Hot Gallery! As Rocker Jon Bon Jovi Turns 50, Snakkle Looks Back at His Life and Career

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Jon Bon Jovi at St. Joseph’s High School (1977)

Clearly the New Jersey native has always had awesome hair—not to mention awesome talent. As a freshman in Metuchen, New Jersey, John Bongiovi (as he was then known) was already headed for a career in music; he started working at his cousin Tony Bongiovi’s recording studio while he was still in high school.

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Jon Bon Jovi Portrait (1982)

A year before he got his first record deal, he was already showing off his starry smile and, um, swagger, and he had already cut his first professional recording—the 1980 gem “R2-D2, We Wish You a Merry Christmas” from the holiday album Christmas in the Stars: Star Wars Christmas Album. (No, really.)

Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora in “You Give Love a Bad Name” Video (1986)

This is vintage Bon Jovi: Jon, Richie, and the boys rocking out in concert to one of their signature songs, “You Give Love a Bad Name,” from their 1986 album Slippery When Wet. Speaking of which...

Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet (1986)

Bon Jovi’s third studio album was their breakthrough, becoming the biggest album of the year and generating a string of huge hits, including crowd-pleasing arena-rock anthems “Wanted Dead or Alive” and “Livin’ on a Prayer.”

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Bon Jovi Band Portrait (1989)

Though it’s all smiles in this shot, the long, grueling tour for New Jersey nearly broke up the band—David Bryan, Tico Torres, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, and onetime bassist Alec John Such—and shortly afterward they all took some much-needed time off to pursue solo projects. This photo was also taken about a month after Bon Jovi secretly married his high school sweetheart, Dorothea Hurley; the couple have four children together.

Jon Bon Jovi’s “Blaze of Glory” (1990)

Jon Bon Jovi’s first solo album was the soundtrack to the Emilio Estevez/Kiefer Sutherland/Christian Slater Western Young Guns II. His hit song “Blaze of Glory”—the movie’s theme—was awarded a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar. This also marked Bon Jovi’s acting debut, albeit in an uncredited cameo.

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Jon Bon Jovi Portrait (1993)

In 1992, after a two-year hiatus, the band got back together and Bon Jovi released their fifth studio album, Keep the Faith. When Jon Bon Jovi cut his glam-rock ’do and adopted a more ’90s shag, it made headlines—and their new sound kept the band relevant in a changing cultural and music scene.

Jon Bon Jovi in Moonlight and Valentino (1995)

Jon Bon Jovi in Moonlight and Valentino (1995)

His debut feature (not counting the blink-and-you-missed-it appearance in Young Guns II), Moonlight and Valentino, set the stage for Bon Jovi’s roles in years to come. The romantic dramedy has him playing a hunky housepainter who disrupts a young widow’s life—for the better. It also gave him a chance to show off his comic timing.

Jon Bon Jovi and Demi Moore in Destination Anywhere (1997)

Jon Bon Jovi and Demi Moore in Destination Anywhere (1997)

Bon Jovi starred opposite Demi Moore in this short film noir about a New York couple in crisis after the death of their child. Destination Anywhere was also Bon Jovi’s second solo album, featuring the title track and “Midnight in Chelsea”; the album was a departure for Bon Jovi, featuring a pared-down, darker sound than fans had heard before.

Jon Bon Jovi and Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City (1999)

Jon Bon Jovi and Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City (1999)

Bon Jovi played one of late-’90s It Girl Carrie Bradshaw’s infinite handsome, short-lived boyfriends on Sex and the City. The pair’s meet-cute pickup, in their shared shrink’s waiting room, is only surpassed by their perfectly off-key hookup.

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Jon Bon Jovi in U-571 (2000)

Bon Jovi took on a different kind of role in the Oscar-winning thriller U-571, playing a World War II Naval officer on a secret mission to infiltrate a German submarine and acquire their Enigma cipher machine. As the son of two former Marines (his parents met when they were both in the military), Bon Jovi gave a convincing performance. And seeing him in uniform? Not too hard on the eyes.

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Jon Bon Jovi and Sheryl Crow at the Concert for New York City (2001)

A little more than a month after the September 11 attacks, a legendary lineup of musicians—including Bon Jovi, Crow, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, the Who, David Bowie, and Billy Joel—gathered at Madison Square Garden to perform a charity show in honor of the victims and the first responders of the NYPD and the New York Fire Department.

Jon Bon Jovi and Calista Flockhart in Ally McBeal (2002)

Jon Bon Jovi and Calista Flockhart in Ally McBeal (2002)

Bon Jovi played Victor Morrison, the handyman love interest to Flockhart’s Ally in the iconic show’s fifth and final season. It was a recurring role that cemented Bon Jovi’s reputation as a talented actor who can hold his own opposite powerhouse leading ladies.

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Jon Bon Jovi at Soul Kitchen (2011)

The charitable Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation found an innovative way to tackle the issue of hunger and need in local communities with its radical new kind of restaurant, the Soul Kitchen, in Red Bank, New Jersey, where customers can either pay a suggested donation or can earn their meals by volunteering at the restaurant or at other local nonprofits.

Jon Bon Jovi and Lea Michele in New Year’s Eve (2011)

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Jon Bon Jovi and Lea Michele in New Year’s Eve (2011)

Fans were thrilled for Bon Jovi’s return to the big screen in the star-studded ensemble drama New Year’s Eve, in which he played a musician reconnecting with an old flame (Katherine Heigl). Bon Jovi also provided songs for the soundtrack, including “Have a Little Faith” and “I Can’t Turn You Loose,” with Lea Michele, who plays a backup singer in the movie.