Martin Lawrence

The fourth of six children, Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence was born on April 16, 1965, in Frankfurt, West Germany. His father, John Lawrence, was serving in the U.S. military at the time of his birth.[1] Lawrence's first and middle names were named after civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and U.S. President John F. Kennedy, respectively.[1] When Lawrence was seven, his father left the military, and the family moved from West Germany back to the United States, settling in Landover, Maryland, in the Washington, D.C., area.[1] Following his parents' divorce when he was eight years old, Lawrence rarely saw his father, who was a police officer.[2] His mother, Chlora (née Bailey), worked several jobs, including as a sales representative and cashier at various department stores to support her family.[3][4]

During his teen years, Lawrence excelled at boxing.[1] While living in Maryland, Lawrence attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School[1] and Friendly High School, and he lived in Apple Grove, becoming a Mid-Atlantic Golden Gloves boxing contender.[5]

In his early days, Lawrence did comedy shows in the Washington, D.C., area and supported himself through odd jobs. Comedian Ritch Snyder saw his act and suggested Lawrence make connections in New York.[6] Lawrence ended up moving to New York City and found his way to the comedy club The Improv. Shortly after appearing at The Improv, Lawrence won a performance spot on Star Search.[1] He did well on the show and made it to the final round, but did not win. However, executives at Columbia Pictures Television saw Martin's performance and offered him the role of Maurice Warfield in What's Happening Now!!; this was his first acting job.[1] Upon cancellation of that show, Lawrence found bit parts in various films and television series. His breakthrough role was as Cee in Do the Right Thing. Other roles followed in films such as the House Party series, Talkin' Dirty After Dark, and the Eddie Murphy vehicle Boomerang. During this period, entertainment mogul Russell Simmons selected him to host the groundbreaking series Def Comedy Jam on HBO. Def Comedy Jam gave many comedians (including Chris Tucker, Dave Chappelle, Mike Epps, Bernie Mac and Cedric the Entertainer) mainstream exposure.

During his stint with Def Comedy Jam, Lawrence appeared in his own hit series, Martin, which aired on Fox.[1] The show ran from 1992 to 1997 and was an enormous success. Martin was the flagship of Fox's Thursday night line-up, which drew millions of viewers away from NBC's "Must See TV" line-up. He hosted Saturday Night Live on February 19, 1994, where he made crude remarks about women's genitalia and personal hygiene; the offensive portion of the monologue was edited out of NBC reruns and syndicated versions and Lawrence was banned from NBC for a period of time until he received an apology from the President of NBC at the time Warren Littlefield.[7] Martin's ratings continued to skyrocket so much that Fox became more of a contender against NBC and came closer to being considered among the top television networks. In 1995 he acted alongside Will Smith in Bad Boys with wide success.

After Martin ended its run in 1997, Lawrence found work in comedy films. He often starred as the second lead opposite actors including Eddie Murphy, Danny DeVito, and Tim Robbins.[1] Many of his films were blockbusters at the box office, including Nothing to Lose, Life, Blue Streak, and Big Momma's House. He also starred in critical and box office failures, including Black Knight and National Security. Regardless, his salary steadily increased to over $10 million per film role. He continues to work in film, with such films as Big Momma's House 2, which opened at No. 1 at North American box office and grossed almost $28 million its first weekend,[8] and Wild Hogs (2007), in which he played a bored suburbanite seeking adventure on the open road in a biker comedy alongside John Travolta, Tim Allen and William H. Macy.

In 2006, Lawrence appeared on Inside the Actors Studio, during which Lawrence briefly brought back to life some of the characters he had portrayed on Martin. He also appeared in Open Season as Boog, one of the main characters of the film. The movie also starred Ashton Kutcher, Debra Messing, and Gary Sinise.

In 2008, Lawrence starred in Walt Disney Pictures' College Road Trip co-starring with Raven-Symoné. It was his first G-rated film, but not his first appearance in a children's film: he supplied a voice for Open Season (2006) opposite Ashton Kutcher.

In 2011, Lawrence reprised his role as FBI agent Malcolm Turner in Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son, the third film in the Big Momma series.[9]

In January 2013, it was announced that Lawrence and Kelsey Grammer were considering pairing up to star in a comedy for Lionsgate Television. Partners, paired the two actors as Chicago lawyers from "vastly different backgrounds who unexpectedly meet in court on the worst day of their lives." The show premiered on August 4, 2014, but was cancelled after one season after receiving poor reviews.[10]

In 2020, Lawrence reprised his role as Detective Marcus Burnett in the third installment of the Bad Boys franchise, Bad Boys for Life, again alongside Will Smith. The film was considered a financial success, grossing $112 million in its first four days of release.[11]

• Blockbuster Entertainment Award
  • nominated with Eddie Murphy for Favorite Comedy Team (2000) for the movie Life
  • nominated for Favorite Actor (2001) for the movie Big Momma's House
• NAACP Image Award
  • won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (1995) for the series Martin
  • won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (1996) for the series Martin
  • nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (1997) for the series Martin
• Kids' Choice Award
  • nominated for Favorite Television Actor (1995) for the series Martin
  • nominated for Favorite Television Actor (1996) for the series Martin
  • nominated for Favorite Movie Actor (2001) for the movie Big Momma's House
• MTV Movie Award
  • nominated with Will Smith for Best On-Screen Duo (1996) for the movie Bad Boys
  • nominated for the movie Big Momma's House
  • nominated with Will Smith for Best On-Screen Team (2003) for the movie Bad Boys II
• ShoWest – Male Star of Tomorrow (1995)
• Teen Choice Award – nominated for Wipeout Scene of the Summer (2000) for the movie Big Momma's House
• BET Comedy Award – won Icon Comedy Award (2005)

Wikiquote has quotations related to Martin Lawrence.

• Martin Lawrence at IMDb
• Interview, 2005, BlackNews
• Interview, 7/03, BlackFilm
• Interview: January 25, 2006 on the Tavis Smiley show
• Martin Lawrence HBO Stand-Up Special Videos