Chris Rock Biography
Christopher Julius Rock, an American stand-up comedian, actor, and director, was born on February 7, 1965. Rock rose to fame as a stand-up comedian who explored issues like racial tensions, human sexuality, and observational humor with his edgy humor and quick wit. He is also well-known for his work in film, television, and theater. He has won numerous awards, including three Grammys for best comedy album, four Primetime Emmys, a Golden Globe nomination, and four Primetime Emmys overall. On Comedy Central’s selection of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time, he came in at number five. In addition, he came in at number five on Rolling Stone’s list of the top 50 stand-up comedians ever.
Rock rose to fame as a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1993 after years of performing stand-up comedy and small parts in movies like Beverly Hills Cop II (1987). He appeared in the movies New Jack City (1991), Boomerang (1992), and CB4 (1993) while working at SNL. He also wrote and produced each of these movies. With the critically praised 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 famous specials that Rock continued to produce. Based on his early background, he created, wrote, produced, and narrated the sitcom Everybody Hates Chris (2005–2009). His critically praised chat show The Chris Rock Show aired on HBO from 1997 to 2000.
Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), Dogma (1999), Bad Company (2002), The Longest Yard (2005), I Think I Love My Wife (2007), Death at a Funeral (2010), What to Expect When You’re Expecting (2012), Top Five (2014), The Week Of (2018), and Amsterdam (2022) are just a few of the movies in which Rock has been cast in leading parts. His television roles on shows like Louie, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, and Fargo have made him well-known. In 2011’s The Motherfucker with the Hat by Stephen Adly Guirgis, he made his Broadway stage debut. He has served as the host of the Academy Awards, in 2005 and 2016, and at the 2022 ceremony, Will Smith attacked him live on stage.
Chris Rock Early life
Rock was a pioneer of Generation X, having been born on February 7, 1965, in Andrews, South Carolina. His parents relocated to Brooklyn’s Crown Heights area not long after he was born. They moved and lived in Bedford-Stuyvesant, a working-class neighborhood, a few years later. His father, Julius Rock, was a truck driver and newspaper deliveryman, while his mother, Rosalie (née Tingman), was a teacher and social worker for people with mental disabilities. Following ulcer surgery, Julius passed away in 1988.
Six boys and one girl were born to Rock’s parents, making him the oldest of their seven children. Charles Ledell Rock, Rock’s older paternal half-brother, passed away in 2006 due to alcoholism.Tony, Kenny, and Jordan, Rock’s younger siblings, are also involved in the entertainment industry
2008’s episode of African American Lives 2 on PBS featured a profile of Rock’s family background. He is of Cameroonian ancestry, specifically from the Udeme (Ouldémé) 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 maternal grandpa relocated to New York City from South Carolina in the 1940s to work as a taxi driver and preacher.
Rock was bused to schools in Brooklyn communities with a large white population, where he was the target of taunts and assaults by white kids. As Rock became older, the bullying got worse, and his parents decided to withdraw him from James Madison High School. He never returned to high school, but he did eventually obtain a General Educational Development (GED). Rock then performed a variety of tasks in fast-food outlets.
Chris Rock Career
1984–1999: Saturday Night Live and standup
Rock made his stand-up comedy debut in 1984 at Catch a Rising Star in New York City. After witnessing his performance in a bar, Eddie Murphy grew close to and helped the fledgling comedian. Rock got his major break from Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), which was his first movie role.In addition to landing tiny parts in the 1988 movie I’m Gonna Git You Sucka and the TV show Miami Vice, Rock advanced in the comedy circuit.
From 1990 until 1993, Rock was a cast member of the sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live. The Bad Boys of SNL were he and other new cast members Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, and David Spade. He received praise for his performance as a crack addict in the movie New Jack City the same year he released his debut comedy CD, Born Suspect. Rock had widespread recognition during his time on SNL. (In 1996, 2014, and 2020, Rock served as SNL’s host.)
