Age, Biography, and Wiki
Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland was born on December 21, 1966, in Paddington, London, England, to Canadian actors Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas. He holds dual nationality and is recognized as one of Canada’s most accomplished actors. His parents divorced when he was three, and he moved with his family to Corona, California, in 1968. Sutherland has a twin sister, Rachel Sutherland, who works in post-production.
Sutherland’s grandfather, Tommy Douglas, was a prominent Canadian politician credited with introducing universal healthcare in Canada, adding to the family’s legacy.
| Occupation | Country Singer |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 21 December 1966 |
| Age | 58 Years |
| Birth Place | London, England |
| Horoscope | Sagittarius |
| Country | England |
Height, Weight & Measurements
- Height: Approximately 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm)
- Weight: Estimated around 77 kg (170 lbs)
- Eye Color: Blue
- Hair Color: Blonde (often appears brown depending on roles and styling)
(Note: Exact current weight may vary; Sutherland is generally described as medium build and athletic.)
| Height | 5 feet 10 inches |
| Weight | 170 lbs |
| Body Measurements | |
| Eye Color | |
| Hair Color |
Dating & Relationship Status
Kiefer Sutherland’s dating history has been a subject of public interest. Notably, in the early 1990s, he was engaged to actress Julia Roberts; however, the wedding was called off just days before the ceremony due to reported infidelity, which Sutherland explained as a misunderstanding involving an acquaintance. Sutherland is known for being private about his personal life, but he has had several high-profile relationships over the years.
As of 2025, there is little public information about his current relationship status, suggesting he may prefer to keep his personal life out of the spotlight.
His parents divorced when he was three. He has a twin sister, Rachel Sutherland, who works as a post-production film supervisor. His maternal grandfather was Scottish-born Canadian politician and former Premier of Saskatchewan Tommy Douglas, who is widely credited for bringing universal health care to Canada.
Sutherland is named after American-born writer and director Warren Kiefer, who directed Donald Sutherland in his first feature film, Castle of the Living Dead. When he was a baby, his mother was arrested by the FBI and charged with conspiracy to possess unregistered explosives but was later exonerated. Sutherland's family moved to Corona, California, in 1968. His parents divorced in 1970. In 1975, Sutherland moved with his mother to Toronto, Ontario. He attended Crescent Town Elementary School and St. Clair Junior High (now Gordon A. Brown Middle School) in East York, and John G. Althouse Middle School in Etobicoke. He attended several high schools, including St. Andrew's College, Martingrove Collegiate Institute, Harbord Collegiate Institute, Silverthorn Collegiate Institute, Malvern Collegiate Institute, and Annex Village Campus. He also spent a semester at Regina Mundi Catholic College in London, Ontario and attended weekend acting lessons at Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School.
Sutherland told The Sunday Times that he rarely saw his father, outside of holidays and summer vacations, until he moved out at age 15. He told Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2009) that he and Robert Downey Jr. were roommates for three years when he first moved to Hollywood to pursue his career in acting. He and Downey also starred together in the film 1969 (1988).
Sutherland made his screen debut in Max Dugan Returns (as did Matthew Broderick), in which his father Donald Sutherland also starred. Sutherland was one of the contenders for the role of Glen Lantz in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), which ultimately became Johnny Depp's feature film debut.
In the Western film Young Guns (1988), he starred alongside Emilio Estevez and Lou Diamond Phillips. He was considered for the role of Robin in Batman (1989), alongside Michael Keaton, in the early production before the character was deleted from the shooting script. He went on to star again with his close friend Lou Diamond Phillips, in the crime-action film Renegades (1989). That same year, he and his father appeared at the 61st Academy Awards as presenters of the Academy Honorary Award to the National Film Board of Canada.
In The Vanishing (1993), he starred alongside Jeff Bridges as a desperate man seeking the whereabouts of his girlfriend, three years after she mysteriously vanished. In The Three Musketeers (1993), Sutherland played the central character of Athos.
In 1996, Sutherland appeared in three films. He starred with Reese Witherspoon in Freeway, which gained a cult following. He starred with Sally Field in the thriller Eye for an Eye, and he appeared in A Time to Kill alongside his father Donald Sutherland.
The actor is also a frequent collaborator with director Joel Schumacher, and has appeared in The Lost Boys (1987), Flatliners (1990), Phone Booth (2002), the big screen adaptation of A Time to Kill (1996, the film also starred his father Donald, although their characters did not interact), and Twelve (2010) as the narrator.
