Ron Howard is one Hollywood's most immediately recognizable names. As an actor, writer and director, he has been involved in more than 60 films, television productions and documentaries during a half century on the large and small screen.

Hailing from a family of thespians, it might be said that Ron Howard was born to act. The Duncan, OK native was born March 1, 1954, to Rance Howard, an actor and writer, and the late Jean Speegle Howard, an actress. He is also related to comedic actor Don Knotts (1924-2006), who co-starred with young Ron on The Andy Griffith Show. His younger brother, Clint Howard, is also an actor.

Howard's career began at the age of just two, in a bit part in 1956's Frontier Woman, a film in which his father, Rance, also appeared. By age seven, Howard had two more film credits to his name: The Journey (1956) and Door-to-Door Maniac (1961). As "Ronnie" Howard, the youngster also appeared in Walking Distance, a 1959 episode of The Twilight Zone.

Already an appealing child-actor personality, Howard achieved true fame in 1960 when he was cast as Andy Griffith's son, Opie, on highly popular television series, The Andy Griffith Show. Then, in 1962, Howard was cast as Winthrop Paroo in the critically acclaimed film version of Broadway's The Music Man. The film won six academy awards and put many of its cast--including Ron Howard--in high demand. During his eight-year run with The Andy Griffith Show, Howard stayed busy, appearing in a number of movies, including The Courtship of Eddie's Father (as youngster matchmaker Eddie Corbett) and in the 1965 sci-fi comedy Village of the Giants. He also made appearances on several television series, including Gunsmoke and M*A*S*H. It was during this time that Howard first tried his hand at directing, with three film shorts in 1969.

By this time, "Ronnie" Howard was growing up (and being cast as Ron), but his freckle-faced, all-American appeal followed him into teenagehood and landed him another legendary role: Richie Cunningham, the letter-sweatered scholar in the 1950s era sitcom Happy Days. Happy Days aired in 1974; Howard would play the part of Richie until the show's final season 14 years later. Again, the youngster kept up a busy schedule, with a number of movies including American Graffiti II and Golden Globe nominee The Shootist. He also made his feature film directorial debut: 1977's romantic adventure Grand Theft Auto.

After Happy Days, Howard put his directorial talents into full gear, heading up hit after box office hit with such well known films as Cocoon, Splash, Willow, and Parenthood. Howard's movies took a more serious edge during the 1990s with Backdraft, Apollo 13 and Far and Away. From 1982 to 1999, Howard directed an impressive 12 cinematic films and a number of television productions, as well as continuing to act in movies,including The Independent and Welcome to Hollywood. Since then, the writer/director/actor has been involved in more than 20 additional major cinema and television projects such as The DaVinci Code and A Beautiful Mind, and has two new film productions on schedule for a 2008 release.

Today the celebrity lives in Connecticut with his wife of more than 30 years, writer Cheryl Howard (formerly Alley). He is the father of four, including two actresses (Bryce Dallas Howard and Paige Howard), and the grandfather of one child, a boy.