Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was born on April 5, 1900, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His mother, Caroline, could trace her ancestors back to Colonial American and his father, John, had Irish roots. He enlisted in the Navy during his third year of high school and spent two years in college before pursuing an acting career. Tracy made his Broadway debut as a non-speaking robot in 1923 and by the end of the 1920s had established himself as a respected actor. Over the course of his career, Tracy made more than 50 films, garnered nine Academy Award nominations (more than any player in his lifetime) and won two Academy Awards. He married actress Louise Treadwell in 1923 and they had two children, Susan and John. Near the end of his life, Tracy's health suffered and between 1962 and 1967 he did not perform at all. Tracy died in 1967, just weeks after completing his last film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.