Jean-Claude Van Damme
Belgian actor and martial artist (born 1960)
Why this is trending
Interest in “Jean-Claude Van Damme” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-02-27.
Categorised under Entertainment, this article fits a familiar pattern. Articles in the entertainment category often trend when tied to award ceremonies, film releases, celebrity news, or viral social media moments.
By monitoring millions of daily Wikipedia page views, GlyphSignal helps you spot cultural moments as they happen and understand the stories behind the numbers.
Key Takeaways
- Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg ( French: [ʒɑ̃ klod kamij fʁɑ̃swa vɑ̃ vaʁɑ̃bɛʁɡ] ; Flemish: [vɑɱ ˈvaːrə(m)bɛr(ə)x] ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme ( French: [vɑ̃ dam] ; Flemish: [vɑn ˈdɑmə] ), is a Belgian martial artist and actor.
- As a teenager, he won the middleweight championship of the European Professional Karate Association in 1979 and the Mr.
- With the desire of becoming an actor in Hollywood, he moved to the United States in 1982, where he worked on several films, until he got his break as the lead in the martial arts film Bloodsport (1988).
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (French: [ʒɑ̃ klod kamij fʁɑ̃swa vɑ̃ vaʁɑ̃bɛʁɡ]; Flemish: [vɑɱ ˈvaːrə(m)bɛr(ə)x]; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (French: [vɑ̃ dam]; Flemish: [vɑn ˈdɑmə]), is a Belgian martial artist and actor. Born and raised in Brussels, he was enrolled by his father in a Shotokan karate school at the age of ten, which led Van Damme to hold the rank of 2nd-dan black belt in karate, and compete in several karate and kickboxing competitions. As a teenager, he won the middleweight championship of the European Professional Karate Association in 1979 and the Mr. Belgium bodybuilding title in 1978. With the desire of becoming an actor in Hollywood, he moved to the United States in 1982, where he worked on several films, until he got his break as the lead in the martial arts film Bloodsport (1988).
Content sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0
