Filmography James Hetfield

James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler, searching for band members. Since then, Metallica has won nine Grammy Awards and released nine studio albums, three live albums, four extended plays and 24 singles. In 2009, Hetfield was ranked number 8 in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists, and ranked twenty-fourth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Metal Vocalists of All Time. 
 
Hetfield was born August 3, 1963. He is of German, English, Irish and Scottish descent. He has two older half-brothers from his mother's first marriage and one younger sister. He attended Downey High School his freshman and sophomore years. He graduated from Orange County's Brea Olinda High School in 1981. 
 
His father, Virgil, was a truck driver who left the family when Hetfield was young. His mother, Cynthia, was a light opera singer. The two divorced in 1976. Virgil and Cynthia were very strict Christian Scientists, and in accordance with their beliefs, Hetfield's parents strongly disapproved of medicine or any other medical treatment and remained loyal to their faith even as Cynthia was dying from cancer. This upbringing became the inspiration for many of Hetfield's lyrics later in his career with Metallica, such as songs like "The God That Failed". 
 
Cynthia Hetfield died of cancer in 1979 when James was 16 years old. After the death of his mother, Hetfield went to live with his older half-brother David. Virgil died in late 1996, during Metallica's Load tour.