Jonathan Daniel "Jon" Hamm is an American actor best known for playing advertising executive Don Draper in the AMC drama series Mad Men, which premiered in July 2007. His performance on the show earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series in 2008. Hamm was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Daniel and Deborah Hamm. His father ran a family trucking company and his mother was a secretary. Hamm's parents divorced when he was two, and he lived with his mother in Creve Coeur, Missouri, until she was diagnosed with terminal abdominal cancer when he was 10. Hamm then moved in with... his father, who died when Hamm was 20. Hamm's first acting role was as Winnie-the-Pooh in first grade. At 16, he was cast as Judas in Godspell. Although he enjoyed the experience, he did not take acting seriously. Hamm attended John Burroughs School in Ladue, Missouri, where he was a member of the football, baseball, and swim teams. Following graduation in 1989, Hamm enrolled at the University of Texas, where he was a member of the Upsilon Chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity. Hamm returned home to attend the University of Missouri after his father's death.
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