Christopher Eugene O'Donnell was born on June 26th, 1970, in Winnetka, Illinois, to Julie Ann (Rohs) and William Charles O'Donnell, Sr., whose profession was managing a CBS radio station, WBBM-AM. As the youngest child in his family, he had four sisters and two brothers.
His father had Irish ancestry, while his mother's lineage included German, English, and Swiss.
O'Donnell began modeling at the age of thirteen and continued until he was sixteen, when he appeared in commercials. When he turned seventeen, he was preparing to stop acting and modeling, but was asked to audition for his first film, Men Don't Leave (1990). Despite initially not wanting to attend the audition, his mother's promise to buy him a new car if he went convinced him to participate, and he landed the role.
Following this pivotal moment in his life, Chris has appeared in numerous major motion pictures, including Fried Green Tomatoes (1991),Scent of a Woman (1992),Mad Love (1995),and Vertical Limit (2000).
He also played a part in Kinsey (2004),which was released in theaters in the year 2004.
Chris took a break from acting to focus on his family, including his wife, Caroline, and their two children, Chris Jr. and Lilly. Additionally, he spent two months in New York performing in Arthur Miller's "The Man Who Had All the Luck".
