Short Biography

Christopher Shannon "Chris" Penn (October 10, 1965 – January 24, 2006) was an American film and television actor. Penn was born in Los Angeles County, California, the son of Leo Penn, an actor and director, and Eileen Ryan (née Annucci), an actress. His paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania and Russia, and his mother was a Roman Catholic of Italian and Irish descent. According to Penn`s mother, Leo Penn may have had distant Spanish ancestry, as the family`s surname was originally "Piñón".[3] He had two older brothers, actor Sean Penn, and musician Michael Penn. From 1993 to 1999, Penn dated and lived with Filipino-American model Steffiana de la Cruz.

Penn was found dead in his Santa Monica condominium on January 24, 2006, at the age of 40. Although Penn had used multiple drugs in the past, an autopsy performed by a Los Angeles County Medical Examiner revealed the primary cause of death was "nonspecific cardiomyopathy" (heart disease). Penn is interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

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