Keanu Connection

Keanu Reeves in younger years

Keanu Charles Reeves was born on September 2, 1964 in Beirut, Lebanon. His father is Samuel Nowlin Reeves, half Chinese, half of a rich Hawaiian island family of Oahu. Samuel, geologist, was working for an oil company in Beirut when he met, love and married quicky with Patricia Taylor, an English showgirl and costume designer. Patric was working in a local club when she first met Samuel.

While in Beirut, the coulple lived something like the madness of the 60’s, with Sam at the wheel of your purple Jaguar XKE and Patricia gaily shaking her stuff front of her friends, with her cowboy boots, her jeans and sunglasses. The funds that allowed this hedonist lifestyle came from Keanu’s step grandfather, Colman Abrahams, who made a fortune to publish an edition for children of the British Encyclopedia in Canada.

Keanu and Kim

This wouldn’t be a longer lifestyle, and the romance ended when Keanu was two, but not before join him a sister called Kim, to which Keanu was been very attached throught their lives, when their was living in Australia. Reeves was named after his uncle Henry Keanu Reeves. "Keanu" is a derivation of Reeves’ great-great-uncle Keaweaheulu, whose name means "cool breeze over the mountains" in Hawaiian. This name has become the only thing that Keanu Reeves is greateful to his father.

Keanu’s parents got divorced in 1966, Samuel returned to Hawaii, and Keanu and Kim spend time there, still children, but at twelve years Keanu saw his father for the last time, when Samuel decided to take a time traveling for the world and joining in a life of drugs that would mark his life, and Keanu’s, forever. Patricia moved to New York City with Reeves and his sister Kim, in 1969, where she met, and subsequently married, Paul Aaron, a Broadway and Hollywood director. The couple then moved to Toronto, where they’d all take Canadian citizenship, but would divorce in 1971.

"The Wall" Keanu playing hockey

In that time Patric worked a lot to maintain her children and for several times she left them with friends and nannies. One of those friends was rocker Alice Cooper that, for a time, lived at the Patric’s house. He tells that Keanu didn’t get scared with the strange types that walked for his house, that he adored to see the band rehearsals and was beating the little hands in the bass to hear the sound. Cooper also revealed that a lot of times he joined Keanu to scare the nanny, on whom they played false vomit.

Reeves’ mother was later married to Robert Miller (between 1976 and 1980) and with him she had Karina, the Keanu’s half-sister, twelve years younger.

Subsequently, Reeves grew up primarily in Toronto and worked at a pasta shop, sharpened skates at an ice rink, and was voted MVP on his high school ice hockey team (De La Salle College). Reeves excelled more in hockey than in academics, as his educational development was challenged by dyslexia. He was so good as a goaltender that he was nicknamed The Wall. Reeves says that he would dream of becoming an Olympic hockey player for Canada. He left the school with only 16 years without degree, because he decided on a theatrical career, and began to seek work in adverts and shows on Canadian TV. After leaving De La Salle College, he attended a free school (Avondale Alternative), which allowed him to obtain an education while working as an actor; he later dropped out, never obtaining his high school diploma.