Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, voice actor, film director, producer, comedian and singer. The box office take from his films makes him the second highest grossing actor in the United States. He was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984, and has worked as a stand-up comedian. He was ranked #10 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.
He has received Golden Globe Award nominations for his performances in 48 Hrs, Beverly Hills Cop series, Trading Places, and The Nutty Professor. In 2007, he won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of soul singer James "Thunder" Early in Dreamgirls, and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the same role.
Murphy's work as a voice actor includes Thurgood Stubbs in The PJs, Donkey in the Shrek series and the dragon Mushu in Disney's Mulan. In some of his films, he plays multiple roles in addition to his main character, intended as a tribute to one of his idols Peter Sellers, who played multiple roles in Dr. Strangelove and elsewhere. Murphy has played multiple roles in Coming to America, Wes Craven's Vampire In Brooklyn, the Nutty Professor films (where he played the title role in two incarnations, plus his father, brother, mother, and grandmother), Bowfinger, and 2007's Norbit.
Early life
Murphy was raised in the
Bushwick neighborhood of
Brooklyn, New York. His mother, Lillian (nee Regan), was a telephone operator, and his father, Charles Edward Murphy, was a transit police officer and an amateur actor and comedian. Murphy and his older brother
Charlie were raised in
Roosevelt, New York by his mother and stepfather Vernon Lynch, a foreman at an ice cream plant. Some of his notable characters included a grown version of the
Little Rascals character
Buckwheat, impoverished but street-wise children's show host Mr. Robinson (a spoof of
Fred Rogers, who found it amusing), and
Gumby,
In 1984, Murphy appeared in Best Defense, co-starring Dudley Moore. Murphy, who was credited as a "Strategic Guest Star", was added to the film after an original version was completed but tested poorly with audiences. Best Defense was a major financial and critical disappointment. When he hosted SNL, Murphy joined the chorus of those bashing Best Defense, calling it "the worst movie in the history of everything". Murphy has been rumored to be initially a part of hits such as Ghostbusters (featuring his Trading Places co-star Dan Aykroyd and fellow SNL alumnus Bill Murray). The part that was originally written with Murphy in mind ultimately went to Ernie Hudson. Murphy was offered a part in 1986's , a role that, after being heavily re-written from comic relief to love interest, ultimately went to future 7th Heaven star Catherine Hicks. By this point Murphy's near-exclusive contract with Paramount Pictures rivaled Star Trek as Paramount's most lucrative franchise.
In 1986, Murphy starred in the supernatural comedy, The Golden Child. a movie Murphy would ultimately denounce during an appearance on Inside the Actors Studio, Murphy was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on January 23, 2007, but lost to Alan Arkin for his performance in Little Miss Sunshine. Dreamgirls was the first film distributed by Paramount Pictures to star Murphy (who once was on an exclusive contract with the studio) since Vampire in Brooklyn in 1995.
In 2007, Murphy was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. As a result of Viacom's acquisition of Dreamworks SKG, Paramount distributed his other 2007 releases: Norbit and Shrek the Third. He starred in the 2008 film Meet Dave and the 2009 film Imagine That for Paramount Pictures.
Murphy is expected to begin work on Beverly Hills Cop IV sometime in the near future, and it is expected that producer Jerry Bruckheimer will not participate in the fourth installment of the series. Murphy recently told The Sun Online that "the new script is looking good". Murphy will also co-star in Tower Heist, Brett Ratner's heist movie. Murphy stars as part of a group of hardworking men who find out they have fallen victim to a wealthy business man's Ponzi scheme, and conspire to rob his high-rise residence. Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick, and Casey Affleck are also starring in the film. Brian Grazer is producing the picture for his Imagine Entertainment shingle, and will be distributed by Universal Pictures on November 4, 2011.
Murphy will star in a new version of The Incredible Shrinking Man.
Personal life
Murphy began a longtime romantic relationship with Nicole Mitchell (born January 5, 1968) 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.. Murphy and Mitchell had five children together: Bria L. Murphy (born November 18, 1989), Myles Mitchell (born November 7, 1992), Shane Audra (born October 10, 1994), Zola Ivy (born December 24, 1999) and Bella Zahra (born January 29, 2002). In August 2005, Mitchell filed for divorce, citing "
irreconcilable differences". The divorce was finalized on April 17, 2006.
In May 1997, Murphy was stopped by police with a transvestite prostitute in his car shortly before the release of Holy Man, causing him a number of public relations problems.
The Murphy family currently resides in Long Island, New York.
Following his divorce from Mitchell, in 2006 he began dating former Spice Girl Melanie B, who became pregnant and stated that the child was Murphy's. When questioned about the pregnancy in December 2006, Murphy told a reporter, "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 in People that a DNA test had confirmed that Murphy was the father. Brown has stated in an interview that Murphy has not sought a relationship with Angel.
Murphy exchanged marriage 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. It was announced on January 16, 2008, that they never legally wed, had decided to forgo legalizing their union, and had instead chosen to remain friends.
Charitable work
Murphy has donated money to the AIDS Foundation, and cancer, education, creative arts, family/parent support, health and homeless charities. He has donated to the
Martin Luther King Jr. Center, various cancer charities and $100,000 to the
Screen Actors' Guild's strike relief fund.
Filmography
Discography
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Singles
Awards/nominations
References
External links
Eddie Murphy on Discogs
Maxim Rated Top SNL performer
Category:1961 births
Category:20th-century actors
Category:21st-century actors
Category:Actors from New York City
Category:African American film actors
Category:Baptists from the United States
Category:African American comedians
Category:African American singers
Category:African American television actors
Category:American comedians
Category:American impressionists (entertainers)
Category:American screenwriters
Category:American stand-up comedians
Category:American television actors
Category:American voice actors
Category:Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (film) winners
Category:Grammy Award winners
Category:Living people
Category:People from Bushwick, Brooklyn
Category:People from Nassau County, New York
Category:Saturn Award winners
