J.K. Simmons

Simmons was born on January 9, 1955, in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, the son of Patricia (née Kimble), an administrator, and Donald William Simmons, a music teacher at Parcells Middle School. One of three children, Simmons attended Ferry Elementary School in Grosse Pointe Woods. In 1965, when he was 10 years old, his family moved to Worthington, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. From 1970 to 1972, he attended Worthington High School, where he participated in drama, football and choir. In 1973, when he was 18, they moved to Missoula, Montana, where his father became director of the School of Music at the University of Montana. The younger Simmons graduated from the University of Montana in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music. During college, he became a member of the music-oriented fraternity Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. Simmons appeared at the Bigfork Summer Playhouse in Bigfork, Montana, in various roles from 1977 to 1982. Later, he moved to Seattle and became a member of the Seattle Repertory Theatre, where he met his best friend Michael Smith. Simmons eventually landed his first role on Broadway in 1992.