Eddie Murphy

American comedian and actor 

Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961)[2] is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He shot to fame on the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time.Murphy has received accolades such as the Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, and an Emmy Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He was honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2015 and the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2023.

Murphy broke out as a movie star in the 1980s films 48 Hrs., Trading Places, and Beverly Hills Cop. He established himself as a leading man with starring roles in: The Golden Child (1986), Coming to America (1988), Harlem Nights (which he also directed) (1989), Boomerang (1992), The Nutty Professor (1996), Dr. Dolittle (1997), Bowfinger (1999), Daddy Day Care (2003) and Norbit (2007). Murphy both won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Dreamgirls (2006).

Murphy has worked as a voice actor, including Mushu in Disney's Mulan (1998), Thurgood Stubbs in the sitcom The PJs (1999?2001), and Donkey in the Shrek franchise (2001?2010), the latter of which he earned a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role nomination. Murphy often takes on multiple roles in a single film, such as in Coming to America , the Nutty Professor films, Bowfinger and Norbit. This is intended as Murphy's tribute to one of his idols, Peter Sellers. After starring in a string of children's films he had a career resurgence with leading roles in films such as Tower Heist (2011), Dolemite Is My Name (2019), Coming 2 America (2021), You People and Candy Cane Lane (both 2023).

In 2020, he won his first Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for hosting Saturday Night Live.[10] Murphy's films have grossed over $3.8 billion ($6.5 billion adjusted for inflation) in the United States and Canada box office,[11] and over $6.7 billion worldwide.[12] In 2015, his films made him the sixth-highest grossing actor in the United States.[13][11] As a singer, Murphy has released three studio albums, including How Could It Be (1985), So Happy (1989), and Love's Alright (1993). He is also known for the hit song "Party All the Time" from 1985.

Murphy was born in Brooklyn, New York City,[2] and raised in the borough's Bushwick neighborhood.[14] His mother, Lillian Murphy (née Laney, later Murphy Lynch), was a telephone operator, and his father, Charles Edward Murphy (1940?1969), was a transit police officer and an amateur actor and comedian.[2][15][16][17][18]

His father was murdered in 1969. Murphy later stated:

My mother and father broke up when I was three and he died when I was eight, so I have very dim memories ... He was a victim of the Murphy charm (laughs). A woman stabbed my father. I never got all the logistics. It was supposed to be one of those crimes of passion: "If I can't have you, no one else will" kind of deal.[19]

When Murphy's single mother became ill, eight-year-old Murphy and his elder brother Charlie (1959?2017) lived in foster care for one year. In interviews, Murphy has said his time in foster care was influential in developing his sense of humor. Later, he and his brother were raised in Roosevelt, New York, by his mother and stepfather Vernon Lynch, a foreman at an ice cream plant.

1976?1980: Early standup career

When Murphy was fifteen, he listened to Richard Pryor's comedy album That Nigger's Crazy, which inspired his decision to become a comedian.[21] As a child, Murphy developed playing multiple characters in imitation of his acting hero, Peter Sellers.[22] Other early influences included Bill Cosby, Redd Foxx, Robin Williams,[15] Muhammad Ali, Bruce Lee, and Charlie Chaplin.[23]

On July 9, 1976, the date with which Murphy marks the beginning of his career, he performed in a talent show at the Roosevelt Youth Center, doing an impersonation of singer Al Green as Green's song "Let's Stay Together" played. This led to work at other clubs within walking distance, and then late-night jobs at locations that required him to commute by train. To do this, he secretly skipped school, and after his mother discovered this at the end of his senior year, he was required to attend summer school.[21]

When Murphy was fifteen, he listened to Richard Pryor's comedy album That Nigger's Crazy, which inspired his decision to become a comedian.[21] As a child, Murphy developed playing multiple characters in imitation of his acting hero, Peter Sellers.[22] Other early influences included Bill Cosby, Redd Foxx, Robin Williams,[15] Muhammad Ali, Bruce Lee, and Charlie Chaplin.[23]

On July 9, 1976, the date with which Murphy marks the beginning of his career, he performed in a talent show at the Roosevelt Youth Center, doing an impersonation of singer Al Green as Green's song "Let's Stay Together" played. This led to work at other clubs within walking distance, and then late-night jobs at locations that required him to commute by train. To do this, he secretly skipped school, and after his mother discovered this at the end of his senior year, he was required to attend summer school.

Relationship and children 

Murphy had two sons in quick succession around the end of the 1980s: Eric (born c.?1989), with then-girlfriend Paulette McNeely; and Christian (born c.?1990), with then-girlfriend Tamara Hood.[86][87]

Murphy began a longtime romantic relationship with Nicole Mitchell after meeting her in 1988 at an NAACP Image Awards show. They lived together for almost two years before getting married at the Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel in New York City on March 18, 1993.[88] Murphy and Mitchell have five children together: Bria, Myles, Shayne, Zola, and Bella.[86][87] In August 2005, Mitchell filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences". The divorce was finalized on April 17, 2006.[89]

Following his divorce from Mitchell, in 2006, Murphy began dating former Spice Girl Melanie Brown, who became pregnant and claimed the child was Murphy's. When questioned about the pregnancy in December 2006, by RTL Boulevard, Murphy told Dutch reporter Matthijs Kleyn, "I don't know whose child that is until it comes out and has a blood test. You shouldn't jump to conclusions, sir." Brown gave birth to a baby girl, Angel Iris Murphy Brown, on Murphy's 46th birthday, April 3, 2007.

On June 22, 2007, representatives for Brown announced that a DNA test had confirmed Murphy was the father.[90] Brown had stated in an interview that Murphy has not sought a relationship with Angel,[91][92] although it was later reported in 2010 that Murphy was getting to know her.[93]

Murphy exchanged vows with film producer Tracey Edmonds, former wife of Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, on January 1, 2008, in a private ceremony on an island off Bora Bora.[94] On January 16, 2008, the couple released a statement describing the ceremony as a symbolic union: "After much consideration and discussion, we have jointly decided that we will forgo having a legal ceremony as it is not necessary to define our relationship further" and that they would remain friends instead of pursue a further romantic relationship.[95] Murphy bought property on Long Island, New York, later that year.[96]

In May 2016, Murphy had a daughter by Australian model Paige Butcher, whom he had been dating since 2012. Murphy and Butcher are also parents of a son born in November 2018.[97] In September 2018 they became engaged to be married.[98] Their son's middle name pays tribute to Murphy's late brother, Charlie, who died of leukemia in 2017.