Chris Rock

Chris Rock married the executive director of a not-for-profit salon, Malaak Compton, in 1996 and split up in 2016. The couple have two daughters Lola and Zahra.

Chris Rock was born on 7 February 1965, in Andrews Town of South Carolina and soon after his family relocated to Brooklyn in New York City. The family again shifted to Bedford-Stuyvesant, a working class locality in Brooklyn and settled in that neighborhood.

His father, Christopher Julius Rock II, worked as a newspaper deliverer and truck driver while his mother, Rose Rock, was employed as a teacher in a school for the mentally retarded. Chris Rock was the eldest of all the children born to his parents and had three younger brothers, Jordan, Kenny, and Tony.

All his three brothers followed him to pursue careers in the entertainment industry. His father succumbed to ulcer in 1988. He also had an older stepbrother, Charles who passed away in 2006 following an extended struggle with dipsomania.

Chris has admitted that Allen Rock, his paternal grandfather, a parson by profession had a great influence on his comedy style. His grandfather moved to New York City from South Carolina in the 40s, working as a preacher and cabbie.

Since Brooklyn’s neighborhoods were dominated by white people who made up the bulk of the populace, Chris Rock had to put up with scathing racial discrimination because of his skin color. He remembers going to James Madison High School in a separate bus that exclusively ferried black students.

After dropping out of school, Chris Rock did odd jobs at several fast-food joints and cafeterias to make ends meet. He laid the foundations of his career as a standup comedian in 1984 by performing in the nightclubs and comedy clubs of New York City, including at ‘Catch a Rising Star’.

Many celebrated humorists and satirists, including the likes of Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, Billy Crystal, and Jerry Seinfeld had honed their skills at ‘Catch a Rising Star’. For a brief period, Chris Rock cleaned tables at the oldest comedy club of NYC, ‘The Comic Strip Live’ in order to get some extra onstage time.

Rock, slowly and gradually inched his way upwards, through the rank and file of New York City’s comedic industry. His initial success and fame helped him to land small parts in movies including ‘Krush Grove’, ‘Comedy’s Dirtiest Dozen’ and ‘I’m Gonna Git You Sucka’ as well as TV serials, like ‘Miami Vice’ and ‘Uptown Comedy Express’.

Eddie Murphy, acclaimed comedian and actor spotted Chris while he was performing at ‘The Comic Strip’. Impressed by his performance, Murphy offered him the part of ‘playboy mansion valet’ in the 1987 film ‘Beverly Hills Cop II’ which was his debut movie role.

In 1990, he was selected to host ‘Saturday Night Live’ (SNL) the hugely popular comedy series that put him on par with other newly recruited cast members like Adam Sandler, David Spade, Rob Schneider, and Chris Farley. In the following year, he came up with his first comedy record titled ‘Born Suspect’.

Chris Rock’s stupendous success as a standup comedian towards the end of the 1990s helped him to bag crucial roles in feature films, many of which went on to become blockbusters. Initially, he fulfilled supporting parts in movies like ‘Beverly Hills Ninja’ (1997), ‘Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), ‘Nurse Betty’ (2000), Sgt Bilko (1996) and ‘The Immortals’ (1995).

Chris made his mark on the big screen by doing full justice to roles in the movies, ‘The Longest Yard’ (2005), ‘I Think I Love My Wife’ (2007), ‘Death at a Funeral’ (2010), ‘Grown Ups’ (2010), and ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’ (2012).

Chricj Rock also went behind-the-scenes, demonstrating his skills as a scriptwriter, director, and voiceover actor. He has shared screen space with several celebrated Hollywood actors and actresses including but not limited to Anthony Hopkins, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Renee Zellweger, and Salma Hayek.