Wayne was born Marion Robert Morrison on May 26, 1907, at 224 South Second Street in Winterset, Iowa. The local paper, Winterset Madisonian, reported on page 4 of the edition of May 30, 1907, that Wayne weighed 13 lbs. (around 6 kg.) at birth. Wayne claimed his middle name was soon changed from Robert to Michael when his parents decided to name their next son Robert, but extensive research has found no such legal change. Wayne’s legal name remained Marion Robert Morrison his entire life. Wayne’s father, Clyde Leonard Morrison (1884–1937), was the son of American Civil War veteran Marion Mitchell Morrison (1845–1915). Wayne’s mother, the former Mary “Molly” Alberta Brown (1885–1970), was from Lancaster County, Nebraska. Wayne had Scottish, English and Irish ancestry. His great-great grandfather Robert Morrison (b. 1782) left County Antrim, Ireland with his mother arriving in New York in 1799 eventually settling in Adams County, Ohio. The Morrisons were originally from the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. He was raised Presbyterian.

Wayne’s family moved to Palmdale, California, and then in 1916 to Glendale at 404 Isabel Street, where his father worked as a pharmacist. He attended Glendale Union High School where he performed well in both sports and academics. Wayne was part of his high school’s football team and its debating team. He was also the President of the Latin Society and contributed to the school’s newspaper sports column.

As a favor to coach Jones, who had given silent western film star Tom Mix tickets to USC games, director John Ford and Mix hired Wayne as a prop boy and extra. Wayne later credited his walk, talk, and persona to his acquaintance with Wyatt Earp, who was good friends with Tom Mix. Wayne soon moved to bit parts, establishing a longtime friendship with the director who provided most of those roles, John Ford. Early in this period he had a minor, uncredited role as a guard in the 1926 film Bardelys the Magnificent. Wayne also appeared with his USC teammates playing football in Brown of Harvard (1926), The Dropkick (1927), and Salute (1929) and Columbia’s Maker of Men (filmed in 1930, released in 1931).

Between 1926 and 1977, Wayne appeared in over 170 films, and became one of America’s biggest box office stars. Only Clark Gable sold more tickets than Wayne, although the ticket prices paid during the span of their respective careers are not really commensurate. While both men began performing on screen at the same time, the height of Gable’s celebrity preceded Wayne’s by approximately fifteen years.

In the Motion Picture Herald Top Ten Money-Making Western Stars poll, Wayne was listed in 1936 and 1939. He appeared in the similar Box Office poll in 1939 and 1940. While these two polls are really an indication only of the popularity of series stars, Wayne also appeared in the Top Ten Money Makers Poll of all films from 1949 to 1957 and 1958 to 1974, taking first place in 1950, 1951, 1954, and 1971. With a total of 25 years on the list, Wayne has more appearances than any other star, surpassing Clint Eastwood (21) who is in second place.

Throughout most of his life, Wayne was a vocally prominent conservative Republican in Hollywood, supporting anti-communist positions and holding white supremacist views. However, he did vote for Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1936 presidential election and expressed admiration for Roosevelt’s successor, fellow Democratic President Harry S. Truman. He took part in creating the conservative Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals in February 1944, and was elected president of that organization in 1949. An ardent anti-communist and vocal supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committee, he made Big Jim McLain (1952) with himself as a HUAC investigator to demonstrate his support for the cause of anti-communism. His personal views found expression as a proactive inside enforcer of the “Black List” denying employment and undermining careers of many actors and writers who expressed their personal political beliefs earlier in life. Declassified Soviet documents reveal that, despite being a fan of Wayne’s movies, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin according to some sources contemplated the assassination of Wayne for his frequently espoused anti-communist politics. Wayne was a supporter of Senator Joseph McCarthy.