Rock was essentially “fired” from Saturday Night Live since he had intentions to quit after the 1992–1993 season He made a special guest appearance on six episodes of the mostly African American sketch show on Living Color starting that fall. After he arrived, the show was canceled after one month. Rock later created and acted in the $6 million low-budget comedy CB4, which earned $18 million. He agreed to work with 3 Arts Entertainment as a customer.
In 1994, as part of HBO Comedy Half-Hour, Rock hosted his debut comedy special for the network, titled Big Ass Jokes. Rock became one of the most well-known and financially lucrative comedians in the business with his second special, Bring the Pain, which was released in 1996. Rock received a lot of positive reviews for the special and took home two Emmy Awards. “Niggas vs. Black People” was an aspect of the special that generated controversy. He received another Emmy nomination for his highly-publicized work as a commentator for Comedy Central’s Politically Incorrect during the 1996 Presidential elections.
In addition, Rock provided the voice for the “Lil Penny” puppet, Penny Hardaway’s alter persona in a number of Nike shoe advertisements from 1994 to 1998; he also presented the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards. The song “Your Mother’s Got a Big Head” from Rock’s album Born Suspect was the subject of his debut music video. The tracks “Champagne” from Roll With the New and “No Sex (In the Champagne Room)” from Bigger & Blacker by Rock also have music videos.
Later, in 1999 and 2004, respectively, Rock had two more HBO comedy specials: Bigger & Blacker and Never Scared. Rock was referred to as “the funniest man in America” in articles on both programs in Time and Entertainment Weekly. Additionally, Chris Rock’s chat show, The Chris Rock Show, which aired on HBO, received praise from critics for Rock’s discussions with politicians and celebrities. The writing for the program earned an Emmy. He has received 15 nominations and three Emmy Awards for his work in television.
Rock had become recognized as one of the top stand-up comedians and comic brains of his time by the end of the decade. During this time, Rock also published the Grammy Award-winning comedy CDs Roll with the New, Bigger & Blacker, and Never Scared as well as his book Rock This!, which collected his comedic writings. Kill the Messenger, Rock’s fifth HBO special, debuted on September 27, 2008, and it was nominated for another Emmy for outstanding writing for a variety or music program.
Rock did not start getting leading man status in movies until the success of his stand-up performance in the late 1990s. He started the decade with supporting parts in movies like New Jack City (1991), in which he played the crack addict Pookie, in Boomerang (1992), a comedy starring Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy, Beverly Hills Ninja (1997), and Lethal Weapon 4 (1998). He also had an appearance in the 1999 Kevin Smith fantasy comedy Dogma. The movie had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and earned favorable reviews. Actors including Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Alan Rickman, Salma Hayek, and George Carlin were among the ensemble cast members in the movie.
2000–2009: Sitcom and stardom
The next year, on May 11, 2000, he made his Cannes Film Festival debut as the lead in the dark comedy Nurse Betty (2000), which also starred Renée Zellweger, Greg Kinnear, and Morgan Freeman. The movie did well with critics. Rock began to work more and more behind the camera in the latter part of the 2000s. Together with his buddy and comic Louis C.K., he co-wrote the 2001 movie Down to Earth. The 1978 Warren Beatty movie Heaven Can Wait served as the inspiration for the movie. In the same year, Rock also produced and acted in the Pootie Tang (2001) directed by C.K.
The political comedy Head of State (2003) and the marriage comedy I Think I Love My Wife (2007) were both written and directed by Rock. In both movies, he also played the starring role. Along the way, he appeared in movies like The Longest Yard (2005) with Adam Sandler and Bad Company (2002) with Anthony Hopkins.
Everybody Hates Chris (2005–2009)
Everybody Hates Chris, a comedy series that is largely based on Chris Rock’s school years and for which he serves as executive producer and narrator, made its television debut on the UPN network in September 2005. The program has been a ratings and critical success. The show received nominations for two 2006 Primetime Emmy Awards for costume design and cinematography, a 2006 People’s Choice Award for Favorite New Television Comedy, and a 2006 Golden Globe for Best TV Series (Musical or Comedy).
