 2005, Vaughn began dating Jennifer Aniston, his co-star in The Break-Up.^[21] In late 2006, Vaughn sued three tabloid magazines for reporting that he had been unfaithful to Aniston.^[22] They broke up in November 2006.^[21]

In March 2009, it was announced that Vaughn was engaged to Canadian realtor Kyla Weber.^[23] They married on January 2, 2010,^[24] in the Armour House at Lake Forest Academy in Lake Forest, Illinois. They have two children, born in 2010 and 2013.^[25][26]

Vaughn describes himself as a libertarian.^[27] He supported Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul in both the 2008 and 2012 elections,^[28] and Rand Paul in the 2016 election.^[29] In June 2015, Vaughn expressed his opposition to gun control.^[30]

In 2016, Vaughn began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the Gracie Academy in Torrance, California.^[31] He received his blue belt in 2018.^[32]

On June 10, 2018, Vaughn was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving and resisting arrest in Manhattan Beach, California, after failing a sobriety test at a police checkpoint.^[33] In May 2019, Vaughn was convicted of a reduced charge of reckless driving after he entered into a no contest plea. He was sentenced to three years' probation and ordered to undergo a three-month alcohol abuse program.^[34]