John Phillip Stamos was born in Cypress, California, to Loretta (Phillips), a model, and William Stamos, a restaurateur. He is of Greek (father) and English-Irish (mother) descent, and his family's surname was originally "Stamotopoulos". John has two younger sisters, Janeen & Alaina, both school teachers. His first professional role was as Blackie Parrish on the daytime soap Hôpital central (1963) from 1982-1984, for which he won two Soap Opera Digest Awards (1982 and 1983). In 1987 he began the role of Jesse on La fête à la maison (1987), which is his best-known role to date, spanning eight years. At his request, the writers of La fête à la maison (1987) gave his character the last name of Katsopolis, instead of the original character's name, Cochran, in order to highlight John's Greek heritage. He has played drums occasionally with The Beach Boys since 1985, and directed their "Hot Fun in the Summertime" video. He expanded his career to include the role of J. Pierrepont Finch in Broadway's production of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying!" in 1995, showcasing not only his musical talents, but his dancing ability, as well. On September 19, 1998, he married model Rebecca Romijn of MTV's House of Style (1989), which was the first marriage for both. They were officially divorced on March 1, 2005.
