Born in Englewood, New Jersey on this day, actor John Travolta (1954-) is the youngest of six and of Italian-Irish descent.

"I had a wonderful, happy childhood," he once explained. "My parents liked to inspire creativity... It mattered to them what we thought, felt, and did."

With a dazzling smile, black hair, and piercing blue eyes, Travolta's big break came in the role of sweathog Vinnie Barbarino on television's Welcome Back Kotter (1975-79).

His career exploded with Saturday Night Fever (1977). As Tony Manero, the king of Brooklyn disco scene, the New York Times called his Oscar nominated performance "deft and vibrant." Next came another musical triumph, Grease (1978), with Travolta as sexy hero Danny Zuko.

Although Travolta's career sagged in the 80s, he said his faith in himself never wavered. In 1994, he starred as L.A. hit man Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction, a role written for him by director Quentin Tarantino. Travolta came back revitalized, stronger than ever.

Travolta is an avid pilot who commutes to his homes in California, Hawaii, and Maine. "Flying gives me a sense of objectivity and extroversion," he explained. By 1999, he owned four planes--a high-performance Canadian military Tubuan CL-41 two-seater, a Learjet 24, a Gulf stream II, and a Boeing 707.

Trust that everything will fall into place.