Beginning in 2005, Rock has also provided the quirky zebra Marty’s voice in the Madagascar film series from DreamWorks. In Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2013), two of the movie’s sequels, he played the lead role. In the Jerry Seinfeld animated movie Bee Movie from 2007, Rock provided the voice of Mooseblood the mosquito.
Rock’s first documentary, 2009’s Good Hair, was made available in 2009. The problem of how African-American women have historically viewed and styled their hair is the main subject of the movie. The movie examines the styling market for black women today, as well as American perceptions of what is appropriate and appealing for African American women’s hair and how these relate to African American culture. The movie had its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, where it won a Special Jury Prize and got favorable reviews.
It was ranked among the top five documentaries of the year by the National Board of Review. In addition, Rock received nominations from the Writers Guild of America and the Gotham Awards for Best Documentary and Best Documentary Screenplay, respectively. Rock has recently begun work on a debt-related documentary titled Credit Is the Devil.
2010–2019: Career expansion
His roles in 2010 movies include the black comedy Death at a Funeral (2010), a remake of the same-named British comedy. Peter Dinklage, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, Kevin Hart, Zoe Saldana, and Luke Wilson were the movie’s stars. The Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert gave the movie positive reviews, writing: “I laughed all the way through, in fact. Although it practically acts as a scene-by-scene remake of a 2007 British comedy with the same name, this is the funniest comedy since The Hangover. Along with Adam Sandler, Kevin James, David Spade, and Maya Rudolph, Rock also starred in the 2010 summer comedy Grown Ups.
2011 saw Rock perform on Broadway in The Motherfucker with the Hat by Stephen Adly Guirgis. starring Annabella Sciorra and Bobby Cannavale. Rock was a Drama League Award nominee. Rock said he chose Broadway because he wanted more people to watch him “really act” in an interview with Vibe magazine. It can be challenging for extremely talented filmmakers to see your acting abilities when you do comedy because it tends to be a little formulaic.
With W. Kamau Bell, he co-produced the August 2012 debut of the television program Totally Biased. Chris Rock Enterprises, or simply CR Enterprises, was his production company while he was working as a producer. He co-starred with Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Anna Kendrick, and Elizabeth Banks in the romantic comedy What to Expect When You’re Expecting in 2012. The movie was a financial success even though it received unfavorable reviews. For his work, Rock received a nomination for a Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor – Comedy. He co-starred with Julie Delpy in the romantic comedy 2 Days in New York (2012) that same year.
The movie was a follow-up to Delpy’s earlier movie, 2 Days in Paris (2007). The movie had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was well received by critics who praised the two actors’ chemistry. According to Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter, “Preston Sturges or Howard Hawks would have admired the verbal and attitudinal humor, delivered at a rapid clip in overlapping languages.
Critics have compared the 2014 movie Top Five, which Rock wrote, directed, and starred in, to Woody Allen’s 1980 film Stardust Memories. The movie is a social critique of society and celebrity. The 2014 Toronto International Film Festival hosted the movie’s world premiere. Rock has finally discovered a big-screen vehicle for himself that comes close to capturing the electrifying wit, astute societal observations, and highly autobiographical tone of his standup comedy, according to Scott Foundas, critic for Variety.
Rock delivers the laughs, huge ones, interspersed with razor-sharp observations on everything from pop culture to racial politics, according to Peter Travers’ assessment in Rolling Stone magazine. His assured, sly wit from his stand-up routine has at last made it to the big screen, augmented with a bracing vulnerability. Rock’s best film by far is Top Five.
Eddie Murphy, a fellow comedian and former cast member of Saturday Night Live, was introduced by Rock during the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special on NBC in 2015. Rock also paid tribute to Murphy. Additionally in 2015, Bill Murray and Sofia Coppola’s holiday musical special A Very Murray Christmas included Rock in the lead role. Rock and Murray perform the song “Do You Hear What I Hear?” in the movie. The movie made its Netflix debut and won the Outstanding Television Movie Primetime Emmy Award. Additionally, he played himself in the 2017 Netflix movie Sandy Wexler, starring Adam Sandler. He appeared in the Robert Smigel-directed Netflix comedy The Week Of in 2018, which also starred Adam Sandler. The week leading up to two dads’ children’s weddings is followed in the movie.