In 2005, Sutherland was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto, where both of his parents have also been inducted. He ranked No. 68 on the 2006 Forbes Celebrity 100 list of the world's most powerful celebrities, his earnings were a reported $23 million. In 2008, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Sutherland was the first Inside the Actors Studio guest to be the child of a former guest; his father, Donald, appeared on the show in 1998. Sutherland was featured on the cover of the April 2006 edition of Rolling Stone, in an article entitled "Alone in the Dark with Kiefer Sutherland". The article began with Sutherland revealing his interest to be killed off in 24. However, he stated, "Don't get me wrong. I love what I do." It also revealed that he devoted 10 months a year working on 24. He has starred in Japanese commercials for CalorieMate, performing a parody of his Jack Bauer character. Sutherland also provides voice-overs for the current ad campaign for the Ford Motor Company of Canada. In mid-2006, he voiced the Apple, Inc. advertisement announcing the inclusion of Intel chips in their Macintosh computer line. He also voices the introduction to NHL games on the Versus network in the US.
In the 2011 drama-thriller Melancholia directed by Lars Von Trier, he played the male lead character and got the chance to share the screen with long-lost co-stars such as Charlotte Rampling and John Hurt, the film in which Kiefer was nominated for the major Danish film prize Bodil. Kiefer also shared the screen with Hurt another time, this time on the small screen, in the web series The Confession. Sutherland made his Broadway debut, opposite Brian Cox, Jim Gaffigan, Chris Noth and Jason Patric, in the Broadway revival of That Championship Season, which opened in March 2011. In 2012, Sutherland starred in the Fox television series Touch. He played the father of an autistic boy who does not like to be touched, while the son also communicates future humanity interrelated events to his father through numbers and mathematics.
After working in the movie industry for more than 30 years, he had the chance to star with his father, Donald Sutherland, in the 2015 western-drama film Forsaken, which also stars Demi Moore and Brian Cox. The film screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and received mixed reviews from critics.
Sutherland began dating model/actress Cindy Vela of Olmito, Texas, sometime in 2014, keeping their relationship private up until 2017 when they began to be seen together in public. Vela and Sutherland became engaged in 2017. As of 2019, they reside in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles.
| Parents | |
| Husband | Camelia Kath (m. 1987-1990) Elizabeth Kelly Winn (m. 1996-2004) |
| Sibling | |
| Children |
Net Worth and Salary
Kiefer Sutherland’s net worth in 2025 is estimated to be between $65 million and $100 million, with most reputable sources generally citing $100 million as the higher figure. His wealth comes from a successful acting career, directing, producing, and lucrative contracts, especially for his role in 24.
- Salary Highlights:
- 24 (2007–2009): $40 million contract for three seasons, as executive producer and actor, plus a first-look deal for his production company.
- Per Episode (24): Up to $500,000 per episode at the peak of the show.
- Notable Asset Sales:
- Sold his NYC townhouse for $17.5 million in 2012.
- Sold his Los Angeles loft/recording studio for $3 million in 2007.
Since 2001, Sutherland has been associated most widely with the role of Jack Bauer on the critically acclaimed television series 24. After being nominated four times for the "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series" Primetime Emmy Award, Sutherland won the award in 2006 for his role in 24's fifth season. In the opening skit of the 2006 Primetime Emmy Awards, Sutherland made an appearance as his 24 character, Jack Bauer. He was also nominated for Best actor in a Drama Television Series at the 2007 Golden Globe Awards for 24. According to his 2006 contract, his salary of $40 million for three seasons of the show made him the highest-earning actor on television.
Sutherland reportedly fell victim to a financial scam involving cattle in 2010. According to the Associated Press, the perpetrator, Michael Wayne Carr, took US$869,000 from Sutherland, ostensibly in order to buy steers which were never purchased. Carr pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay US$956,000 in restitution to Sutherland and his investment partner.
Career, Business, and Investments
Sutherland’s career took off in the late 1980s and early 1990s with roles in films such as Stand By Me, The Lost Boys, Young Guns, and A Few Good Men. The 1990s saw a mix of moderate successes and relative quiet before his career was revitalized by 24 (2001–2010), where he won multiple awards for his portrayal of Jack Bauer.
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Awards:
- Emmy Award
- Golden Globe Award
- Two Screen Actors Guild Awards
- Two Satellite Awards
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Business Ventures:
- Production Company: Sutherland’s contract with 20th Century Fox Television for 24 included a first-look deal, allowing him to develop projects through his own production company.
- Music: Sutherland is also a country music artist, having released albums and toured as a musician, diversifying his income streams.
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Investments:
- Real Estate: Significant investments in high-value properties in New York and Los Angeles.
- Other: While not extensively detailed, Sutherland is known for savvy investments in the entertainment industry and real estate.