Like most Hollywood stars of his era, Wayne appeared as a guest on radio programs, such as: The Hedda Hopper Show and The Louella Parsons Show. He made a number of appearances in dramatic roles, mainly recreations for radio of his own film roles, on programs like Screen Directors Playhouse and Lux Radio Theatre. For six months in 1942, Wayne starred in his own radio adventure series, Three Sheets to the Wind, produced by film director Tay Garnett. In the series, an international spy/detective show, Wayne played Dan O’Brien, a detective who used alcoholism as a mask for his investigatory endeavors. The show was intended by Garnett to be a pilot of sorts for a film version, though the motion picture never came to fruition. No episodes of the series featuring Wayne seem to have survived, though a demonstration episode with Brian Donlevy in the leading role does exist. Wayne, not Donlevy, played the role throughout the series run on NBC.

U.S. National Archives records indicate that Wayne, in fact, did make an application to serve in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), precursor to the modern CIA, and had been accepted within the U.S. Army’s allotted billet to the OSS. William J. Donovan, OSS Commander, wrote Wayne a letter informing him of his acceptance into the Field Photographic Unit, but the letter went to his estranged wife Josephine’s home. She never told him about it. Wayne toured U.S. bases and hospitals in the South Pacific for three months in 1943 and 1944. with the USO. During this trip, he carried out a request from Donovan to assess whether General Douglas MacArthur, commander of the South West Pacific Area, or his staff were hindering the work of the OSS. Donovan later issued Wayne an OSS Certificate of Service to memorialize Wayne’s contribution to the OSS mission.

The Golden Globe Awards are presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) to recognize outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry, both domestic and foreign, and to focus wide public attention upon the best in motion pictures and television. In 1953, Wayne was awarded the Henrietta Award (a now retired award) for being World Film Favorite: Male.

Wayne rose beyond the typical recognition for a famous actor to that of an enduring icon who symbolized and communicated American values and ideals. Using the power of communication through silent films and radio, Wayne was instrumental in creating a national culture from disparaged areas of the US, and made the creation of a national hero possible. By the middle of his career, Wayne had developed a larger-than-life image, and as his career progressed, he selected roles that would not compromise his off-screen image. Wayne embodied the icon of strong American masculinity and rugged individualism in both his films and his life. At a party in 1957, Wayne confronted actor Kirk Douglas about the latter’s decision to play the role of Vincent van Gogh in the film Lust for Life, saying: “Christ, Kirk, how can you play a part like that? There’s so goddamn few of us left. We got to play strong, tough characters. Not these weak queers.” However, actor Marlon Brando was notably critical of Wayne’s public persona and of the cultural insensitivity of Wayne’s characters, arguing on The Dick Cavett Show that, “We [Americans] like to see ourselves as perhaps John Wayne sees us. That we are a country that stands for freedom, for rightness, for justice,” before adding that “it just simply doesn’t apply.”

Wayne supported Vice President Richard Nixon in the presidential election of 1960, but expressed his vision of patriotism when John F. Kennedy won the election: “I didn’t vote for him but he’s my president, and I hope he does a good job.” He used his star power to support conservative causes, including rallying support for the Vietnam War by producing, co-directing and starring in the financially successful film The Green Berets (1968). In 1960, he joined the anti-communist John Birch Society but quit after the organization denounced fluoridation of water supplies as a communist plot.

Wayne biographer Michael Munn chronicled Wayne’s drinking habits. According to Sam O’Steen’s memoir, Cut to the Chase, studio directors knew to shoot Wayne’s scenes before noon, because by afternoon he “was a mean drunk”. He had been a chain smoker of cigarettes since young adulthood and was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1964. He underwent successful surgery to remove his entire left lung and four ribs. Despite efforts by his business associates to prevent him from going public with his illness for fear that it would cost him work, Wayne announced he had cancer and called on the public to get preventive examinations. Five years later, Wayne was declared cancer-free. Wayne has been credited with coining the term “The Big C” as a euphemism for cancer.

The Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in motion pictures is an annual award given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at the Golden Globe Award ceremonies in Hollywood. It was named in honor of Cecil B. DeMille (1881–1959), one of the industry’s most successful filmmakers; John Wayne won the award in 1966.

Due to his status as the highest-profile Republican star in Hollywood, wealthy Texas Republican Party backers asked Wayne to run for national office in 1968, like his friend and fellow actor Senator George Murphy. He declined, joking that he did not believe the public would seriously consider an actor in the White House. Instead, he supported his friend Ronald Reagan’s campaigns for Governor of California in 1966 and 1970. He was asked to be the running mate for Democratic Alabama Governor George Wallace in 1968, but he immediately rejected the offer and actively campaigned for Richard Nixon; Wayne addressed the 1968 Republican National Convention on its opening day.

Wayne was nominated for three Academy Awards, winning once for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 1969.

On April 26, 1970 CBS released the television special Raquel! directed by David Winters, in which he was a guest. It starred Raquel Welch, and other guests included Tom Jones, and Bob Hope. On the day of the premiere, the show received a 51% share on the National ARB Ratings and an impressive Overnight New York Nielsen Rating of 58% share.

In 1970, Wayne won a Golden Globe Award for his performance in True Grit.

In May 1971, Playboy magazine published an interview with Wayne, in which he expressed his support for the Vietnam War, and made headlines for his opinions about social issues and race relations in the United States:

Pilar was an avid tennis player. In 1973, she encouraged him to build the John Wayne Tennis Club in Newport Beach, CA. In 1995, the club was sold to Ken Stuart, former general manager, and became the Palisades Tennis Club.

Wayne had several high-profile affairs, including one with Merle Oberon that lasted from 1938 to 1947. After his separation from Pilar, in 1973, Wayne became romantically involved and lived with his former secretary Pat Stacy (1941–1995) until his death in 1979. She published a book about her life with him in 1983, titled Duke: A Love Story.

In 1973, The Harvard Lampoon, a satirical paper run by Harvard University students, invited Wayne to receive The Brass Balls Award, created in his “honor”, after calling him “the biggest fraud in history”. Wayne accepted the invitation as a chance to promote the recently released film McQ, and a Fort Devens Army convoy offered to drive him into Harvard Square on an armored personnel carrier. The ceremony was held on January 15, 1974, at the Harvard Square Theater and the award was officially presented in honor of Wayne’s “outstanding machismo and penchant for punching people”. Although the convoy was met with protests by members of the American Indian Movement and others, some of whom threw snowballs, Wayne received a standing ovation from the audience when he walked onto the stage. An internal investigation was launched into the Army’s involvement in the day.

Wayne’s rise to being the quintessential movie war hero began to take shape four years after World War II, when Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) was released. His footprints at Grauman’s Chinese theater in Hollywood were laid in concrete that contained sand from Iwo Jima. His status grew so large and legendary that when Japanese Emperor Hirohito visited the United States in 1975, he asked to meet John Wayne, the symbolic representation of his country’s former enemy. Likewise when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev visited the United States in 1959, he made two requests: to visit Disneyland and meet Wayne.

Although he enrolled in a cancer vaccine study in an attempt to ward off the disease, Wayne died of stomach cancer on June 11, 1979, at the UCLA Medical Center. He was buried in the Pacific View Memorial Park Cemetery in Corona del Mar, Newport Beach. According to his son Patrick and his grandson Matthew Muñoz, who was a priest in the California Diocese of Orange, Wayne converted to Roman Catholicism shortly before his death. He requested that his tombstone read “Feo, Fuerte y Formal”, a Spanish epitaph Wayne described as meaning “ugly, strong, and dignified”. His grave, which was unmarked for 20 years, has been marked since 1999 with the quotation:

