A Star Is Born
Charlie Sheen, whose birth name is Carlos Estévez, was born in New York City on September 3rd, 1965. His parents are actor Martin Sheen, who was originally named Ramon Estévez, and artist Janet Templeton. Charlie is not the only one in his family to pursue acting; his two older brothers, Emilio and Ramon, along with his younger sister, Renée, have also been bitten by the acting bug.
In the early stages of his life, Charlie Sheen’s family decided to relocate to Malibu, located in sunny California. Although he was merely nine years old, Charlie made his debut in the world of movies. At that time, nobody had any inkling about just how massive the young boy’s stardom would eventually become.
High School
While attending Santa Monica High School, Sheen found his passion for the world of showbiz increasingly growing. He was not alone. His classmates, Robb Lowe and Sean Penn were in the same boat. Together, they made homemade Super 8 movies, an amazing opportunity that allowed them to practice and improve their acting skills. Passion in motion, they continued to learn and thrive.
Just a few weeks shy of graduation, Sheen found himself being kicked out of school due to his less than stellar grades and constant absence, initiating his lifelong penchant for getting into trouble. He then made the decision to take a shot at an acting career, opting to use a stage name synonymous to his father. His inspiration was drawn from the renowned Catholic theologian Fulton J. Sheen. At that point, he had no idea that in a short space of time, the name Charlie Sheen would be known in every home.
Career Beginnings
Sheen started his journey in the world of movies in 1983, where he got a part in the low-budget scary movie sequel called Grizzly II: The Predator. After that, he got small roles in films like Red Dawn and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off before he landed a major role that would become his career breakthrough.
In the year 1986, a young actor found his first big opportunity in the dramatic movie about the Vietnam war, Platoon. His role as Chris Taylor, a volunteer for the US Army, won him lots of praises from critics. This role was set to fire up Sheen’s career to a level that he might not have dreamed of before.
Becoming a Dad
As Sheen’s profession was starting to rise and shine, a major event happened in his personal life. He became a father for the first time. The mother of his child was none other than his sweetheart from high school days, Paula Profit.
Cassandra Estevez, the daughter of Profit and Sheen, was born on December 12, 1984. At the time, they were both only 19 years old and split up not long after her birth. Cassandra spent most of her time growing up with her mom, even though she also upheld an important relationship with her dad. Regardless, in her early days, Sheen’s thriving career consumed most of his focus and attention.
Another Engagement
Jones and Sheen decided to part ways, and in November 2013, Sheen found love again. This time, he got into a relationship with Scottine Ross. Ross was not just any other woman; she was a popular adult film actress who went by the stage name Brett Rossi. Moving at a quick pace, by February 2014, these love birds were ready to take a step ahead; they were engaged. They couldn’t help revealing this happy news to the world and announced their engagement with joy.
“I was completely taken by surprise. We spent a lovely Valentine’s Day together, and then, as we watched the sunrise this morning, he popped the question,” Rossi shared with E! News. Both Sheen and Rossi were thrilled about beginning their journey together, but it didn’t take much time before the happiness faded and things took a downward turn.
Separate Ways
Sheen and Rossi decided to end their engagement in October of the same year. “Scotty and I had a great year together as we traveled the world and crossed a lot of things off our bucket list. She’s a terrific gal, but we’ve mutually decided to go our separate ways and not spend the rest of our lives together,” was the statement from Sheen which was shared with the public, and this was reported by CBS News. This meant they had truly enjoyed their time together, going on plenty of adventures and achieving many things they had wished for. Yet, they agreed that their paths in life wouldn’t continue together in the long run.
A month after, there were reports saying that Rossi landed in the hospital after taking too many drugs. Meanwhile, Sheen stayed at the center of media fuss. Still, the ruined engagement wasn’t the sole reason Sheen was being talked about in the news headlines.
Twitter Feud
That year, Sheen found himself in the headlines once more. This time, it was because he spoke out against Ashton Kutcher on Twitter. The outburst came after Kutcher asked him to stop criticizing his performance on the television show, Two And A Half Men. Kutcher had taken over Sheen’s role on the show in 2010.
Sheen quickly turned to Twitter to say sorry the very next day, but in an abrupt twist, he warned, “But news flash Dood, you ever tell me to shut the F— up, EVER again, and I’ll put you on a hospital food diet for a year. c #YaFeelMe Jr?” Little did anyone know, there was a deep secret that the actor had been carrying with him, concealing it from the world for the past few years.
Public Announcement
In November 2015, the world was left in shock when Sheen gave a shocking piece of news. During a live discussion with Matt Lauer on the show TODAY, the well-known fun-loving, hard-living actor broke the news that he was HIV positive. The diagnosis had come to him four years earlier when he approached a doctor with symptoms like crippling headaches and unending migraines, fearing he might have a brain tumor.
“Those three letters are tough to take in. It changes your whole life,” he admitted to Lauer, his voice filled with tremor. Sheen had managed to keep his diagnosis hidden before, sharing it only with those nearest to him – his family, dear friends and partners.
Revealing the Truth
Sheen made it known that there were several individuals who used his situation to try to get money out of him. One of these was an escort who took a photograph of his medication for HIV and threatened to expose him by selling it to the media, unless he decided to pay her to keep silent.
He expressed that this was all about extortion, confessing he’d forked over approximately $10 million to those threatening to reveal his health status. For Sheen, openly sharing about his medical condition felt like breaking free from a jail. He made it clear that it was “impossible” for him to pass on the virus, thanks to the medicines he was regularly taking. This series of events shows his journey towards honesty and the fight against those who wanted to exploit his circumstances.
The Charlie Sheen Effect
Charlie Sheen revealing that he is HIV positive led to a huge increase in HIV knowledge, an occurrence widely referred to as “The Charlie Sheen Effect”. When he openly discussed his status on a television interview with Lauer, university scholars from JAMA Internal Medicine found that the event resulted in the largest-ever number of online searches relating to HIV in the U.S. They reported that, in fact, it corresponded with “the greatest number of HIV-related Google searches ever recorded in the United States.”
People were learning about the virus, understanding how to be tested, and discovering ways to guard themselves. As a matter of fact, it was reported by journalist Julia Belluz on Vox.com that “Charlie Sheen did more for HIV education than most UN events do.” Despite this, there were those who weren’t really applauding Sheen’s honesty.