Guess Who This Adorable Child Grew Up To Be!
We never would have guessed.
getty Throwback photos are always fun, especially when they involve our favorite celebrities — and in this case, we're getting a glimpse of a teenager who grew up to be a pretty big star.
Ready to find out who it is? Drumroll, please... that blondie is Brad Pitt, in a team photo from when he played for the Cherokee Rejects basketball team in 1977.
We never would have guessed — and in the more than 40 years since this photo was taken, a lot has changed.
1. Brad Pitt was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma on December 18, 1963.
Growing up, Pitt's parents were William Pitt, a proprietor of a trucking company, and Jane Etta Pitt, a school counselor. He wasn't their only child; Pitt also had a brother, Douglas, and a sister, Julie. He spent many of his formative years in Missouri, where he didn't just play basketball — he also played other sports, too, including golf. Before heading to Hollywood to pursue acting, Pitt got a journalism degree from the University of Missouri.
2. He's called his religious upbringing "stifling."
In a 2011 interview at the Cannes Film Festival, Pitt opened up about his conservative Christian home.
"I got brought up being told things were God's way, and when things didn't work out it was called God's plan. I've got my issues with it. Don't get me started. I found it very stifling," he said at the time, adding, "I think of everything I do now that my kids are going to see when they grow up and how are they going to feel. But they know me as a dad and I hope they'll just think of me as a pretty damn good actor."
3. He's been open to sharing sweet stories from his childhood.
Not all of his childhood had a negative impression on Pitt. In fact, in January 2020, he revealed that he had plenty of crushes growing up, and even told the story of his first kiss in fourth grade.
"She was one street over, and I ran home afterward. I was pretty excited, titillated as fourth graders get. It was kind of planned, it was kind of set up — OK, we're going to meet here, we're going to do this," he said. "The anticipation was a bit nerve-wracking. Got there, did the deal, and somehow, I just remember running home. It was just too much."
4. Recently, Pitt won an Oscar.
At the 2020 Oscars, Pitt ended up winning big. He took home the award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood — and it wasn't his first time coming home from the ceremony with the trophy, either. He's been nominated plenty of times in the past, and in 2012, he also won for his role in 12 Years a Slave.
5. His friendship with ex Jennifer Aniston has been making headlines lately.
Although Pitt and Aniston officially divorced in 2005, recently, it's become very clear that they're still good friends — and some fans even believe that a romantic reunion could be on the horizon. At the Oscars, they were spotted having a friendly exchange backstage, following his win. Then again, this might not mean anything because after all, they've been apart for 15 years ... and Aniston is known for keeping a pleasant relationship with her exes, including Justin Theroux.
6. Pitt has shared that the older he gets, the more he allows himself to feel his emotions.
In conversation with Anthony Hopkins for an interview in December 2019, Pitt opened up about the ways he's changed emotionally while getting older.
"I am quite famously a not-crier. Is that a term? I hadn’t cried in, like, 20 years, and now I find myself, at this latter stage, much more moved — moved by my kids, moved by friends, moved by the news. Just moved. I think it’s a good sign," he said. "I don’t know where it’s going, but I think it’s a good sign."
Nicole Pomarico is an entertainment and lifestyle writer whose work has appeared in Cosmo, Us Weekly, Refinery29, and more.