Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, producer, singer, director, comedian, and musician whose trademark is his laugh. The box office take from Murphy's 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. He 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. Murphy was raised in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. His mother, Lillian, was a telephone operator, and his father, Charles Edward Murphy, was a transit police officer and an amateur actor and comedian. Eddie 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. Around the age of 15, Murphy was writing and performing his own routines, which were heavily influenced by Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor. Murphy performed stand-up at the same Bay Area Comedy Club as Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg. His early comedy was characterized by frequent swearing and sketches lampooning a diverse group of people (including WASPs, African Americans, Italian Americans, overweight people, and gays). This racy content was akin to that of Richard Pryor, whom Murphy has credited as his inspiration to enter comedy. However, in his autobiography, Pryor Convictions, Pryor wrote that he found Murphy's comedy at times excessively insensitive. Murphy later apologized for insensitive jokes about gays and HIV. The stand-up shows Delirious and Raw have been recorded and released. Murphy began a longtime romantic relationship with Nicole Mitchell 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. In August 2005, Mitchell filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences". The divorce was finalized on April 17, 2006. Following his divorce from Mitchell, in 2006, Murphy began dating former Spice Girl Melanie B, who became pregnant and a DNA test had confirmed that Murphy was the father. 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. 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.
