Lautner was born on February 11, 1992 in Grand Rapids, Michigan to Deborah and Daniel Lautner.[2] His mother works for a software development company, while his father is a Midwest Airlines pilot.[2][3] He has one younger sister named Makena.[2] Raised as a Roman Catholic,[4][5] Lautner is of mixed German, French, and Dutch heritage, and has "distant" Native American ancestry (specifically Ottawa and Potawatomi) through his mother.[6][7] Lautner grew up in Hudsonville, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids.[8]
As a child, he took up his first karate class at Fabiano's Karate the age of six.[2] A year later, he attended his national karate tournament in Louisville, Kentucky, where he met Mike Chat, the founder of extreme martial arts. Chat invited Lautner to a camp he held at University of California, Los Angeles.[2] Lautner trained with Chat for several years, earning his black belt by the age of eight, and winning several junior world championships.[8] He appeared in an ISKA karate event televised on ESPN in 2003 that was later lampooned on the sports-comedy show Cheap Seats that first aired in 2006.[9]
Chat, who once portrayed the Blue Ranger in Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue, suggested to Lautner that he take up acting.[2] For a few years, the Lautners flew from Michigan to Los Angeles for auditions when his talent agency called, and returned to Grand Rapids for school sometimes the same day.[2] Lautner balanced karate and acting with being on the football and baseball teams at his school, and taking up jazz and hip-hop dance.[10] After that became tiring, Lautner and his family decided to move to California for a month, to try it out, before moving to Santa Clarita, California permanently in 2002.[2][10]
In an interview, Lautner stated that when he was younger he was bullied because he was an actor.[14] He commented, "I just had to tell myself I can't let this get to me. This is what I love to do. And I'm going to continue doing it."[14] Lautner has an intricate workout plan, which was covered by Men's Health, and has a specific diet after developing his body for The Twilight Saga: New Moon.[3] In addition, he still practices and trains in martial arts regularly.[3][14] He has stated that he is drug and alcohol free.[14]
Lautner resides in Valencia, California with his parents and younger sister.[3] The actor also stated that he enjoys the small-town feel in Valencia, which is a planned community of Santa Clarita, California, in Los Angeles County, where Mitchel Musso and Ashley Tisdale also reside.[3] Although it only cuts down on a few, Lautner has stated he prefers living in the town because it is not as paparazzi-heavy.[3] Lautner has said that he has never thought of moving out on his own yet, stating, "The thing I love is that my home life hasn't changed. I still help out with the garbage. I still help out with the lawn."[3] He owns a BMW 5 series, which have tinted windows for obscurity.[3]
In 2009, Lautner was linked romantically to American country pop singer Taylor Swift and American actress and pop singer Selena Gomez. Between April and May 2009, Lautner was rumored to be in a relationship with Gomez after they were spotted numerous times together, however nothing was confirmed.[48] By June 2009 the duo had reportedly broken up.[49] Reportedly, Lautner and Swift began dating in October 2009 after meeting on the set of their film, Valentine's Day.[50] The pair insinuated a relationship during separate episodes as hosts of Saturday Night Live.[50] It was revealed that they broke up in December 2009, with sources citing lack of chemistry and deciding they were better friends.[50] Other sources said that Lautner was more interested than Swift,[50] and others said that the romance was overblown and not serious from the start.[51] The song "Back to December" from Swift's third album, Speak Now, is rumored to be an apology to Lautner.[51] The first time Swift has apologized in a song, she said it was about a person who deserved the song, further commenting, "This is about a person who was incredible to me, just perfect to me in a relationship, and I was really careless with him."[51] Media pointed out the song had blatant references to Lautner, with Swift referring to her former significant other as tanned skinned, with a "sweet smile."[52]
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