Thread by @polina_marinova

Keanu Reeves turns 57 years old today.

You may not know too much about his life, but it hasn't been a smooth ride.

Despite everything he's been through, he teaches us that tragedy can be used to create a beautiful life filled with joy & kindness.

This is his story 👇👇👇

Born in Beirut, Reeves's early life was marked with turbulence and instability.

He was 3 when his father left the family, and the last time they spoke was when Reeves was 13 years old.

In 1994, his dad was arrested with heroin and cocaine, and sentenced to 10 years in jail.

Reeves refuses to discuss his relationship with his father, only saying, “The story with me and my dad’s pretty heavy. It’s full of pain and woe and f*cking loss and all that sh*t."

Throughout his childhood, Reeves and his sister would move around with their mother to Hawaii, Australia, and New York before settling in Toronto.

Reeves attended four different high schools in the span of five years.

Reeves struggled with academics because of his dyslexia, but he found a passion for theater when he was 9.

He dropped out of high school to pursue acting, and after moving to L.A in 1986, Reeves landed his career-launching role in the science fiction comedy film Bill and Ted.

But before long, tragedy struck again.

In 1991, his younger sister was diagnosed with leukemia that she battled for years.

Reeves started a private foundation that donates to children’s hospitals and cancer research.

In 1999, just as Reeves gained national acclaim for The Matrix, he and his girlfriend Jennifer Syme were expecting their first child.

In December, their daughter was stillborn at 8 months.

Unable to recover from the grief, Reeves and Syme ended their relationship.

Eighteen months later, Syme passed out at the wheel, collided with three parked cars, and was thrown from the car.

She died in the accident.

“Grief changes shape, but it never ends,” Reeves said. "When the people you love are gone, you’re alone.”

Reeves has become a legendary actor, producer, and director, but he also has a reputation for being a genuinely good person.

He's become known for his random acts of kindness, of which there are many.

We've seen him giving up his seat on a crowded subway to a woman with a large bag, jumping out of a car to autograph a sign he saw on a fan's lawn, and hanging out with a homeless man on the side streets of West Hollywood.

Reeves once handed over a %age of his profits from "The Matrix" sequels to the special-effects and costume-design team because he felt "they were the ones who made the movie and that they should participate."

Money doesn't change you, it just magnifies who you already were.

Reeves has been through a lot, but he believes you can always make time to be a good person.

"If you have been brutally broken but still have the courage to be gentle to other living beings,” he says, “then you’re a badass with a heart of an angel."

theprofile.substack.com/p/keanu-reeves