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Arts & Entertainment
Chris Rock:
Comedian, actor, writer
Chris Rock runs his razor-sharp wit up and down the nation's funny bone as he shouts out the truth as he sees it -- always with a slight twist. His reward for this cutting edge is laughter and success in his book, movies and television. Time magazine labeled him "the funniest man in America." During his award-winning HBO program "The Chris Rock Show," he never hesitated to poke fun at everything from politics to show business to racism. And nothing was ever just black or white to him -- there was always that "funny" color in between that made it OK for everyone to laugh.
FULL NAME
Chris Rock
BORN
February 7, 1966, in Georgetown, South Carolina. He was raised in Brooklyn, New York.
EDUCATION
Rock dropped out of school to begin working in East Coast comedy clubs when he turned 17.
CAREER
Comedian Eddie Murphy discovered Rock and cast him in the film "Beverly Hills Cop II" (1987). Rock broke into national television in 1989 when he joined "Saturday Night Live." In 1993, he moved to Fox's "In Living Color." In 1997, he wrote a best-selling book, "Rock This," and began airing comedy specials on HBO. The success of his specials led to the HBO talk show "The Chris Rock Show," which ran until November 2000. Rock's movie credits include supporting roles in "New Jack City" (1991), "Boomerang" (1992), "Doctor Doolittle" (1998) "Lethal Weapon 4" (1998), "Dogma" (1999) and "Nurse Betty" (2000). He starred in "CB4" (1993) and "Down to Earth" (2001), two movies that he co-wrote. He is executive producer of the UPN sitcom "The Hughleys."
AWARDS
Rock was named ShoWest's 2001 Comedy Star of the Year and won a 2000 Grammy for the comedy album "Bigger & Blacker." His 1994 HBO special, "Chris Rock: Big Ass Jokes," won a CableACE award for best entertainment host and Emmys for best writing and outstanding special. His HBO program "The Chris Rock Show" won best variety program in the 2001 National Association of Minorities in Communications Vision Awards and an Emmy for best writing.
PERSONAL
Rock lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Malaak Compton-Rock.
WEBSITE
http://www.hbo.com/rock/
