He was born on August 20, 1939 in San Carlos City, Pangasinan, Philippines as Ronald Allan Poe ; of Spanish, Filipino, and Irish-American extraction, the son of actor-producer Fernando Poe, Sr. and Elizabeth Kelley.
Poe Jr.'s parents were not legally married yet when he was born in 1939. They were married in 1940 only. He was the second of six siblings, born after Elizabeth and before Fernando (Andy), Genevieve (Jenny), Fredrick (Freddieboy), and Evangeline.
Filipino actor Conrad Poe was his half-brother, the illegitimate son of the late Fernando Poe Sr. by actress Patricia Mijares.
The original family surname was spelled Pou from his grandfather, playwright Lorenzo Pou, a Catalan migrant from Majorca, Spain, who ventured into mining and business in the Philippines.
His mother's parents, Arthur Kelley (WWI Army Corp of Engineer from Iowa, USA) was an Irish American who settled in the Philippines and Martha Gatbonton, a Filipina of mixed heritage.
Poe graduated from primary education in 1953 at San Beda College. He attended high school in San Sebastian College, Mapua Institute of Technology, and University of the East. After the death of his father, he dropped out of the University of the East in his sophomore year in order to work to support his family.
He worked in the Filipino film industry as a messenger boy, and was given acting roles in subsequent years.
As a young actor, he had small parts in several movies made by his father, Fernando Poe, Sr.
Starting as a stuntman for Everlasting Pictures, he was given a break and landed his first starring role in the movie Anak ni Palaris (Son of Palaris) at the age of 14. The movie was not a big hit. In 1957, the movie Lo Waist Gang made him popular, and the film was such a big hit that low-waist pants became a fad.
Known also as FPJ from his initials, Poe acted in a number of movies which depicted him as the champion of the poor and downtrodden. He also directed nine movies, under the pseudonym Ronwaldo Reyes. Reyes originated from the surname of his paternal grandmother, Martha.
He established FPJ productions in 1961 and later organized other film companies such as D'Lanor, JAFERE, and Rosas Productions. In 1963, he and Joseph Estrada testified against criminal gangs who extorted money from the film industry. In 1965, he shared the lead in The Ravagers, a film depicting the United States and the Philippines working together against Japanese war time occupation. The film is considered one of the most influential Filipino films, and it helped establish Fernando Poe, Jr.'s status as a movie icon.
Poe became an award-winning actor and garnered the most best actor awards at the FAMAS. Among the movies that received awards were Mga Alabok ng Lupa (1967), Asedillo (1971), Durugin si Totoy Bato, Umpisahan Mo, Tatapusin Ko (1983), and Magnum 357 (1987).
Poe was dubbed as the "Da King" of Philippine movies because of his box office hits. He made over 200 films in his lifetime and ran a successful movie production firm. Among his famous movies include the Ang Panday series, Kahit Konting Pagtingin, Dito sa Pitong Gatang and Aguila. His last movie was Pakners which also stars 9-ball billards champion Efren "Bata" Reyes.
He married actress Susan Roces in a civil ceremony in December 1968. They were later married in a church and among their primary sponsors were then President Ferdinand Marcos and First Lady Imelda Marcos. Mary Grace was their only child, an adopted one.
Although a well-known public figure, Poe had been very reclusive about his personal life. However, in February 2004, during the presidential campaign, Poe admitted to having sired a child out of wedlock. Ronian, or Ron Allan, was Poe's son by former actress Anna Marin. A daughter by the name of Lovi Poe is now a singing sensation.
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