Contents
Who is Christopher Atkins?
Known for his heartthrob status and versatile acting skills, Christopher Atkins has graced both the big and small screens with his presence. His journey into acting began at an early age when he caught the eye of talent scouts, which led to him making his film debut at the age of 19 in the 1980 coming-of-age classic, “The Blue Lagoon“. The film, directed by Randal Kleiser, catapulted Christopher to instant stardom, thanks to his good looks and natural acting talent.
Let’s take a closer look at his life, his career, notable roles, and what he’s doing now.
Happy 61st birthday to #ChristopherAtkins
Christopher Atkins Bomann (born February 21, 1961)[2] is an American actor, perhaps best known for his debut in the 1980 film The Blue Lagoon. pic.twitter.com/f3irqfh1ss— Back To The 80s (@back21980s) February 21, 2022
Early life, family, and education
Born Christopher Atkins Bomann on 21 February 1961, which makes Pisces his zodiac sign – when he began acting he took his middle name as his surname – and he’s today aged 61 (as of September 2023). He hails from Rye, New York USA, holds American nationality, and comes from a family of English, Irish, Scottish, German and Norwegian descent. Christopher is the only son of Bitsy Nebauer and Donald Bomann, his divorced parents.
When it comes to Christopher’s educational background, he attended the elite all-boys Salisbury School, in Connecticut, and where he began playing baseball. Christopher was an aspiring player. Upon matriculating in 1979, he enrolled at Denison University, however, due to his knee problems, his baseball career was finished, so Christopher dropped out of college and started a modeling career.
A promising start
Christopher’s acting journey began almost accidentally. His friend pursued him to go for an audition for the movie “The Blue Lagoon”, as at the time, to provide for himself, Christopher worked as a sailing instructor, and had no acting experience.
However, he landed the lead male role as Richard Lestrange starring opposite Brooke Shields, who played Emmeline Lestrange. The two cousins end up shipwrecked on a tropical island, and while growing up isolated, they fall in love and have sex, and Emmeline gives birth to their child, unaware of how that happened. Years later, Richard’s father finds them.
Although the movie received some negative critiques, it had eight award nominations, including one for the Oscar (Best Cinematography), and four wins. Christopher was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture – Male, and the Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor – Major Motion Picture.
Most notable roles
While “The Blue Lagoon“ put him on the map, Christopher continued to prove his acting skills in a variety of roles. In 1982, he starred as Frederic in the romantic drama “The Pirate Movie“, showcasing his ability to handle diverse genres. The movie follows the story of a noble pirate who falls in love with a young maiden, and decides to leave his profession.
Christopher to date has over 85 acting credits to his name, so we’ll mention some of his most significant. One of his standout roles was in the movie “A Night in Heaven“ (1983), which earned him critical acclaim. Atkins portrayed Rick, a young college student who embarks on a forbidden affair with a married woman. His performance highlighted his range as an actor, showing a more complex character compared to his earlier roles.
In addition to his movie roles, Christopher also made appearances in popular TV series of the time, including “Dallas“, in which he played Peter Richards, and was seen in 27 episodes during 1983 and ‘84.
The early ’90s saw him in “Shakma” (1990), “Dracula Rising” (1993), “Trigger Fast” (1994), and “Smoke n Lightnin” (1995), none of which achieved much success. It was Christopher’s role as Jack Allen in the 1996 romantic drama “It’s My Party” that helped him to again reach the heights of Hollywood’s sky.
Unfortunately, after this movie, Christopher’s career went downhill. He was mostly seen in the low-budget and movies made for television, which were poorly rated by both critics and the audience. The 2000s also didn’t bring much success.
Christopher starred in “The Stoneman” (2002), “Payback” (2007), “Forget Me Not” (2009), and “Stained Glass Windows” (2010), among others, however, according to critiques, most of these movies were far from his success with “The Blue Lagoon”. In the following years, Christopher’s films also achieved very poor ratings and he didn’t make any major breakthrough in his acting career. Most recently, he was seen as Edward in the 2021 movie “Attraction to Paris”, which was rated 3.7/10.
It appears that Christopher isn’t giving up on his acting career, and he has four upcoming projects. One of them, entitled “Out for Vengeance”, in which he will play Detective John Grant, is announced to premiere by the end of 2023.
Love life, wife, and children
Beyond his career in Hollywood, Christopher has always emphasized the importance of family. On 25 May 1985, he married Lyn Barron, and together, they had two children, Grant born in 1985, and Brittney in 1987. Despite the ups and downs that often come with fame, Christopher has consistently prioritized his family’s well-being. His wife and children were often seen with him at various red carpet-events.
In his interviews, Christopher has spoken openly about the challenges of balancing his career with his role as a husband and father, admitting his past struggle with alcoholism. Despite the demanding nature of showbiz, Christopher has managed to maintain a close-knit family unit, which he credits as the source of his strength and stability. However, his and Lyn’s marriage faced some difficulties, and his wife filed for divorce in 2007, which was finalized that same year.
As of September 2023, it seems that Christopher is single, however, as he said, he is looking for a ‘highly sexual’ girlfriend who can keep up with his ‘spontaneous craziness’.
How rich is Christopher Atkins? Net worth
While Christopher may not be in the Hollywood spotlight as frequently as he was in his youth, he remains active in the entertainment industry. Besides his acting career, which earned him decent wealth, Christopher is a luxury pool builder, whose business is quite successful.
If you’ve wondered how rich Christopher is, according to sources as of September 2023, his net worth has been estimated at over $2 million.