The son of Kirk and Diana Douglas, Michael Douglas attended the University of California at Santa Barbara. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1968, Douglas moved to New York City to continue his dramatic training, first with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse, then with Wynn Handman at the American Place Theatre.

A few months after he arrived in New York, Douglas was cast in the CBS Playhouse production of "The Experiment," which won him the leading role in "Hail Hero!," the initial project of CBS' theatrical film production company, Cinema Center Films. His second feature was "Adam at Six A.M," followed by "Summertree" and "Napoleon and Samantha."

In between film assignments, he worked in summer stock and Off-Broadway productions. He also appeared in the made-for-television thriller "When Michael Calls" (1972) and in episodes of the popular series "Medical Center" and "The FBI."

Impressed by Douglas' performance in a segment of the latter series, producer Quinn Martin signed the actor for the part of Karl Malden's sidekick in the police series "The Streets of San Francisco," which became one of ABC's highest-rated primetime programs in the mid-1970s. Douglas earned three successive Emmy Award nominations for his performance and directed two episodes of the series.

During breaks in the shooting schedule for "The Streets of San Francisco," Douglas devoted most of his time to his film production company, Big Stick Productions, Ltd., which produced several short subjects. Long interested in producing a film version of Ken Kesey's grimly humorous novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Douglas purchased the movie rights from his father and formed a partnership with Saul Zaentz, then a record-industry executive, to produce the film. A critical and commercial success, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Actress, and went on to gross more than $180 million at the box office. Douglas' next producing project, "The China Syndrome" (1979), was a controversial thriller that was nominated for three Academy Awards.

Douglas resumed his acting career in the late 1970s, starring in "Coma" (1978), "Running" (1979), "It's My Turn" (1981), "The Star Chamber" (1983) and "A Chorus Line" (1985). His career as an actor/producer came together again in 1984 with the release of the tongue-in-cheek romantic fantasy "Romancing the Stone," which was a resounding hit. Douglas was named Producer of the Year in 1984 by the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO), the following year, he reteamed with his "Romancing the Stone" stars Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito for the hugely successful sequel "The Jewel of the Nile."

"Starman," co-produced by Douglas and Larry Franco, was the sleeper hit of the 1984 Christmas season and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for Jeff Bridges. In 1986 Douglas created a television series based on the film for ABC. Douglas returned to the screen in 1987, appearing opposite Glenn Close in the phenomenally successful psychological thriller, "Fatal Attraction," and as corporate raider Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone's "Wall Street," earning him the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Douglas next starred in Ridley Scott's thriller "Black Rain" and then teamed up again with Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito in the black comedy "The War of the Roses."

In 1988 Douglas formed Stonebridge Entertainment, Inc., which produced "Flatliners," "Radio Flyer" and "Shining Through." In 1992 he starred with Sharon Stone in "Basic Instinct," the erotic thriller from director Paul Verhoeven, which became one of the year's top-grossing films. Douglas gave one of his most powerful performances in Joel Schumacher's controversial drama "Falling Down." That year he also produced the hit comedy "Made in America."

1994 saw Douglas starring with Demi Moore in Barry Levinson's "Disclosure," based on the best-seller by Michael Crichton. The following year, he portrayed the title role in Rob Reiner's romantic drama "The American President." Most recently, Douglas starred in David Fincher's psychological thriller, "The Game," which rapidly became one of Fall, 1997's box-office hits.

In 1994, Douglas formed Douglas/Reuther Productions with fellow producer Steven Reuther. Their first fully financed production was "The Ghost and the Darkness," starring Douglas and Val Kilmer, followed by John Woo's smash hit, "Face/Off," starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, and Francis Ford Coppola's film of the John Grisham bestseller The Rainmaker.