He had a fleeting appearance in Eddie Murphy’s comedy Dolemite Is My Name the following year. Murphy played Rudy Ray Moore in the movie, which focused on his career as a stand-up comedian and blaxploitation filmmaker beginning with Dolemite (1975). At the Toronto International Film Festival, the movie had its world premiere.
He directed and appeared in the music video for the Red Hot Chili Peppers song “Hump de Bump”,[48] and has simply appeared in several videos, including the Big Daddy Kane music video “Smooth Operator” as a guy getting his hair cut, one of the many celebrities seen lip-synching in Johnny Cash’s “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”, a cameo in Madonna’s “Bitch I’m Madonna”, and as a Wild West sheriff chasing down an 1889 cowboy version of Lil Nas X in “Old Town Road”.
Rock received $40 million for each of the two new stand-up comedy specials that Netflix would be releasing, it was revealed on October 30, 2016. Chris Rock: Tamborine, the first special, was made available on Netflix on February 14, 2018. The comedy actor Bo Burnham served as the film’s director, and it was shot at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The comedian’s specials were his first to feature live performances in ten years. The program received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Comedy Album.
2020–present
He appeared in Spiral (2021), a Saw franchise revival that dabbled in the horror film genre, in the year 2021. Chris Rock’s answer to the Will Smith slap appears to have been restricted to his March 2023 Netflix comedy special. Rock made a comeback on Netflix on March 4, 2023, with Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, the service’s first-ever live performance. The Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland provided live streaming for the performance. Three Primetime Emmy nominations were made for the special, including two for rock in the categories of Outstanding Variety Special (Live) and Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special.
Chris Rock Academy Awards
2005 ceremony
Rock presided over the 77th Academy Awards ceremony in February 2005. Some saw the choice to have Rock emcee the ceremony as an opportunity to give it “edge” and to make it more current or appealing to younger audiences. In jest, Rock welcomed the audience with, “Welcome to the 77th and LAST Academy Awards!” Rock made a joke about directors hastily rushing production when they can’t get the actors they want: “If you want Tom Cruise and all you can get is Jude Law, wait [to make the film]!” during one segment, asking, “Who is this guy?” in reference to actor Jude Law appearing in what seemed like every movie Rock had seen that year.
In response to the host’s query, Sean Penn, who was visibly upset, entered the stage to deliver the speech. He remarked, “In answer to our host’s question, Jude Law is one of our finest young actors.” (Penn and Law were filming All the King’s Men at the time.) Law was not the only star that Rock made fun of that night, as he once said, “If you want Denzel [Washington] and all you can get is me, wait!” Older Oscar organizers were reportedly unhappy with Rock’s performance since it did not raise the ceremony’s ratings. In an interview before Oscar night, Rock was also slammed for calling the Oscars “idiotic” and said that heterosexual guys do not watch them.
2016 ceremony
The 88th Academy Awards would be hosted by Rock, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirmed on October 21, 2015. Rock was asked to join a boycott of the award show when it became clear that no ethnic minorities had received any acting nominations. Rock rejected, saying during the ceremony that it wouldn’t have made much of a difference because the show would have gone on as usual with him being replaced. Instead, during the performance, Rock expressed his concerns about the lack of diversity in AMPAS, concluding by stating that “Black Lives Matter”.
Critics largely complimented Rock’s performance. “Rock’s Oscars” had some of the most moving moments in the history of the show, according to Los Angeles Times reviewer Mary McNamara. It was daring and successful of him to answer the issue, “Is Hollywood racist? Rock’s performance was praised for being “evenhanded without being wishy-washy” by James Poniewozik of the New York Times, who also said that he served as “an example of something the industry is still trying to learn: that you can achieve both inclusion and entertainment by giving the right person just the right opportunity.”
