Steven Seagal

**Steven Frederic Seagal** (born April 10, 1952) is an American martial artist, actor, and filmmaker best known for his action films. Seagal began his adult life as an Aikido instructor in Japan. He became the first foreigner to have an Aikido dojo in Japan. He later moved to Los Angeles, California. He entered the film industry in 1982, first functioning as a martial arts instructor, choreographer, and stunt co-ordinator. His first acting role was in _Above the Law_ (1988), which is regarded as the first American film to feature aikido in fight sequences. _Under Siege_ (1992) brought him the most fame. In 1993, he starred in his directorial debut _On Deadly Ground_.

At the height of his career, Seagal was one of the most successful martial arts actors of the 1980s and 1990s, alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme. Credited with popularising aikido in film, Seagal is considered an important figure in the development and popularization of martial arts in the West.

Outside his career as a martial artist and filmmaker, Seagal is a Tibetan lama and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism. He is also a musician, having released two studio albums, and performed on the scores of several of his films.

## Views

Seagal is known as an environmentalist, an animal rights activist and as a supporter of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso.

He is also known for his outspoken support of Vladimir Putin. Seagal once called Putin "one of the great living world leaders". He was granted Russian citizenship in 2016. In 2018, the Russian foreign ministry announced that Seagal was appointed as a special envoy to improve ties with the United States. In 2023, Putin bestowed a state decoration on Seagal, awarding the Order of Friendship.

## Personal life

Seagal owns a dude ranch in Colorado and a home in Brentwood. He has adopted many animals from shelters. Seagal is a Buddhist.

Seagal has seven children from four relationships.

In Japan, Seagal married his first wife, Miyako Fujitani.  They had a son and daughter.  The daughter is actress and writer Ayako Fujitani.

In the United States, he married former _Days of our Lives_ actress Adrienne La Russa. During this marriage, he began a relationship with Kelly LeBrock.  LeBrock became pregnant.  He then ended the marriage with La Russa and married LeBrock. They had 3 children.  During his marriage to LeBrock, Seagal was having a relationship with their nanny, Arissa Wolf.  She had a daughter.

Seagal is currently married to Erdenetuya Batsukh, called Elle. They have a son. Elle is from Mongolia.

In addition to his biological children, he is the guardian to a Tibetan child, Yabshi Pan Rinzinwangmo.

## Filmography

|Year|Title|Role|
| --- | --- | --- |
|1988|_Above the Law_|Nico Toscani|
|1990|_Hard to Kill_|Mason Storm|
|_Marked for Death_|John Hatcher||
|1991|_Out for Justice_|Det. Gino Felino|
|1992|_Under Siege_|Casey Ryback|
|1994|_On Deadly Ground_|Forrest Taft|
|1995|_Under Siege 2: Dark Territory_|Casey Ryback|
|1996|_Executive Decision_|Lt. Colonel Austin Travis|
|_The Glimmer Man_|Lt. Jack Cole||
|1997|_Fire Down Below_|Jack Taggart|
|1998|_The Patriot_|Dr. Wesley McClaren|
|1999|_Get Bruce_|(himself)|
|2001|_Exit Wounds_|Orin Boyd|
|_Ticker_|Frank Glass||
|2002|_Half Past Dead_|Sasha Petrosevitch|
|2003|_The Foreigner_|Jonathan Cold|
|_Out for a Kill_|Prof. Robert Burns||
|_Belly of the Beast_|Jake Hopper||
|2004|_Out of Reach_|William Lansing|
|_Clementine_|Jack Miller||
|2005|_Into the Sun_|Travis Hunter|
|_Submerged_|Chris Cody||
|_Today You Die_|Harlan Banks||
|_Black Dawn_|Jonathan Cold||
|2006|_Mercenary for Justice_|John Seeger|
|_Shadow Man_|Jack Foster||
|_Attack Force_|Cmdr. Marshall Lawson||
|2007|_Flight of Fury_|John Sands|
|_Urban Justice_|Simon Ballister||
|2008|_Pistol Whipped_|Matt Conlin|
|_The Onion Movie_|Cock Puncher||
|_Kill Switch_|Jacob||
|2009|_Against the Dark_|Tao|
|_Driven to Kill_|Ruslan||
|_The Keeper_|Roland Sallinger||
|2009–|_Steven Seagal: Lawman_|(himself)|
|2010|_A Dangerous Man_|Shane Daniels|
|_Machete_|Torrez||
|2011|_Born to Raise Hell_|Samuel Axel|
|2012|_Maximum Conviction_|Cross|
|2013|_Force of Execution_|John Alexander|

## Discography

- 2005: _Songs from the Crystal Cave_
- 2006: _Mojo Priest_

## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Steven Seagal
- **image**: Steven seagalpa.jpg
- **caption**: Seagal in 2006
- **birth name**: Steven Frederic Seagal
- **birth place**: Lansing, Michigan, USA
- **other names**: Chungdrag Dorje, Takeshigemichi
- **years active**: 1987–present
- **style**: Aikido
- **website**: [http://stevenseagal.com/ stevenseagal.com]
- **spouse**: Miyako Fujitani (1975–1986)
 Adrienne La Russa (1984–1987)
 Kelly LeBrock (1987–1996)
 Erdenetuya Seagal (née Batsukh) (2009–present)
- **children**: 7 (including Ayako Fujitani)