Chris Rock was born on February 7, 1965, making him 58 years old as of May 2023.
Christopher Julius Rock, an American stand-up comedian, actor, and director, rose to fame as a stand-up comedian who, with his sharp wit and edgy humor, tackled issues like racial tensions, sexuality, and observational humor. He is also well-known for his stage, screen, and television performances.
He has won numerous honors, including a Golden Globe Award nomination, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and three Grammy Awards for best comedy album. On Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time, he came in at number five. On Rolling Stone's list of the 50 Greatest Stand-Up Comedians of All Time, he was listed as No. 5.
What is Chris Rock known for?
After spending years performing stand-up comedy and playing supporting roles in films like "Beverly Hills Cop II" (1987), Rock rose to fame as a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show "Saturday Night Live" from 1990 to 1993. He appeared in the films "New Jack City" (1991), "Boomerang" (1992), and "CB4" (1993) while working at SNL, and with the critically acclaimed "Bring the Pain" in 1996, he became a well-known actor.
"Bigger & Blacker" (1999), "Never Scared" (2004), "Kill the Messenger" (2008), "Tamborine" (2018), and "Selective Outrage" (2023) are just a few of the popular specials that Rock has continued to produce. Based on his early life, he created, wrote, produced, and narrated the sitcom "Everybody Hates Chris" (2005–2009). His critically acclaimed talk show, "The Chris Rock Show," aired on HBO from 1997 to 2000.
In addition to "Nurse Betty" (1999), "Down to Earth" (2001), "Pootie Tang" (2001), "Head of State" (2003), "The Longest Yard" (2005), the "Madagascar" film series (2005–2012), "I Think I Love My Wife" (2007), "Death at a Funeral" (2010), "Grown Ups" (2010), "Grown Ups 2" (2013), "Top Five" (2014), and "Spiral" (2021), Rock was cast in starring roles in a number of other films.
Rock is also well-known for his television portrayals, which have included "Fargo," "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee," and "Louie." In 2011's "The Motherfucker with the Hat" by Stephen Adly Guirgis, he made his Broadway theater debut. He twice served as the host of the Academy Awards, in 2005 and 2016, and at the 2022 ceremony, he and Will Smith got into an altercation on stage.
Where is Chris Rock from?
Rock's parents relocated to Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood after his birth in Andrews, South Carolina. They moved and settled in Bedford-Stuyvesant, a working-class neighborhood, a few years later. His father, Julius Rock, was a truck driver and a newspaper delivery man, and his mother, Rosalie, was a teacher and a social worker for people with mental disabilities. Following ulcer surgery, Julius passed away in 1988.
Rock, the oldest of his parents' seven children (six boys and one girl), also had an older half-brother, Charles Ledell Rock, who passed away in 2006 due to alcoholism. Tony, Kenny, and Jordan, Rock's younger brothers, work in the industry as well. A 2008 episode of “African American Lives 2” on PBS featured a profile of Rock's family history. He is of Cameroonian ancestry, specifically from the Udeme people of northern Cameroon, according to a DNA test.
Julius Caesar Tingman, Rock's great-great-grandfather, was held as a slave for 21 years before enlisting in the United States Colored Troops to fight in the American Civil War. Rock's paternal grandfather relocated to New York City in the 1940s to work as a taxi driver and preacher after leaving South Carolina.
Rock was bused to schools in Brooklyn neighborhoods with a large white population, where he was the target of taunts and assaults from white students. The bullying got worse as Rock got older, and his parents ended up removing him from James Madison High School. He never attended high school and later received a General Educational Development (GED) degree.
What happened at the 2022 Academy Awards?
In March 2022, Chris Rock presented the Best Documentary Feature award at the 94th Academy Awards.
Rock made fun of Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head at the ceremony and compared it to Demi Moore's in G.I. Jane, saying, "Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2, can't wait to see it!". In response to Rock's joke, her husband Will Smith walked onto the stage and hit Rock, who said, "Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me."
Back in his seat, Smith twice yelled at Rock, "Keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth!" Rock continued, "This was the greatest night in television history." Later that evening, Smith was named Best Actor for “King Richard.” In his acceptance speech, he expressed regret to the Academy and the other nominees but not to Rock. Rock chose not to report the incident to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Pinkett Smith shaved her head because of alopecia areata, which is a type of autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss on the scalp and other parts of the body. The following day, in response to criticism, Smith publicly apologized to Rock on Instagram, saying that "a joke about Jada's medical condition was too much for me to bear, and I reacted emotionally."
He added that his actions were "unacceptable and inexcusable" and that he had "stepped out of line." Later that month, at a stand-up show in Boston, Rock claimed that Smith had not gotten in touch with him directly and that they had not spoken since the ceremony.
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