Harrison Ford was born at the Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, on July 13, 1942, the son of former radio actress Dorothy (née Nidelman) and advertising executive and former actor John William “Christopher” Ford. His younger brother, Terence, was born in 1945. His father was a Catholic of German and Irish descent, while his mother was an Ashkenazi Jew and the daughter of Belarusian immigrants from Minsk. When asked in which religion he and his brother were raised, Ford jokingly responded “Democrat” and more seriously stated that they were raised to be “liberals of every stripe”. When asked about what influence his Jewish and Irish Catholic ancestry may have had on him, he quipped, “As a man I’ve always felt Irish, as an actor I’ve always felt Jewish.”

Ford was a Boy Scout, achieving the second-highest rank of Life Scout. He worked at Napowan Adventure Base Scout Camp as a counselor for the Reptile Study merit badge. Because of this, he and director Steven Spielberg later decided to depict the young Indiana Jones as a Life Scout in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Ford graduated in 1960 from Maine East High School in Park Ridge, Illinois. His voice was the first student voice broadcast on his high school’s new radio station, WMTH, and he was its first sportscaster during his senior year. He attended Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin, where he was a philosophy major and a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. A self-described “late bloomer”, Ford took a drama class in the final quarter of his senior year to get over his shyness and became fascinated with acting.

In 1964, after a season of summer stock with the Belfry Players in Wisconsin, Ford traveled to Los Angeles to apply for a job in radio voice-overs. He did not get it, but stayed in California and eventually signed a $150-per-week contract with Columbia Pictures’ new talent program, playing bit roles in films. His first known role was an uncredited one as a bellhop in Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round (1966). There is little record of his non-speaking (or “extra”) roles in film. Ford was at the bottom of the hiring list, having offended producer Jerry Tokovsky after he played a bellboy in the feature. He was told by Tokovsky that when actor Tony Curtis delivered a bag of groceries, he did it like a movie star; Ford felt his job was to act like a bellboy.

His speaking roles continued next with Luv (1967), though he was still uncredited. He was finally credited as “Harrison J. Ford” in the 1967 Western film A Time for Killing, starring Glenn Ford, George Hamilton and Inger Stevens, but the “J” did not stand for anything since he has no middle name. It was added to avoid confusion with a silent film actor named Harrison Ford, who appeared in more than 80 films between 1915 and 1932 and died in 1957. Ford later said that he was unaware of the existence of the earlier actor until he came upon a star with his own name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Ford soon dropped the “J” and worked for Universal Studios, playing minor roles in many television series throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, including Gunsmoke, Ironside, The Virginian, The F.B.I., Love, American Style and Kung Fu. He appeared in the western Journey to Shiloh (1968) and had an uncredited, non-speaking role in Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1970 film Zabriskie Point as an arrested student protester. French filmmaker Jacques Demy chose Ford for the lead role of his first American film, Model Shop (1969), but the head of Columbia Pictures thought Ford had “no future” in the film business and told Demy to hire a more experienced actor. The part eventually went to Gary Lockwood. Ford later commented that the experience had been nevertheless a positive one because Demy was the first to show such faith in him.

Ford has been married three times, and has four biological children and one adopted child. He was first married to Mary Marquardt from 1964 until their divorce in 1979. They had two sons, chef and restaurateur Benjamin (born 1966) and clothier Willard (born 1969). Benjamin co-owns Ford’s Filling Station, a gastropub with locations at L.A. Live in Los Angeles and Terminal 5 in Los Angeles International Airport. Willard is the owner of Strong Sports Gym, and was co-owner of the Kim Sing Theater and owner of the Ludwig Clothing company.

