Bill Paxton was born in Fort Worth, Texas on May 17, 1955. After graduating from high school, he moved to Los Angeles to break into the film industry, finding jobs as a production assistant and set dresser. At the age of 21, he enrolled at New York University, but dropped out after two years to return to Los Angeles to pursue acting there. He appeared in both film and television. His films included The Terminator, Aliens, True Lies, Independence Day, Titanic, Apollo 13, and Twister. His television roles included Bill Henrickson on Big Love, Randolph McCoy in the three-part mini-series Hatfields and McCoys, and as a rogue cop on Training Day. He died from complications of surgery on February 25, 2017 at the age of 61.

(Bowker Author Biography)