Van Damme — 65: romance with a Ukrainian woman, love for the Russian Federation and major films (photo)

), as well as ballet, which helped him develop flexibility, a characteristic manner of movement in the cinema. Van Damme's success came with roles where he combined acrobatics, stunts and physical training. In 2025, the French action-comedy film "The Gardener" was released, where Jean-Claude Van Damme plays the role of a gardener who knows a dangerous secret: his name appears on a list of people to be eliminated, and he has to protect his family.

The birthday boy still stays in shape, does sports (including martial arts), makes some public appearances. Van Damme is not "not alive" in cinema, he is still acting, appears in international projects (especially in Europe), but is no longer at the level of a "massive Hollywood action hero" as in the 90s. In particular, Van Damme had health problems at various times, including mental health, addictions, and relations with the media.

He himself stated that he was on the "black list" in certain circles because of his behavior. This is one of his signature "chips", which has become legendary. Jubilee became famous for his incredible flexibility and strength, showing the splits in many films and even in commercials. This is, for the most part, transverse splits (legs spread to the side by 180 degrees), which he often performs in very unusual conditions. For example, in a commercial between two Volvo trucks.

On April 16, 2025, a video went viral on the Internet, in which the actor is sitting next to the former People's Deputy from the "Party of Regions" Oleksandr Onishchenko, who fled Ukraine in 2016 after the removal of parliamentary immunity and accusations of treason. "Hello, Mr. Vladimir Putin, how are you? In any case, I am going to Russia, if you please, to your Motherland. We will not talk about politics, only about peace, sports and happiness. We love you," said the actor.

Van Damme had a relationship with Ukrainian Olena Kaverina, whom he dated for more than 10 years. In 2022, the birthday boy even came to Ukraine, namely to Uzhhorod. There he met with a doctor in one of the city's private medical institutions. Interestingly, despite this, he is still married to Gladys Portugues. They have two children together: Christopher and Bianca.  The actor has another son, Nicholas, from his marriage to Darcy Lapierre.