Throughout his career, Ford has received significant recognition for his work in the entertainment industry. In 1986, he was nominated for Best Actor at the 58th Academy Awards for his performance in Witness, a role for which he also received BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations in the same category. Three additional Golden Globe nominations went to Ford in 1987, 1994 and 1996 for his performances in The Mosquito Coast, The Fugitive and Sabrina. In 2000, he was the recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute for his body of work, presented to him by two of his closest collaborators and fellow industry giants, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. In 2002, he was given the Cecil B. DeMille Award, another career achievement honor, from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at the 59th Golden Globe Awards ceremony. On May 30, 2003, Ford received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Since 1992, Ford has lent his voice to a series of public service messages promoting environmental involvement for EarthShare, an American federation of environmental and conservation charities. He has acted as a spokesperson for Restore Hetch Hetchy, a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring Yosemite National Park’s Hetch Hetchy Valley to its original condition. Ford also appears in the documentary series Years of Living Dangerously, which reports on people affected by and seeking solutions to climate change.

In 1993, the arachnologist Norman Platnick named a new species of spider Calponia harrisonfordi, and in 2002, the entomologist Edward O. Wilson named a new ant species Pheidole harrisonfordi (in recognition of Harrison’s work as Vice Chairman of Conservation International).

On September 7, 1995, Ford testified before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in support of the Dalai Lama and an independent Tibet. In 2007, he narrated the documentary Dalai Lama Renaissance.

On October 23, 1999, Harrison Ford was involved in the crash of a Bell 206L4 LongRanger helicopter (N36R). The NTSB accident report states that Ford was piloting the aircraft over the Lake Piru riverbed near Santa Clarita, California, on a routine training flight. While making his second attempt at an autorotation with powered recovery, Ford allowed the helicopter’s altitude to drop to 150–200 feet before beginning power-up. The aircraft was unable to recover power before hitting the ground. The aircraft landed hard and began skidding forward in the loose gravel before one of its skids struck a partially embedded log, flipping the aircraft onto its side. Neither Ford nor the instructor pilot suffered any injuries, though the helicopter was seriously damaged. When asked about the incident by fellow pilot James Lipton in an interview on the TV show Inside the Actor’s Studio, Ford replied, “I broke it.”

Ford’s second marriage was to screenwriter Melissa Mathison from March 1983 until their divorce in late 2000. They had a son, actor and musician Malcolm (born 1987), and a daughter, actress Georgia (born 1990). He began dating actress Calista Flockhart after they met at the 2002 Golden Globe Awards. They are the parents of Liam (born 2001), the son she adopted before meeting Ford. He proposed to Flockhart over Valentine’s Day weekend in 2009. They married on June 15, 2010, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Ford was filming Cowboys & Aliens.

In the late 1990s, Ford started appearing in several critically derided and/or commercially disappointing films that failed to match his earlier successes, including Six Days, Seven Nights (1998), Random Hearts (1999), K-19: The Widowmaker (2002), Hollywood Homicide (2003), Firewall (2006) and Extraordinary Measures (2010). One exception was What Lies Beneath (2000) which grossed over $155 million in the United States and $291 million worldwide. Ford served as an executive producer on K-19: The Widowmaker and Extraordinary Measures, both of which were based on true events. In the 2001 Guinness Book of World Records, Ford was listed as the richest male actor in the world.

In 2003, he publicly condemned the Iraq War and called for “regime change” in the United States. He also criticized Hollywood for making movies which were “more akin to video games than stories about human life and relationships”, and he called for more gun control in the United States.

In 2004, Ford declined a chance to star in the thriller Syriana, later commenting that “I didn’t feel strongly enough about the truth of the material and I think I made a mistake.” The role eventually went to George Clooney, who won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his work. Prior to that, Ford had passed on a role in another Stephen Gaghan-written film, that of Robert Wakefield in Traffic, which eventually went to Michael Douglas.