2022 ceremony
In March 2022, Rock gave the Best Documentary Feature award at the 94th Academy Awards. Rock made light of Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head during the event, comparing it to Demi Moore’s movie G.I. Jane, saying: “Jada, I love ya. “I can’t wait to see G.I. Jane 2!” Alopecia areata caused Pinkett Smith to shave her head. Rock said, “Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me,” as her husband, Will Smith, walked on stage in response to Rock’s joke. Back in his seat, Smith twice yelled at Rock, “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth!” Rock continued, claiming that this “was the greatest night in television history.”
Later that evening, Smith was elected Best Actor for King Richard. In his victory speech, he expressed regret to the Academy and the other nominees but not to Rock. Rock declined to report the incident to the Los Angeles Police Department.
A public Instagram post by Smith the next day, in response to controversy, included a formal apology to Rock and the statement that “a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.” Additionally, he admitted that “I was out of line” and that his actions were “unacceptable and inexcusable. Later that month, at a stand-up show in Boston, Rock said that Smith had not been in touch with him directly and that they had not communicated since the ceremony.
On social media, there were rumors that Rock had expressed regret, but they were refuted. No official public apology from Rock to Smith or Pinkett Smith has been made.
Chris Rock Comedic style and views
Rock’s themes frequently touch on matters of family, politics, romance, music, celebrities, and American racial relations. Despite not being completely autobiographical, a large portion of Rock’s comedic perspective appears to have its roots in his adolescent years. His conservative parents, worried about the shortcomings of the neighborhood school system, arranged to have the adolescent Rock bused to a nearly all-white high school in Bensonhurst. He recounts, “My parents assumed I’d get a better education in a better neighborhood,” in his autobiography Rock This. In reality, I had a worse education in a worse area. As well as numerous ass-whippings.
Rock has remained steadfast in his belief—expressed in his 1996 Roll With The New performance and reaffirmed in his 1997 autobiography—that the public shouldn’t expect entertainers to behave better than the rest of us. It’s absurd since, of course, this only applies to black entertainers. No one ever commends Jerry Seinfeld for being an excellent role model. You need to be a leader and an entertainer because white people are now universally expected to act appropriately. It’s excessive When asked about paparazzi and other unfavorable parts of celebrity, Rock, who is frequently the focus of tabloids, responded that he accepts the good with the bad: “You can’t be happy that fire cooks your food and be mad it burns your fingertips.”
Rock branded the crowd “motherfuckers” and yelled “shit” before presenting the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the London Live Earth concert on July 7, 2007, which was live aired on the BBC. After a brief pause, Rock clarified that he was joking. Rock was abruptly cut off due to the show starting at 5:45 p.m., and the BBC apologized for his usage of the term “motherfucker” on many occasions.
Since he was a little child, Chris Rock has been a devoted supporter of the New York Mets baseball team. In a 2011 interview with David Letterman, he lamented that his group “had no money.”
George W. Bush was referred to as “the worst president ever” by Rock in a 2008 tirade on his Kill the Messenger tour.
Rock expressed resistance to scrapping culture in May 2021. He claimed that as a result, comedians have produced “boring” and “unfunny” material. He added that there is a built-in mechanism for audiences to let comedians know when their material is ineffective, such as when people aren’t laughing at their jokes. The next thing Rock said was, “No one wants to move. Not a good place to be, that. We should be allowed to fail because it’s an essential component of art, you know.
Rock has acknowledged that his preacher paternal grandfather Allen Rock’s stage presence had an impact on him. Bill Cosby, Redd Foxx, Dick Gregory, Flip Wilson, Richard Pryor, Steve Martin, Pigmeat Markham, Woody Allen, Bill Maher, Eddie Murphy, Sam Kinison, George Carlin, Mort Sahl, and Rodney Dangerfield are among comedians Rock has been influenced by.
