Short Biography

Ralph George Macchio (born November 4, 1961) is an American actor of Italian ancestry. His most notable role was as Daniel LaRusso in the Karate Kid series. Born in Huntington, Long Island, New York, Macchio attended Half Hollow Hills High School West. Macchio first became a star when he appeared in television commercials for products such as Bubble Yum and Dr Pepper. His first major role was playing Jeremy in the television series Eight Is Enough. In 1983, he appeared alongside many young actors who had yet to become major stars, such as C. Thomas Howell, Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, and Matt Dillon in The Outsiders. It was not until 1984 that Macchio, in his early 20s, became an international teen idol, after the release of the first Karate Kid movie in which he stars alongside Pat Morita and Elisabeth Shue. He continued this success with the film`s sequels, Karate Kid Part II and III. With his boyish looks, Macchio became one of the most famous teen idols of the mid-1980s, his face appearing on the cover of many teen "bubble gum" magazines such as Tiger Beat, 16, and Teen Beat.

On April 5, 1987, Macchio married Phyllis Fierro, with whom he has a daughter (Julia, born 1992) and a son (Daniel, born 1996). Macchio has one brother, Steven. His parents, Ralph and Rosalie Macchio, own the Wild West Ranch and Western Town, in Lake George, New York.

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