American actor and musician Jared Leto. Biography

Jared Leto is an American actor, musician, director and producer, Oscar and Golden Globe Award winner, as well as the founder and frontman of the rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars. He is best known for the films Requiem for a Dream, Mr. Nobody, Dallas Buyers Club, Suicide Squad and Gucci House. In July 2026, several women filed new charges of sexual assault and inappropriate behavior against the artist. About the life and career of Jared Leto — in the material "Izvestia".

Childhood and early years

Jared Joseph Leto was born on December 26, 1971 in Beaujeu City, Louisiana, USA. His mother Constance raised Jared and his older brother Shannon. After her remarriage, the brothers received their stepfather's last name, Summer.

The family moved frequently. Over the years, we spent summers in Louisiana, Colorado, Virginia and other states, and spent some time in Haiti. According to the actor, as a child he was surrounded by artists, photographers, musicians and representatives of the theatrical environment. His mother supported his sons' interest in art, so Jared began studying music and visual arts at an early age.

After school, he studied painting at the Corcoran School of Art and Design in Washington for the summer, then continued his education at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He later moved to New York City and enrolled in the School of Visual Arts, where he became interested in cinematography. During his studies, Leto wrote the script for the short film "Crying Joy" and starred in it.

The beginning of an acting career

In 1992, Leto moved to Los Angeles. Initially, he was going to direct, and considered acting as an additional source of income. The artist got his first roles in American television projects.

A breakthrough in his career occurred in 1994 after the release of the youth series "My so-called Life". Leto played the role of Jordan Catalano, the lover of the main character Angela Chase, played by Claire Danes. The series was shut down after the first season, but subsequently gained cult status.

Leto made his feature film debut in the 1995 drama Patchwork Quilt. He received his first significant leading role in the biographical film Prefontaine (1997), where he played the American runner Steve Prefontaine. To prepare for filming, the actor trained, studied the athlete's manner of speech and met with his relatives.

Starring in movies

In the late 1990s, Leto appeared in Terrence Malick's war drama The Thin Red Line, the thriller Urban Legends, David Fincher's film Fight Club, and the drama Life Interrupted. In 2000, he played Paul Allen in the film adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' novel American Psycho.

One of the most notable works in Leto's early filmography was the role of drug addict Harry Goldfarb in Darren Aronofsky's psychological drama Requiem for a Dream (2000). The film was about four people whose lives are being destroyed by addiction. For filming, the actor significantly reduced his weight and lived for some time in conditions close to the lifestyle of his character.

In subsequent years, he starred in David Fincher's thriller "The Fear Room", Oliver Stone's historical drama "Alexander", the crime film "The Gun Baron" and the film "Chapter 27", where he played the role of John Lennon's murderer Mark David Chapman. For the sake of the last project, Leto gained more than 30 kg.

In 2009, the actor played the main character of Jaco Van Dormel's fantasy drama "Mr. Nobody". His character Nemo Nobody lives several possible versions of his own life, each of which depends on the decisions he makes. Leto had to portray the hero at different ages — from a young man to a 118-year-old man.

"Dallas Buyers Club" and major awards

After several years, during which Summertime he was mainly engaged in music, he returned to cinema in the drama by Jean-Marc Vallee "Dallas Buyers Club" (2013). His partner in the film was Matthew McConaughey.

For this work, Leto won an Oscar in the Best Supporting Actor category. The film also won him a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a number of awards from professional film critics associations. The victory was the main achievement in Leto's acting career.

Subsequent films

In 2016, Jared Leto played the Joker in the movie Suicide Squad. While preparing for the role, the actor continued to behave like a character even off the set. His version of the Joker received mixed reviews, and a significant portion of the scenes shot with him were not included in the final cut.

In 2017, Leto appeared in Denis Villeneuve's fantasy film Blade Runner 2049, where he played the role of entrepreneur Niander Wallace. In 2021, he played a suspect in a series of murders in the thriller "The Devil in the Details," and then reincarnated as Paolo Gucci in Ridley Scott's biographical drama "The House of Gucci."

In 2022, the actor starred in the TV series WeCrashed, dedicated to the history of WeWork and its founder Adam Neuman. In the same year, he played scientist Michael Morbius in the superhero movie Morbius. In 2023, Leto appeared in the film "The Haunted Mansion."

In October 2025, the fantastic film "Tron: Ares" was released, in which the artist played the role of Ares' high-tech program and acted as one of the producers. In June 2026, the premiere of the movie "The Lords of the Universe" took place. Leto played Hi-Men's main opponent, Skeletor.

Music Career and Thirty Seconds to Mars

In 1998, Jared and Shannon Leto founded the Los Angeles rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars. Jared became the band's vocalist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, while Shannon took over as the drummer.

The debut album "30 Seconds to Mars" was released in 2002. The band's second album "A Beautiful Lie", released in 2005, brought widespread fame to the band. It includes the tracks "The Kill", "Attack", "From Yesterday" and the title song "A Beautiful Lie".

Subsequently, the band released the albums "This Is War" (2009), "Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams" (2013), "America" (2018) and "It's the End of the World but It's a Beautiful Day" (2023). In 2026, the band presented the anniversary edition of "A Beautiful Lie" with previously unreleased recordings and a new acoustic version of the song "The Kill".

Thirty Seconds to Mars has a European tour planned for 2027, dedicated to the albums "A Beautiful Lie" and "This Is War". Concerts are scheduled to take place in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Great Britain, Ireland and other European countries.

Directing and producing activities

Leto shot music videos for Thirty Seconds to Mars, using, among other things, the pseudonym Bartholomew Cubbins. He directed the music videos for "The Kill", "From Yesterday", "Kings and Queens", "Closer to the Edge" and "Hurricane".

In 2012, Leto presented the documentary "Artifact", dedicated to the Thirty Seconds to Mars dispute with EMI and the specifics of the modern music industry. The film won the Audience Award among documentaries at the Toronto Film Festival.

Allegations of sexual assault

In June 2025, nine women told the Air Mail about the alleged inappropriate behavior of Jared Leto. Some of them claimed that they started communicating with the artist when they were underage. Among the statements were stories about sexual phone conversations, nudity, and unwanted touching. Leto's representative then categorically denied all the accusations, calling some of them deliberately false.

The new statements were made on July 29, 2026, in the British Broadcasting Corporation's BBC documentary "Jared Leto: The Dark Secret of Hollywood." The project featured stories from ten women about alleged episodes dating from 2002 to 2016. Four of them reported actions that could be considered criminally punishable. At the time of the events described, the women were between 16 and 19 years old.

Among the allegations made were allegations of sexual assault, sexual relations with a minor, threats and explicit phone calls. The filmmakers reported that they had verified some of the stories using photographs, messages, and testimonies from friends and relatives of the women.

Representatives of the British media corporation have repeatedly contacted the actor for comment, but they had not received a response by the time the film was released. As of July 29, 2026, there had been no reports of criminal charges being filed against Leto in connection with these allegations.

Personal life

Jared Leto prefers not to disclose the details of his personal life. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, he was in a relationship with actress Cameron Diaz. The couple's engagement was reported in the press, but they broke up in 2003.

Since 2015, the artist has been associated with the Russian model Valeria Kaufman. The couple's relationship, according to media reports, lasted for several years and ended in the early 2020s. Leto was not married, and there is no publicly confirmed information about his children.