M I C H A E L   C O R L E O N E

Born in 1920, he was the youngest son of Don Vito Corleone, the leader of the Corleone crime family. Michael had two older brothers, Fredo and Santino (Sonny), and a sister, Constanzia (Connie). Initially, Michael wanted nothing to do with his "family business". He was a decorated hero of World War II and attended college. But that changed when his father was nearly assassinated in 1946. Michael volunteered to murder the men responsible. He pulled through with the plan and had to flee to Sicily for two years. While there, he was briefly married to a Sicilian named Apollonia, however, she was accidentally killed by a car bomb meant for Michael.

After returning to New York, Michael married his longtime girlfriend Kay Adams in 1950; she wanted to believe he was not like his father and wanted him to legitimize the family business. But after his father's death in 1955, Michael took control of the Corleone crime business and became the new Don. He arranged for the murders of the leaders of the Mafia's ruling families and also arranged for the the murder of Carlo, his sister Connie's husband. While this was happening, Michael was in fact present at the baptism of Connie's baby and was named the baby's godfather.

Over the years, Michael did try to make the family legitimate, but his enemies kept him involved with the criminal underworld. One murder that Michael ordered was that of his brother Fredo, who had unintentionally provided Michael's enemy with information used to try to assassinate him. This haunted Michael for the rest of his life. Michael did make the family business legit when he started a world bank, Immobiliare. However, he was pulled back into the crime business when he took Vinnie Mancini-Corleone (Sonny's illegitimate son) under his wing. Vinnie began a relationship with Mary, Michael's daughter, a romance Michael did not approve of. Michael appointed Vinnie as the new Don if he would stop dating Mary. Vinnie agreed but that same night Mary was killed in an assassination attempt meant for Michael. Michael, distraught over the loss of his daughter, lost all interest in the family business and retired to Sicily.