Chris Rock life and biography

Chris Rock is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central. He was also voted in the UK as the 9th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups in 2007, and again in the updated 2010 list as the 8th greatest stand-up comic.

Christopher Julius Rock III was born in Andrews, South Carolina. Shortly after his birth, his parents moved to Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York. A few years later, they relocated and settled in the working-class area of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. His mother, Rosalie (née Tingman), was a teacher and social worker for the mentally handicapped; his father, Julius Rock, was a former truck driver and newspaper deliveryman. Julius died in 1988 after ulcer surgery. His younger brothers Tony, Kenny and Jordan are also in the entertainment business. His older half-brother, Charles, died in 2006 due to a long struggle with alcoholism. Rock has said that he was influenced by the performing style of his paternal grandfather, Allen Rock, a preacher.

Rock was bused to schools in predominately white neighborhoods of Brooklyn where he endured bullying and beatings from white students. As he got older, the bullying became worse and Rock's parents pulled him out of James Madison High School. He decided to drop out of high school altogether and later received a GED. Rock worked menial jobs at various fast-food restaurants.

Rock began doing stand-up comedy in 1984 in New York City's Catch a Rising Star. He slowly rose up the ranks of the comedy circuit in addition to earning bit roles in the film I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and the TV series Miami Vice. Upon seeing his act at a nightclub, Eddie Murphy befriended and mentored the aspiring comic. Murphy gave Rock his first film role in Beverly Hills Cop II.

Rock's subject matter typically involves family, politics, romance, music, class relationships, and race relations in the United States. Though not strictly autobiographical, much of his comic standpoint seem rooted in his teenage experience; his strict parents, concerned about the inadequacies of the local school system, arranged to have the adolescent Rock bused to a nearly all-white high school in Bensonhurst (an Italian-ethnic neighborhood of Brooklyn known at the time for poor race relations). In his memoir Rock This, the comedian recalls, "My parents assumed I'd get a better education in a better neighborhood. What I actually got was a worse education in a worse neighborhood. And a whole bunch of ass-whippings."

The comedian has also expressed discomfort with the notion that success in standup comedy or, indeed, in any aspect of the entertainment industry should oblige him to serve as a role model. In this position, he finds himself directly at odds with one of his comic idols, Bill Cosby. Cosby has reprimanded Rock both explicitly for his famous/notorious Niggas vs. Black People track and implicitly, for heavy use of the word "nigger." Rock has not wavered from a position explored in his 1996 Roll With The New show, and reiterated in his 1997 memoir: "Why does the public expect entertainers to behave better than everybody else? It's ridiculous...Of course, this is just for black entertainers. You don't see anyone telling Jerry Seinfeld he's a good role model. Because everyone expects whites to behave themselves...Nowadays, you've got to be an entertainer and a leader. It's too much." Often the subject of tabloids, when asked about paparazzi and the other negative aspects of fame, Rock says he accepts the bad with the good: "You can't be happy that fire cooks your food and be mad it burns your fingertips."

At the London Live Earth concert on July 7, 2007, which was broadcast live on the BBC, before introducing the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rock called the crowd "motherfuckers" and "shit" after a brief sigh when he said he was joking. Due to the broadcast being at 5:45pm Rock was immediately cut off, and the BBC made several apologies for his use of the word "motherfucker".

Rock has been married to Malaak Compton-Rock since November 23, 1996. She is the founder and executive director of StyleWorks, a non-profit, full-service salon that provides free services for women leaving welfare and entering the workforce. They have two daughters together, Lola Simone (born June 28, 2002) and Zahra Savannah (born May 22, 2004).

In November 2006, the entertainment news website TMZ.com reported that Rock was filing for divorce after nearly ten years of marriage to Malaak. Two weeks later, however, TMZ reported that Rock had not filed divorce papers, and that it appeared that the couple had been able to work out their differences and stay together. In response to the reports, the Rocks released a statement to the press denouncing them as "untrue rumors and lies".

In 2007, freelance journalist and former actress Kali Bowyer filed a paternity suit against Chris Rock, claiming he was the father of her son, and in need of hospitalization. DNA testing proved that Rock was not the child's father.

Rock resides in Alpine, New Jersey.

In 2008, Rock's family history was profiled on the PBS series African American Lives 2. A DNA test showed that he is descended from the Udeme people of northern Cameroon. Rock's great-great-grandfather, Julius Caesar Tingman, was a slave for 21 years before serving as part of the United States Colored Troops until 1866; Tingman fought in the American Civil War. During the 1940s, Rock's grandfather, Alan Rock, moved from South Carolina to New York City to become a taxicab driver and preacher.

Here's a list of Chris Rock's films:

Filmography:
1989 : Who Is Chris Rock?
1991 : New Jack City
1992 : Boomerang
1995 : The Immortals, Panther
1997 : Beverly Hills Ninja
1998 : Dr. Dolittle, Lethal Weapon 4
1999 : Torrance Rises, Dogma
2000 : Nurse Betty
2001 Down to Earth, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Pootie Tang, Osmosis Jones, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
2003 : Pauly Shore Is Dead, Head of State
2004 : The N-Word, Paparazzi
2005 : The Aristocrats, Madagascar, The Longest Yard
2007 : I Think I Love My Wife, Bee Movie
2008 : You Don't Mess with the Zohan, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
2009 : Good Hair
2010 : Death at a Funeral, Grown Ups
2012 : Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
2013 : Grown Ups 2
2014 : Top Five
2015 : A Very Murray Christmas
2017 : Sandy Wexler
2018 : The Week Of, Nobody's Fool
2019 : Dolemite Is My Name
2020 : The Witches
2021 : Spiral: From the Book of Saw, The One and Only Dick Gregory


Television:

2005 : Never Scared
2005 : 77th Academy Awards
2005-2009 : Everybody Hates Chris
2008 : Kill the Messenger

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