Actually, he's technically a New Zealander. Crowe was born in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1964 and moved with his family to Sydney, Australia, at the tender age of four. When he was 14, the family moved back to New Zealand where he completed his education, only to return to Australia again at the age of 21.
When Crowe rose to international fame after winning an Academy Award for his portrayal of the Roman General Maximus in the movie Gladiator, the Australians were quick to claim him as their own.
They bestowed on him the Australian Centenary Medal for "service to Australian society and Australian film production, and he was also subsequently made into a postage stamp as part of the range of stamps celebrating Australian legends.
In 2006, Crowe was intending to become an Australian citizen, but a legal loophole prevented him from completing this task. The Australian immigration law requires potential immigrants to be resident in the country for contiguous periods of time, something Crowe finds difficult with his grueling schedule. He spent more than a year out of the country filming Gladiator alone.
To this day, Crowe is still unable to claim citizenship of the country he calls home. Crowe was recently quoted as saying he seems to fall between the cracks when it comes to Australian immigration laws.