Dave Chappelle, Christian Finnegan,[86] George Lopez, Kevin Hart, and Trevor Noah are comedians who have credited Rock as an inspiration.
Chris Rock Personal life
Malaak Compton-Rock and Rock were wed on November 23, 1996. StyleWorks is a non-profit, full-service hair salon that offers free services to women transitioning off of welfare and into the employment. Compton-Rock is the founder and executive director of this salon. Their residence was in Alpine, New Jersey. With their two daughters, Rock filed for divorce from Compton-Rock in December 2014. Rock acknowledged having an addiction to pornography and cheating on his wife. August 22, 2016, marked the finalization of the divorce.
Rock reached a settlement with the subject of a sexual assault case in 2012. Rock has disputed that the rape ever took place and was never prosecuted with the crime. According to the accuser, “she wanted the court papers public so people, especially those in her native Hungary, would know her version of a story in which she is often portrayed as a gold digger”
Rock frequently speaks of the daily prejudice he encounters “despite being famous” and has advocated against the racial profiling of African-Americans. Rock and Seinfeld are stopped by the police for speeding while Seinfeld was driving in a 2013 episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee with Jerry Seinfeld. Rock confesses to Seinfeld in the episode, “If you weren’t here, I’d be afraid. Yes, I am still renowned and black. In the initial three months of 2015, Rock was stopped three times. Every time, Rock shared a selfie of the encounter without elaborating on the circumstances surrounding the stops or whether he had received a ticket.
On August 20, 2019, Rock and a number of other A-listers contributed to a capital round for the California-based cannabis company Lowell Herb Co. He has a reputation for being “a dedicated cannabis consumer.”
Rock revealed on September 18, 2020 that he had a neurological disease called a non-verbal learning disability, which makes it challenging for him to comprehend non-verbal social cues. Rock tweeted on September 19, 2021, that he has tested positive for COVID-19. He fervently urged his people to get immunized.
Rock reportedly began dating actress, screenwriter, and director Lake Bell on July 7, 2022, according to a report.
Chris Rock Discography
Live albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B /HH |
||
| Born Suspect |
|
— | — |
| Roll with the New |
|
93 | 41 |
| Bigger & Blacker |
|
44 | 23 |
| Never Scared |
|
— | — |
Standup specials
- Chris Rock: Big Ass Jokes (released on HBO, 1994)
- Chris Rock: Bring the Pain (released on HBO, 1996)
- Chris Rock: Bigger & Blacker (released on HBO, 1999)
- Chris Rock: Never Scared (released on HBO, 2004)
- Chris Rock: Kill the Messenger (released on HBO, 2008)
- Chris Rock: Tamborine (released on Netflix 2018)
- Chris Rock: Selective Outrage (released on Netflix 2023)
Where is Chris Rock originally from?
In the American state of South Carolina, the town of Andrews is located in both Williamsburg and Georgetown counties. At the 2010 census, there were 2,861 people living there overall, down from 3,068 in 2000. general-purpose airport The Robert F. Swinnie Airport is located 2 miles east of the city’s main commercial area.
How many biological children does Chris Rock have?
Lola Simone Rock and Zahra Savannah Rock, his two biological kids, and Ntombi-Futhi Samantha, his adopted daughter, make up his trio of daughters.
How much did Netflix pay Chris Rock?
Rock was reportedly paid $20 million per special, which is more than A-list comics like Louis C.K., Jerry Seinfeld, and Amy Schumer have reportedly received from Netflix, according to a report from THR at the time.
Who is Chris Rock new wife?
As of right now, Chris Rock is single. Malaak Compton-Rock, with whom he was married, filed for divorce from him in 2016. Chris Rock and Malaak Compton-Rock were wed for almost 20 years.
How much is Chris Rock’s ex-wife worth?
What is the wealth of Malaak Compton Rock? American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and actress Malaak Compton Rock has a $30 million fortune. Chris Rock’s ex-wife Malaak Compton Rock is most known for this.
