Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Actor, Producer

FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Nuclear Disarmament & Gun Control, Jewish Causes, Health

OVERVIEW: Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones don’t appear to have a formal family foundation. Douglas supports his alma mater UCSB.

BACKGROUND: Son of late actor Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas studied drama at the University of California, Santa Barbara, graduating in 1968. He gained fame after starring in the cop show Streets of San Francisco. He went on to star in such films as Romancing the Stone  and Wall Street, for which he won an Oscar. He’s also worked as a producer, including on the classic One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Born in Wales, Catherine Zeta-Jones moved to London and began acting on British television. She broke on to the American film scene with The Mask of Zorro. She won an Oscar for her role in Chicago, as well as a Tony Award for her performance in A Little Night Music. 

ISSUES:

EDUCATION & YOUTH: Douglas steadily supports his alma mater UCSB, where he sits on the external board of the university’s Carsey-Wolf Center, which bears the name of two other Hollywood luminaries. He gave $1 million last decade to support the Michael Douglas Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts. Douglas studied drama at his alma mater.

NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT & GUN CONTROL: Douglas hosted the annual Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo, Norway in 2003 with Catherine Zeta Jones. He is a supporter of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, sits on the board of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, and is an advisor of the Ploughshares Fund. He was also appointed UN Messenger of Peace.

JEWISH CAUSES: Douglas received the $1 million Genesis Prize, established to strengthen Jewish culture. With the money he helped create a $4 million fund to foster the inclusion of interfaith couples in Jewish life.

HEALTH: The couple have supported Memorial Sloan-Kettering, where Douglas was treated for cancer last decade.

LOOKING FORWARD: Douglas is not on the books of his late father’s long running Douglas Foundation, but he should be watched for greater involvement down the line. Douglas Foundation’s primary focus is “improving the education and health, fostering the well-being, and most importantly, developing new opportunities for the children who hold our future in their hands.”