In March 2004, Ford officially became chairman of the Young Eagles program of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). Ford was asked to take the position by Greg Anderson, Senior Vice President of the EAA at the time, to replace General Chuck Yeager, who was vacating the post that he had held for many years. Ford at first was hesitant, but later accepted the offer and has made appearances with the Young Eagles at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh gathering at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, for two years. In July 2005, at the gathering in Oshkosh, Ford agreed to accept the position for another two years. He has flown over 280 children as part of the Young Eagles program, usually in his DHC-2 Beaver, which can seat the actor and five children. Ford stepped down as program chairman in 2009 and was replaced by Captain Chesley Sullenberger and First Officer Jeff Skiles. He is involved with the EAA chapter in Driggs, Idaho, just over the Teton Range from Jackson, Wyoming. On July 28, 2016, Ford flew the two millionth Young Eagle at the EAA AirVenture convention.

In 2006, he received the Jules Verne Award, given to an actor who has “encouraged the spirit of adventure and imagination” throughout their career. He was presented with the first-ever Hero Award at the 2007 Scream Awards for his many iconic roles, including Indiana Jones and Han Solo (both of which earned him two Saturn Awards for Best Actor in 1982 and 2016, respectively), and in 2008 he received the Spike TV’s Guy’s Choice Award for “Brass Balls”. In 2015, Ford received the Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Entertainment from BAFTA Los Angeles. In 2018, Ford was honored by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation with the Artists Inspiration Award for both his acting and philanthropic work alongside fellow honoree Lady Gaga. SAG-AFTRA Foundation Board President JoBeth Williams in the press release said, “Harrison Ford is an acting legend in every known galaxy, but what many do not know are the decades of philanthropic service and leadership he has given to Conservation International to help protect our planet.”

In 2008, Ford enjoyed success with the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the first Indiana Jones film in nineteen years and another collaboration with Lucas and Spielberg. The film received generally positive reviews and was the second highest-grossing film worldwide in 2008. Ford later said he would like to star in another sequel, “…if it didn’t take another 20 years to digest.”

Other 2008 work included Crossing Over, directed by Wayne Kramer. In the film, Ford plays an ICE/Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent, working alongside Ashley Judd and Ray Liotta. He also narrated a feature documentary film about the Dalai Lama entitled Dalai Lama Renaissance. Ford filmed the medical drama Extraordinary Measures in 2009 in Portland, Oregon. Released January 22, 2010, the film also starred Brendan Fraser and Alan Ruck. Also in 2010, he co-starred in the film Morning Glory, along with Rachel McAdams, Diane Keaton and Patrick Wilson. Although a disappointment at the box office, Ford’s performance was well received by critics, some of which thought it was his best role in years. In July 2011, Ford starred alongside Daniel Craig and Olivia Wilde in the science-fiction/western hybrid film Cowboys & Aliens. To promote the film, Ford appeared at the San Diego Comic-Con International and, apparently surprised by the warm welcome, told the audience, “I just wanted to make a living as an actor. I didn’t know about this.” Also in 2011, Ford starred in Japanese commercials advertising the video game Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception for the PlayStation 3.

In 2009, Ford signed a petition calling for the release of film director Roman Polanski, who had been arrested in Switzerland in relation to his 1977 charge for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl.

As of 2009, Ford appears in Internet advertisements for General Aviation Serves America, a campaign by the advocacy group Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). He has also appeared in several independent aviation documentaries, including Wings Over the Rockies (2009), Flying The Feathered Edge: The Bob Hoover Project (2014) and Living in the Age of Airplanes (2015).

Ford has also been honored multiple times for his involvement in general aviation, receiving the Living Legends of Aviation Award and the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Freedom of Flight Award in 2009, the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy in 2010 and the Al Ueltschi Humanitarian Award in 2013. In 2013, Flying magazine ranked him number 48 on their list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation.

2013 began a trend that saw Ford accepting more diverse supporting roles. That year, Ford co-starred in the corporate espionage thriller Paranoia with Liam Hemsworth and Gary Oldman, who he had previously worked with in Air Force One, and he also appeared in Ender’s Game, 42 and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. His performance as Branch Rickey in 42 was praised by many critics and garnered Ford a nomination as best supporting actor for the Satellite Awards. In 2014, he appeared in The Expendables 3 and the documentary Flying the Feathered Edge: The Bob Hoover Project. The next year, Ford co-starred with Blake Lively in the romantic drama The Age of Adaline to positive notices.

