Stephen Baldwin

Early life

Baldwin was born in Massapequa, New York, the son of Carol Newcomb (née Martineau) and Alexander Rae Baldwin, Jr. (1927–83), a high school social studies teacher and football coach. Baldwin is the youngest brother of actors Alec, Daniel and William, sometimes collectively known as the "Baldwin brothers". In high school, Baldwin participated on the varsity wrestling team, along with William. Baldwin has two sisters, Elizabeth Keuchler (born 1955) and Jane Sasso (born 1965). Baldwin attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Career

Baldwin began acting on television and made his film debut in The Beast. He starred in the western television series The Young Riders and in Threesome (1994). Baldwin landed a breakthrough role in The Usual Suspects (1995) and played Barney Rubble in The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000). He participated in Celebrity Mole Hawaii, the first celebrity edition of The Mole in 2002. ABC broadcast the program in early 2003. Later that year, he returned for Celebrity Mole Yucatán, which ABC aired in early 2004. In 2006, Baldwin played a villainous thug in the television film Jesse Stone: Night Passage. In August 2007, Baldwin returned to television, when CMT cast him in Ty Murray's Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge, one of nine celebrities cast. In the first episode, Baldwin was injured in a bad fall from a wooden pontoon, breaking his shoulder blade and cracking a rib. Under doctor's orders, he left the show in the second episode. From January to March 2008, Baldwin appeared on Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprentice on NBC. He finished fifth out of the 14 celebrity contestants. He and Trace Adkins became friends while competing on the show. In October 2008, Baldwin appeared in the Adkins' music video, "Muddy Water". In March 2013, Baldwin returned to compete in All-Star Celebrity Apprentice. He was a contestant on the 2009 NBC reality show, I'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here!. Baldwin quit the show mid-season. On the second episode, Baldwin baptized The Hills actor Spencer Pratt.

Personal life

Baldwin resides in the village of Nyack, New York, with his wife, the Brazilian graphic designer Kennya Baldwin (née Deodato), whom he met in 1987 and married in 1990. They have two daughters, Alaia and Hailey Baldwin, Both are models. Stephen's father-in-law is Brazilian composer Eumir Deodato.

In 2006, Baldwin launched a campaign to prevent an adult bookstore from opening in Nyack. He has a tattoo on his left shoulder of the initials "HM" for Hannah Montana. He got the tattoo after making a pact with Miley Cyrus and Kayla Bell that he would be allowed to cameo on the show if he had the initials tattooed on him. He revealed the tattoo to Cyrus at a book signing in Nashville on November 10, 2008. He was never given the opportunity to appear on the show and has since said that he regrets getting the tattoo.

Baldwin and his wife defaulted on paying $824,488.36 on their mortgage. Baldwin's home in Upper Grandview, (Rockland County) New York was auctioned off on June 12, 2009, after Bankers Trust Co. foreclosed on the home. Gannett News also reported that "county filings show the Baldwins owe National City Bank money for a separate mortgage and may owe tens of thousands in unpaid state and federal taxes on the property." He filed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York, on July 21, 2009, according to a court document that says he is millions of dollars in debt. He claimed he owes more than $2.3 million and owns a New York property valued at only $1.1 million. His wife Kennya also is named in the document.

Baldwin was the first person to enter the Celebrity Big Brother house on January 3, 2010. The theme for this series was "Hell", with a devil head on the front door. He frequently taunted the head by saying "you're a loser". During his stay in the house he frequently read passages from the Bible to his fellow housemates. He also tried to convert eventual winner Alex Reid. He failed to win many fans and was evicted on January 22, 2010, becoming the fourth housemate to be evicted. In a three-way vote—against Ivana Trump and Sisqó—he received 50% of the public vote. After his eviction, the website restorestephenbaldwin dot org, unsolicited by him, began soliciting cash donations to improve Baldwin's career.

In December 2010, Baldwin filed a $3.8 million lawsuit against Kevin Costner over oil-separating technology that was used to help solve the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In June 2012, a jury sided with Costner and awarded Baldwin no damages. In March 2013, Baldwin pleaded guilty to failing to file income taxes for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010. Baldwin agreed to pay $300,000 within a year, or he will be sentenced to five years' probation and have five years to pay the money.

In religion

In September 2006, Baldwin released his book titled The Unusual Suspect, which details highlights from his personal life, career, days of drug abuse, and his turn to becoming a born-again Christian after the September 11 attacks in 2001. In the same year, Baldwin, Mario D'Ortenzio and Bobby Brewer founded Breakthrough Ministry, which was designed to use extreme sports as a ministry via arena tours, called AsSalt Tours. The tours featured extreme sports celebrities, including Christian Hosoi. In 2007, Daniel Southern joined Baldwin as president of his ministry.

In late 2008, Baldwin formed a for-profit organization called Antioch Ministry, which exists "to facilitate the gifts and calling of Stephen Baldwin". In 2009, Baldwin and Southern launched a third ministry called Now More Than Ever, designed to reach enlisted men and women in the military around the world. In 2008, Baldwin teamed up with conservative talk-radio host Kevin McCullough to put together a Saturday radio show called Baldwin/McCullough Radio. As of April 18, 2009, the show aired on 213 stations and in more than 400 cities across the US, and worldwide on Sirius 161 and XM 227. Baldwin appears weekly on the show from the broadcast studios in New York City, and from various locations around the country when he is traveling for other business purposes. He has traveled to other countries to speak about his faith.

In politics

In 2007, Baldwin endorsed Sam Brownback for U.S. President. After Brownback ended his campaign, Baldwin switched his support to Mike Huckabee. Baldwin was a staunch supporter of the John McCain–Sarah Palin presidential ticket after Huckabee dropped out of the 2008 presidential election. The same year, Baldwin threatened to move to Canada if Barack Obama was elected, and challenged the candidate to box for charity. In June 2011, Baldwin floated the possibility of entering New York City's 2013 mayoral election as an opponent of his brother Alec, who had suggested that he may run himself. Baldwin endorsed Donald Trump for President in the 2016 presidential election.