Wayne’s enduring status as an iconic American was formally recognized by the U.S. government in the form of the two highest civilian decorations. On his 72nd birthday on May 26, 1979, Wayne was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Hollywood figures and American leaders from across the political spectrum, including Maureen O’Hara, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Mike Frankovich, Katharine Hepburn, General and Mrs. Omar Bradley, Gregory Peck, Robert Stack, James Arness, and Kirk Douglas, testified to Congress in support of the award. Robert Aldrich, president of the Directors Guild of America, made a particularly notable statement:

Wayne was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on June 9, 1980, by President Jimmy Carter. He had attended Carter’s inaugural ball in 1977 “as a member of the loyal opposition”, as he described it. In 1998, he was awarded the Naval Heritage Award by the US Navy Memorial Foundation for his support of the Navy and military during his film career. In 1999, the American Film Institute (AFI) named Wayne 13th among the Greatest Male Screen Legends of Classic Hollywood cinema.

The John Wayne Cancer Foundation was founded in 1985 in honor of John Wayne, after his family granted the use of his name (and limited funding) for the continued fight against cancer. The foundation’s mission is to “bring courage, strength, and grit to the fight against cancer”. The foundation provides funds for innovative programs that improve cancer patient care, including research, education, awareness, and support.

Wayne is the only actor to appear in every edition of the annual Harris Poll of Most Popular Film Actors, and the only actor to appear on the list after his death. Wayne was in the top ten in this poll for 19 consecutive years, starting in 1994, 15 years after his death.

In 2006, friends of Wayne and his former Arizona business partner, Louis Johnson, inaugurated the “Louie and the Duke Classics” events benefiting the John Wayne Cancer Foundation and the American Cancer Society. The weekend-long event each fall in Casa Grande, Arizona, includes a golf tournament, an auction of John Wayne memorabilia, and a team roping competition.

Several celebrations took place on May 26, 2007, the centennial of Wayne’s birth. A celebration at the John Wayne birthplace in Winterset, Iowa, included chuck-wagon suppers, concerts by Michael Martin Murphey and Riders in the Sky, a Wild West Revue in the style of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, and a Cowboy Symposium with Wayne’s costars, producers, and costumers. Wayne’s films ran repetitively at the local theater. Ground was broken for the New John Wayne Birthplace Museum and Learning Center at a ceremony consisting of over 30 of Wayne’s family members, including Melinda Wayne Muñoz, Aissa, Ethan, and Marisa Wayne. Later that year, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver inducted Wayne into the California Hall of Fame, located at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts.

Wayne’s yacht, the Wild Goose, was one of his favorite possessions. He kept it docked in Newport Beach Harbor, and it was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

Newport Beach, California-based John Wayne Enterprises, a business operated by Wayne’s heirs, sells products, including Kentucky straight bourbon, bearing the “Duke” brand and using Wayne’s picture. When the company tried to trademark the image appearing on one of the bottles, Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, filed a notice of opposition. According to court documents, Duke has tried three times since 2005 to stop the company from trademarking the name. The company sought a declaration permitting registration of their trademark. The company’s complaint filed in federal court said the university did “not own the word ‘Duke’ in all contexts for all purposes.” The university’s official position was not to object provided Wayne’s image appeared with the name. On September 30, 2014, the Orange County, California federal judge David Carter dismissed the company’s suit, deciding the plaintiffs had chosen the wrong jurisdiction.

In 2016 Republican assemblyman Matthew Harper proposed marking May 26 as “John Wayne Day” in California. This resolution was struck down by a vote of 35 to 20, due to Wayne’s views on race and his support of controversial organizations such as the John Birch Society and the House Un-American Activities Committee.

In March 2019, the Playboy interview resurfaced, which resulted in calls for John Wayne Airport to be renamed. John Wayne’s son Ethan defended him, stating, “It would be an injustice to judge someone based on an interview that’s being used out of context.” The call for changing the airport back to Orange County Airport were renewed during the George Floyd protests in June 2020.

Similarly, in October 2019, USC student activists called for the removal of an exhibit dedicated to the actor, citing the interview. In July 2020, it was announced that the exhibit would be removed.