A phenom almost from the moment he could first kick a soccer ball, David Beckham began playing for Manchester United, England's legendary soccer team, at age 18, and was a starter by age 20. In 2007, he signed a five-year, $250 million contract with the L.A. Galaxy. In May 2013, he announced plans to retire.

Early Years

Born on May 2, 1975, in Leytonstone, London, England, to parents Ted Beckham, an appliance repairman, and his wife Sandra, a hair stylist, Beckham was the family's only son. A middle child between two sisters, Beckham grew up with parents and siblings who were committed fans of Manchester United, England's legendary soccer franchise.

At an early age, Beckham showed his own promise as a footballer, winning the coveted Bobby Charlton Soccer Schools National Skills competition at 11 years old. His talent soon caught the notice of Manchester United team officials, who asked him to try out for the club's youth league. By the age of 16, Beckham had left home and was playing for United's training division. Two years later he made the club, and by 1995, he was a full-time starter.

World-Wide Star for Manchester United

Beckham wasted little time in making a splash on the English soccer landscape. The talented goal scorer was named the Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year in 1997. A year later, he was one of the leading faces of England's World Cup team. In 1998, Beckham, who'd already signed a deal with Adidas, netted $13 million in endorsement deals.

In 1999, he led Manchester United to the Premier League title, the FA Cup championship and the Champions League title. Thanks to a last-minute free kick against Greece in 2001, England qualified for the 2002 World Cup. That same year, Beckham signed a three-year $22 million contract to remain with Manchester United.

But Beckham's time with United proved to be shorter than anyone thought. In 2003, he was acquired by Real Madrid in a stunner of a deal that brought to light Beckham's growing rift with Manchester's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.

Spanish soccer fans were thrilled to have their archrival join their team. Americans, meanwhile, were just getting to know him with the release of the movie, Bend It Like Beckham (2002), a movie that tells the story of a young girl who bucks her family's traditional ways and falls in love with English soccer.

Moving to the L.A. Galaxy

America's fascination with Beckham and his decade of dominance culminated in 2007 when the soccer great moved across the Atlantic to sign a reported five-year, $250 million deal with the L.A. Galaxy. The relocation was as much about giving Victoria Beckham's career a boost (she helped drive the decision to move to the States) as it was to give America's Major League Soccer a shot in the arm. Within 48 hours of the signing, the Galaxy sold more than 5,000 season tickets.

Beckham's career after moving to the United States, however, was been a rocky one. He was beset by injuries, spraining a knee ligament his first season in L.A., and later missed out on a chance to play in the 2010 World Cup because of an Achilles tendon injury.

In 2012, Beckham furthered his success by venturing into a new commercial endeavor, starting an underwear line for the company H&M. As part of Beckham's marketing campaign with H&M, six 10-foot statues of the soccer star in his underwear were installed in New York City; others were installed in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Retirement

On May 16, 2013 — just days after winning a title with French club Paris Saint-Germain — the 38-year-old Beckham announced that he would be retiring at the end of the 2013 season, ending his 21-year soccer career.

"I wouldn't have achieved what I have done today without my family. I'm grateful for my parents' sacrifice, which made me realize my dreams," Beckham said in a statement. "I owe everything to Victoria and the kids, who have given me the inspiration and support to play at the highest level for such a long period... If you had told me as a young boy I would have played for and won trophies with my boyhood club Manchester United, proudly captained and played for my country over 100 times and lined up for some of the biggest clubs in the world, I would have told you it was a fantasy. I'm fortunate to have realized those dreams."

By 2013, Beckham had become credited as England's wealthiest sportsman, reportedly earning more than $46 million annually. The following year Beckham announced plans — along with fellow investors — to expand the Major League Soccer franchise with a new team in Miami.

Philanthropy

Beckham has been involved in numerous charity work over the years, most notably serving as a UNICEF UK ambassador in the arena of children and sports development.

Wife and Kids

In 1997, Beckham met Victoria Adams, also known as "Posh Spice" of the Spice Girls. The two quickly fell in love, and on March 4, 1999, they had their first child, a son they named Brooklyn Joseph. Two months later, Beckham and Victoria tied the knot at a lavish $800,000 wedding at a castle outside of Dublin, Ireland.

The couple went on to have three more children: sons Romeo and Cruz and daughter Harper.

Appearances in films

Beckham never personally appeared in the 2002 film Bend It Like Beckham, except in archive footage. He and his wife wanted to make cameo appearances, but scheduling proved difficult, so the director used lookalike Andy Harmer instead.

Beckham makes a cameo appearance with Zinedine Zidane and Raúl, in the 2005 film Goal!. Harmer also doubled for him in the party scene. Beckham himself appears in the sequel Goal II: Living the Dream in a larger role, when the film's lead character gets transferred to Real Madrid. This time, the story centres on the Real Madrid team, with other Madrid players also appearing on and off the pitch, alongside the fictional characters. Though the use of stock footage from the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Beckham appeared in Goal III: Taking on the World, which was released straight to DVD on 15 June 2009.

In 2013, British business magazine Marketing Week wrote of his "somewhat limited acting skills". Through his friendship with Guy Ritchie, he has made two cameo appearances in Ritchie's films: as a projectionist in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (based on the 1964 MGM television series of the same name), and as Trigger in King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.

Beckham has played along to jokes about his voice. In a 2018 promo for Deadpool 2, Beckham is seen watching the first instalment of the film franchise in which Ryan Reynolds' character compares Beckham's voice to inhaling helium. Beckham is seen rolling his eyes at the voice jibe before receiving an apology text from Deadpool. Beckham answers his door to the antihero who presents him with milk and cookies, before Deadpool knocks again and has a bunch of helium-filled red balloons.

Outside football

Beckham's relationship and marriage to Victoria, who has been famous in her own right as part of the Spice Girls, contributed to his celebrity beyond football.

Beckham became known as a fashion icon, and together with Victoria, the couple became lucrative spokespeople sought after by clothing designers, health and fitness specialists, fashion magazines, and perfume and cosmetics manufacturers. Early endorsements included the British hair styling brand Brylcreem for £4 million in 1997 which saw him appear in UK commercials. In 2002 he was hailed as the ultimate "metrosexual" by the man who invented the term and has been described as such by numerous other articles since. The various iconic hairstyles he sported throughout his career – including a buzz cut, a Mowhawk, and a ponytail – were widely covered in the media. This honorific has been in dispute, however, since Beckham signed a deal with Qatar to become a brand ambassador for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. While heterosexual, Beckham actively courted a gay fanbase and openly supported gay media, preferring to give interviews to publications that supported the LGBTQ community. He came to be called a "gay icon" – a term he embraces – for his popularity and support among the gay community. Qatar persecutes LGBT people, causing many gay fans of Beckham and public LGBTQ figures such as Joe Lycett and Josh Cavallo to demand his status as a gay icon be rescinded. Beckham defended his status as a brand ambassador in a statement on 18 November, saying that the World Cup will be "[a platform for] progress, inclusivity and tolerance". On 20 November, Lycett responded on a livestream by appearing to shred £10,000 that he had promised would be given to charity had Beckham pulled out of the deal, which Lycett later revealed to have faked.

The Beckhams were paid $13.7 million in 2007 to launch his fragrance line in the United States In the world of fashion, David has already appeared on the covers of many magazines. US covers have included the men's magazine Details, and with his wife for the August 2007 issue of W. According to Google, "David Beckham" was searched for more than any other sports topic on their site in 2003 and 2004. According to Ask Jeeves, Beckham ranked third, after Britney Spears and Osama bin Laden, among subjects most searched for by British users of that site in the first decade of the 2000s.