Harrison Ford was born on July 13, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois, to Dorothy Nidelman, a radio actress, and Christopher Ford, an actor turned advertising executive, with Irish and German ancestry from his father's side and Jewish emigrants from Minsk, Belarus from his maternal grandparents' side.
As a student, Harrison was lackluster, never excelling in sports and maintaining a below-average grade point average at Maine Township High School East in Park Ridge, Illinois. He dropped out of Ripon College in Wisconsin, where he had started acting and later performed in summer stock, before signing a Hollywood contract with Columbia and later Universal.
Ford's early roles in movies and television, including Ironside and The Virginian, remained secondary, and he turned to a career in professional carpentry, discouraged by his lack of success. However, he returned to acting four years later with a significant role in American Graffiti, followed by his iconic portrayal of Han Solo in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope and Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Four years later, Ford received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for his role as John Book in Witness, and continued to enjoy success with his third starring role as Indiana Jones and his portrayal of Jack Ryan in Patriot Games. He received another Golden Globe nomination for his role as Dr. Richard Kimble in The Fugitive, solidifying his status as a Hollywood superstar.
In addition to his acting career, Ford is a private pilot of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, owning an 800-acre ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and has donated half of it as a nature reserve. He has personally provided emergency helicopter services at the request of local authorities and has been involved with the humanitarian aviation organization Wings of Hope.
On March 5, 2015, Ford's plane made an emergency landing on the Penmar Golf Course in Venice, California, after suffering engine failure, resulting in a broken pelvis, broken ankle, and other injuries.