In 1998, he starred in Dark City, the science fiction film directed by Alex Proyas in which he portrayed the historical character Daniel P. Schreber. Sutherland also starred in the film Ground Control where he played Jack Harries, an air traffic controller who had a perfect record until one air crash haunts him to leave the business. Years later, he is hurtled back into the world he thought he left behind.
In 2016, Sutherland released his first album, Down in a Hole, and a music video for "Not Enough Whiskey" from the album. The country music songs were written by Sutherland and Jude Cole. The Kiefer Sutherland Band toured in April and May of that year, and debuted at the Grand Ole Opry on June 6, 2016. A 2017 review in The Guardian said, "you have the first Hollywood hobby act unshackled by convention and with a real shot at greatness." The band performed in Scotland and in Las Vegas in 2019. The band's second album, Reckless and Me, was released in April 2019. Sutherland played Det. Clay Bryce in the American action thriller television series The Fugitive, which premiered on August 3, 2020. He also starred as lead role John Weir in the 2023 Paramount+ thriller show Rabbit Hole. In the 2023 film The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, based on the two-act play of the same name, Sutherland played the role of Lieutenant Commander Phillip Queeg, the part portrayed by Humphrey Bogart in the 1954 film adaptation. The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, directed by William Friedkin, premiered in September 2023 at the 80th Venice International Film Festival where it screened out of competition. The film is Friedkin's sole posthumous work, the director having died on August 7 of the same year. Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com praised Sutherland for bringing "unique energy" to the role, describing his performance as "one of the best acting turns of his career." Total Film have also praised his performance, writing Sutherland delivers "some of the best work of his career here. He's only briefly in the film, and yet he makes every second count, fidgeting with his hands and spitting his lines as if certain words pain him. He makes Queeg a complex, complicated man, not just a stock villain."
Sutherland surrendered to the NYPD on 6 May 2009 for head-butting fashion designer Jack McCollough, founder and co-designer of Proenza Schouler, at The Mercer Hotel in SoHo following a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Several weeks later, Sutherland and McCollough issued a joint statement in which Sutherland apologized; police later dropped the charges.
Social Network
Kiefer Sutherland maintains a presence on major social media platforms, including Instagram and Twitter, where he engages with fans, promotes his music, and occasionally shares insights into his personal life.
- Instagram: [@KieferSutherland] (verify current username for latest updates)
- Twitter: [@RealKiefer] (verify current handle for latest updates)
After receiving critical acclaim for his role as Donald Campbell in The Bay Boy (1985), Sutherland moved to Hollywood. Stand by Me (1986) was the first film Sutherland made in the United States. In the film, directed by Rob Reiner, he played a neighbourhood bully in a coming-of-age story about a search for a dead body. Before that, he played a silent, supporting character, as one of Sean Penn's friends who goes up against Christopher Walken in James Foley's crime-thriller At Close Range (1986).
In the sequel Young Guns II (1990), Sutherland continued to play 'Doc' alongside some of the original cast and with newcomer Christian Slater. As of 2017, it is the only sequel to a feature film he has starred in. Sutherland starred as the lead in Flatliners (1990), with an ensemble cast featuring Julia Roberts and Kevin Bacon, a film about a student who wants to "experience" death's afterlife and record what happens during it, with the help of a group of young students who are "a little" crazy like him; the film received positive reviews from critics. He plays a young FBI agent coming to terms with his life in a commune in Flashback (1990) alongside Dennis Hopper. Sutherland had also starred in The Nutcracker Prince as Hans/The Nutcracker.
Education
Kiefer Sutherland attended multiple high schools during his early years. He spent a semester at Regina Mundi Catholic College and did not pursue formal higher education, instead focusing on his acting career from a young age.
Sutherland was charged in Los Angeles on 25 September 2007, on drunk driving charges, after failing a field sobriety test. His test exceeded the state's legal blood alcohol limit, and he was later released on a $25,000 bail. It was Sutherland's fourth DUI charge since 1989. Sutherland pleaded no contest to the DUI charge and was sentenced to 48 days in jail.
Summary Table
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Age (2025) | 58 |
| Born | December 21, 1966, Paddington, London, England |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Net Worth (2025) | $65–100 million |
| Height | 5'10" (178 cm) |
| Weight | ~77 kg (170 lbs) |
| Relationship Status | Private |
| Career Peak | 24, Stand By Me, A Few Good Men |
| Notable Awards | Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, Satellite |
| Notable Asset Sales | NYC townhouse ($17.5M), LA loft ($3M) |
| Social Media | Instagram, Twitter |