In September 2013, Ford, while filming an environmental documentary in Indonesia, interviewed the Indonesian Forestry Minister, Zulkifli Hasan. After the interview, Ford and his crew were accused of “harassing state institutions” and publicly threatened with deportation. Questions within the interview concerned the Tesso Nilo National Park, Sumatra. It was alleged the Minister of Forestry was given no prior warning of questions nor the chance to explain the challenges of catching people with illegal logging. Ford was provided an audience with the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, during which he expressed concerns regarding Indonesia’s environmental degradation and the government efforts to address climate change. In response, the President explained Indonesia’s commitment to preserving its oceans and forests.

Ford reprised the role of Han Solo in the long-awaited Star Wars sequel Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), which became massively successful like its predecessors. During filming on June 11, 2014, Ford suffered what was said to be a fractured ankle when a hydraulic door fell on him. He was airlifted to John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, England, for treatment. Ford’s son Ben released details on his father’s injury, saying that his ankle would likely need a plate and screws, and that filming could be altered slightly with the crew needing to shoot Ford from the waist up for a short time until he recovered. Ford made his return to filming in mid-August, after a two-month layoff as he recovered from his injury. Ford’s character was killed off in The Force Awakens, but it was subsequently announced, via a casting call, that Ford would return in some capacity as Solo in Episode VIII. In February 2016, when the cast for Episode VIII was confirmed, it was indicated that Ford would not reprise his role in the film after all. When Ford was asked if his character could come back in “some form”, he replied, “Anything is possible in space.” The character eventually reappeared as a vision in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).

On February 26, 2015, Alcon Entertainment announced Ford would reprise his role as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner 2049. The film, and Ford’s performance, was very well received by critics upon its release in October 2017. Scott Collura of IGN called it a, “deep, rich, smart film that’s visually awesome and full of great sci-fi concepts” and Ford’s role, “a quiet, sort of gut-wrenching interpretation to Deckard and what he must’ve gone through in the past three decades.” Despite the acclaim, the film only grossed $259.3 million worldwide, far short of the estimated $400 million that the film needed in order to break even. In 2019, Ford had his first voice role in an animated film, as a dog named Rooster in The Secret Life of Pets 2. With filming for a fifth Indiana Jones film having been delayed by a year, Ford headlined a big-budget adaptation of Jack London’s The Call of the Wild, playing prospector John Thornton. The film was released in February 2020 to a mixed critical reception but its theatrical release was shortened due to the impact of the coronavirus disease on the film industry.

On March 5, 2015, Ford’s plane, believed to be a Ryan PT-22 Recruit, made an emergency landing on the Penmar Golf Course in Venice, California. Ford had radioed in to report that the plane had experienced engine failure. He was taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where he was reported to be in fair to moderate condition. Ford suffered a broken pelvis and broken ankle during the accident, as well as other injuries.

Ford and Flockhart live on an 800-acre (320-hectare) ranch in Jackson, Wyoming, on which he has lived since the 1980s and approximately half of which he has donated as a nature reserve. They also retain a base in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. He is known as one of Hollywood’s most private actors, guarding much of his personal life. In her 2016 autobiography The Princess Diarist, his co-star Carrie Fisher claimed that she and Ford had a three-month affair in 1976 during the filming of Star Wars.

On February 13, 2017, Ford landed an Aviat Husky at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, on the taxiway left of runway 20L. A Boeing 737 was holding short of the runway on the taxiway when Ford overflew them.

In 2019, on behalf of Conservation International, Ford gave an impassioned speech during the United Nations’ Climate Action Summit in New York on the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and its effect on climate change for the rest of the world. Ford urged his audience to listen to ‘angry young people’ trying to make a difference in the situation, emphasizing, “The most important thing we can do for them is to get the hell out of their way.”

On April 24, 2020, at the Los Angeles Hawthorne Airport, Ford was piloting a plane when he crossed a runway where another aircraft was landing.