Paul Walker

Walker had a daughter, Meadow Rain Walker, with his former girlfriend Rebecca Soteros. Meadow lived with her mother in Hawaii for 13 years before moving to California to live with Walker in 2011.

Walker was one of five children. His siblings included Caleb, Cody, Ashlie and Aimee. Vin Diesel, his close friend and Fast & Furious co-star, was Meadow's godfather.

Raised in a Mormon household, Walker became a non-denominational Christian as an adult. He studied marine biology at community colleges in Southern California and maintained a long-standing interest in surfing and ocean exploration.

Walker began modeling and appearing in commercials as a toddler, including advertisements for Pampers and Showbiz Pizza. He started acting on television in the 1980s, appearing in Highway to Heaven, Charles in Charge, Who's the Boss? and the sitcom Throb. He later had a recurring role as Brandon Collins on the soap opera The Young and the Restless.

His first film role was in the 1986 horror comedy Monster in the Closet. After appearing in Tammy and the T-Rex and Meet the Deedles, he gained wider attention in Pleasantville (1998), Varsity Blues (1999), She's All That (1999) and The Skulls (2000).

The teen films established Walker as a prominent young actor, while Pleasantville gave him the opportunity to work alongside Reese Witherspoon, Tobey Maguire and William H. Macy.

Walker reached international fame in 2001 when he played Brian O'Conner, an undercover police officer investigating an illegal street-racing group, in The Fast and the Furious. He starred opposite Vin Diesel, whose character led the racing gang, and the film launched a major action franchise.

He reprised the role in 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), Fast & Furious (2009), Fast Five (2011) and Fast & Furious 6 (2013). He did not appear in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006). His on-screen partnership with Diesel earned the pair the 2002 MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Team and the 2014 award for Best On-Screen Duo.

Walker also appeared in action films including Joy Ride, Into the Blue, Running Scared and Takers. He performed some of his own stunts and brought his interest in cars and racing to several of his film roles.

Walker showed a different side of his acting in the survival drama Eight Below and Clint Eastwood's war film Flags of Our Fathers, both released in 2006. He later starred in The Lazarus Project, Vehicle 19, Hours and Brick Mansions.

In 2012, Walker founded the production company Laguna Ridge Pictures, which signed a first-look deal with Universal Pictures. He served as an executive producer on Vehicle 19 and Hours, and produced Pawn Shop Chronicles.

Walker had completed Brick Mansions before his death. He had filmed about half of his scenes for Furious 7, and his brothers Caleb and Cody served as stand-ins for unfinished material. Visual effects, archive footage and newly filmed scenes were combined to complete his performance. Furious 7 was released in 2015 and was dedicated to his memory.

Walker studied marine biology and participated in shark-tagging expeditions off the coast of Mexico. During one expedition, he spent 11 days helping catch and tag seven great white sharks while researchers collected measurements, DNA samples and satellite-tracking data.

He appeared in the National Geographic Channel program Shark Men and the documentary Spawn of Jaws. In 2013, he began working with Jean-Michel Cousteau to promote ocean research and marine education.

In 2010, Walker founded the disaster-relief nonprofit Reach Out Worldwide with Roger Rodas. The organization supplied aid in areas affected by natural disasters, including regions impacted by the 2010 Haiti earthquake and Typhoon Haiyan.

Walker died on November 30, 2013, in a single-vehicle car crash in Santa Clarita, California. He had been attending a Reach Out Worldwide charity event when he left as a passenger in a Porsche Carrera GT driven by Roger Rodas. The investigation identified the car's speed and the age of its tires as the primary causes of the crash.

His remains were cremated and buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills. Three films featuring Walker were released after his death: Hours in 2013, Brick Mansions in 2014 and Furious 7 in 2015.

The closing scenes of Furious 7, accompanied by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth's song "See You Again," became a tribute to Walker and his character. His life was chronicled in the 2018 documentary I Am Paul Walker, and his daughter Meadow founded the Paul Walker Foundation in 2015 to support ocean conservation.