Morgan Freeman
Morgan
Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is
known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of
film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received
multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award,
and a Golden Globe Award.
Morgan Freeman Wiki/Bio/Age/Family
Morgan Freeman was born on June 1, 1937, in Memphis, Tennessee. He is the son of Mamie Edna (née Revere; 1912–2000), a teacher, and Morgan Porterfield Freeman (July 6, 1915 – April 27, 1961), a barber, who died of cirrhosis in 1961. He has three older siblings.
According to DNA analysis, some of his
ancestors were from the Songhai and Tuareg people of Niger. Some of Freeman's great-great-grandparents
were slaves who migrated from North Carolina to Mississippi. Freeman later
discovered that his Caucasian maternal great-great-grandfather had lived with,
and was buried beside Freeman's African-American great-great-grandmother in the
segregated South, as the two could not legally marry at the time. The DNA test
suggested that among all of his African ancestors, a little over one-quarter
came from the area that stretches from present-day Senegal to Liberia and
three-quarters came from the Congo-Angola region.
As
an infant, Freeman was sent to his paternal grandmother in Charleston, Mississippi.
He moved frequently during his
childhood, living in Greenwood, Mississippi; Gary, Indiana; and finally
Chicago, Illinois. When Freeman was 16
years old, he contracted pneumonia. He
made his acting debut at age nine, playing the lead role in a school play. He
then attended Broad Street High School, a building which serves today as
Threadgill Elementary School, in Greenwood, Mississippi. At age 12, he won a statewide drama
competition, and while settling into school, discovered music and theatre.
Education
Freeman
graduated high school in 1955, but turned down a partial drama scholarship from
Jackson State University, opting instead to enlist in the United States Air
Force. He served as an Automatic Tracking
Radar repairman, rising to the rank of airman first class. After serving from 1955 to 1959, he moved to
Los Angeles, California, and took acting classes at the Pasadena Playhouse. He also studied theatre arts at Los Angeles
City College, where a teacher encouraged him to embark on a dance career.
Career
In the mid-1960s, Freeman first appeared in an off-Broadway production of a play titled The Niggerlovers and then with Pearl Bailey in an all-African-American Broadway production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968. His first film appearance was in Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow! In 1971. He became a familiar face in America through both work on the soap opera Another World and appearances on The Electric Company, a PBS kids' show.
He
continued his theater work and, in 1980, received the Obie Award for his
starring role in Coriolanus. He nabbed his second Obie in 1984 for The Gospel
at Colonus, and in 1989 was given the award again for his lead role in Driving
Miss Daisy (later adapted for the screen, which he starred in.)
The
later '80s and early '90s was an upward climb for Freeman, who began playing
prominent roles in big-budget films. He was cast in the 1987 film Street Smart
as Fast Black, and the role earned him an Oscar Nomination for Best Supporting
Actor. In 1994, he won the role of Red in The Shawshank Redemption, which
catapulted him into A-list fame. He went on to star in several other big-budget
films like Seven, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Deep Impact, and Unforgiven.
2005
was a big year for Freeman. After three previous nominations, Morgan finally
won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his work in Clint Eastwood's Million
Dollar Baby at the 77th Academy Awards.
In
2005 he was chosen to play the role of God in the blockbuster film Bruce
Almighty (and later, the sequel Evan Almighty.) He appeared in Christopher
Nolan's Dark Night Trilogy–Batman Begins in 2005 as well. He later went on to
reprise his role in the two sequels.
After
starring in 2007's The Bucket List, Freeman made a big return to the stage and
co-starred with Peter Gallagher and Frances McDormand in Broadway hit The
Country Girl. He teamed up with director Clint Eastwood in 2009 to play Nelson
Mandela in Invictus, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best
Actor. In 2013, he appeared in Olympus has Fallen (and in 2016, the sequel London
has Fallen) and Oblivion.
Personal life/Relationship
Freeman was married to Jeanette Adair Bradshaw from October 22, 1967, until November 18, 1979, and subsequently married Myrna Colley-Lee on June 16, 1984. The couple separated in December 2007 and divorced on September 15, 2010.
Freeman has four children: Alfonso, Deena, Morgana, and Saifoulaye. Freeman and Colley-Lee also raised Freeman's step-granddaughter from his first marriage, E'dena Hines. On August 16, 2015, 33-year-old Hines was murdered in New York City.
Freeman
resides in Charleston, Mississippi, and maintains a home in New York City. He
earned a private pilot's license at age 65 and owns or has owned at least three
private aircraft, including both a Cessna Citation 501 and Cessna 414, and an
Emivest SJ30.
When
asked if he believed in God, Freeman said: "It's a hard question because
as I said at the start, I think we invented God. So if I believe in God, and I
do, it's because I think I'm God." Freeman later said that his experience
working on The Story of God with Morgan Freeman did not change his views on religion.
He is a practicing Zoroastrian.
On
the evening of August 3, 2008, Freeman was injured in an automobile crash when
his 1997 Nissan Maxima was involved in a rollover near Ruleville, Mississippi.
He and his passenger, Demaris Meyer, had to be cut free from the vehicle with
hydraulic tools. Freeman was conscious after the crash and joked with a
photographer at the scene. He was taken via helicopter to The Regional Medical
Center (The Med) hospital in Memphis. His left shoulder, arm, and elbow had
been broken in the accident, and he received surgery on August 5. Doctors
operated on him for four hours to repair nerve damage in his shoulder and arm.
His publicist announced he was expected to make a full recovery. Although
alcohol was not considered a factor in the crash, Meyer sued Freeman for negligence, claiming
that he had been consuming alcohol, but the suit was eventually settled for an
undisclosed amount. Since the incident, Freeman suffers from fibromyalgia.
In
December 2010, Freeman joined President Bill Clinton, President of the United
States Soccer Federation Sunil Gulati, and soccer player Landon Donovan in
Zurich for a presentation to bid for the U.S hosting rights for the 2022 FIFA
World Cup.
Morgan Freeman Net Worth
$250 Million
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Net Worth: |
$250 Million |
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Date of Birth: |
Jun 1, 1937 (85 years old) |
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Place of Birth: |
Memphis |
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Gender: |
Male |
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Height: |
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
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Profession: |
Actor, Film Producer, Television producer, Voice Actor,
Presenter, Film director, Businessperson |
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Nationality: |
United States of America |