Denzel Washington Biography

Denzel Washington, an American actor, director and producer born on December 28, 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York.He is the son of one Denzel Hayes Washington, an ordained Pentecostal minister who also worked for the New York City Water Department and to one Lennis Lynne who was a beauty parlor owner and operator.

Washington attended Pennington-Grimes Elementary School in Mount Vernon until 1968. When he was 14, his parents divorced, and his mother sent him to a private preparatory school, Oakland Military Academy in New Windsor, New York.

Washington then attended Mainland High School, a public high school in Daytona Beach, Florida, from 1970 to 1971 followed by Fordham University where he earned a B.A. in Drama and Journalism from in 1977.

Denzel Washington Career

After his graduation he moved to San Francisco, where he won a scholarship to the American Conservatory Theatre. Washington stayed with the ACT for a year, and, after his time there, he began acting in various television movies

Washington made his screen acting debut in the 1977 made-for-television film Wilma, and his first Hollywood appearance in the 1981 film Carbon Copy.

Denzel Washington then starred as Dr. Phillip Chandler inNBC’s television hospital drama St. Elsewhere, which ran from 1982 to 1988. He was one of only a few African-American actors to appear on the series for its entire six-year run.

Denzel Washington then starred in Cry Freedom in 1987 as real-life South African apartheid martyr Steve Biko.His performance in this film saw him grab his first of five Oscar nominations.

In the year 1990, Denzel  Washington starred as Bleek Gilliam in the Spike Lee film Mo’ Better Blues.Later in 1991 he starred as Demetrius Williams in the romantic drama Mississippi Masala.His other projects in the 90’s included The Pelican Brief in 1993,  Philadelphia in 1993, Crimson Tide in 1995, Courage Under Fire in 1996 and The Hurricane in 1999.

In 2001, Washington received his second Oscar  for the cop thriller Training Dayand the following year, he directed his first film, the drama Antwone Fisher, in which he also co-starred.

Denzel then did several other films including Man on Fire 2004, The Manchurian Candidate in 2004 and Lee’s Inside Man in 2006 before starring as MTA Dispatcher Walter Garber in the remake of the classic film The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, co-starring John Travolta in 2009.

In 2010, Denzel Washington starred in The Book of Eli, a post-Apocalyptic drama set in the near future and also he starred as a veteran railroad engineer in the action film Unstoppable, about an unmanned, half-mile-long runaway freight train carrying dangerous cargo.

In 2013, Denzel Washington starred in 2 Guns, alongside Mark Wahlberg. In 2014, he starred in The Equalizer, an action thriller film directed by Antoine Fuqua.

Denzel Washington Wife

After dating for some time Denzel Washington Denzel Washington married actress Pauletta Pearson in 1983 and the couple have been together ever since.

Denzel Washington Children

Denzel Washington and his wife, actress Pauletta Pearson have four children. Their oldest son, John David, was drafted in 2006 by the NFL’s St. Louis Rams and now plays for the Sacramento Mountain Lions in the United Football League. Their other children are daughter Katia and twins Olivia and Malcolm.

Denzel Washington Awards

The talented actor and director has won numerous careers which include:Academy Awards, BET Awards, Black Reel Awards, Golden Globe Awards, MTV Movie & TV Awards, NAACP Image Awards, Satellite Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, Tony Awards, Film critic awards, Miscellaneous awards and several others.

Denzel Washington Photos