FACTBOX: Five facts about Sean Penn

(Reuters) - Following are five key facts about Sean Penn, who won the best actor Oscar for his role as pioneering gay politician Harvey Milk in the film "Milk."

-- Sean Penn, 48, was born August 17, 1960, in Santa Monica, California, to actress Eileen Ryan and director Leo Penn.

-- Penn won the best actor Oscar in 2004 for his role as a grieving father in Clint Eastwood-directed "Mystic River" and has been nominated five times, all for that category.

-- America moviegoers and critics fell in love with Penn in his memorable surfer-stoner role as Spicoli in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."

-- A powerful performer, Penn has also had success on the other side of the camera, most notably as director of "Into the Wild," a film about one young man's fatal journey to Alaska.

-- Penn lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with actress Robin Wright Penn, his second wife after a first marriage to pop star Madonna.

(Reporting by Mary Milliken; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)