Photo: Ron Baker (Kingsnake) / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Kris Kristofferson is my favorite kind of contradiction: a Rhodes Scholar who studied at Oxford, then walked away from respectability to write raw, aching country songs in Nashville. That choice, trading a safe and decorated life for honesty, defines everything I love about him. He helped drag country music out of its polished comfort zone, and he did it with lyrics that read like literature. As an actor he had the same quality: weathered, unhurried, incapable of faking. His death in 2024 closed a chapter of American music, but the outlaw spirit he embodied still feels like a standing dare to every songwriter who plays it safe.
Overview
Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a more raw, introspective style.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Kris Kristofferson
- Name (Japanese)
- クリス・クリストファーソン
- Reading
- くりす・くりすとふぁーそん
- Born
- June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Cancer / Rat
- Origin
- Brownsville, Texas, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- film actor / singer-songwriter / singer / composer / guitarist
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- San Mateo High School
- University
- Merton College
Awards & achievements
- 2014 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
- 2006 Johnny Mercer Award
- 1958 Rhodes Scholarship
- 1972 Grammy Award for Best Country Song
- 2003 "Spirit of Americana" Free Speech Award
- National Defense Service Medal
- Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award
- 2003 Texas Country Music Hall of Fame
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Film actor — see all → · Singer-songwriter — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.