Denzel Washington. Source: GabboT, Wikimedia Commons
Denzel Washington’s full name is Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. Denzel chooses to go by his first and last name but drops his middle name and ‘junior’ from his name for his film appearances and professional careers. Denzel was named after his father.
Denzel Washington was born on the 28th December, 1954. He is currently 64 years of age. He was born in Mount Vernon, New York. Denzel has been acting since 1976, his career has spanned more than 40 years. He still looks young for his age and is still actively taking roles in Hollywood.
Denzel Washington’s mother is Lennis “Lynne” (born Lowe, in 1924), she was a beauty parlor owner, born in George and raised in Harlem, New York. Denzel’s father was Denzel Hayes Washington Sr. (1909-1991), he was born and raised in Buckingham County, Virginia and was ordained as a Pentecostal minister, and worked for the New York City Water Department and the S. Klein department store.
Denzel Washington went to Pennington-Grimes Elementary School in Mount Vernon, up until 1968. When turned 14, his parents got a divorce and his he was sent to a private prep school, Oakland Military Academy in New Windsor, New York. Washington has come out to say that attending the school was a life changing decision, as many of the boys he has been hanging out with ended up in jail. He attended Mainland High School, a public school in Daytona Beach, Florida between 1970 and 1971. He wanted to go to Texas Tech University. He ended up earning a BA in Drama and Journalism from Fordham University in 1977. For a time he worked as a camp creative director and after participating in a staff talent show, his colleagues suggested he try acting. He went back to Fordham and studied acting before attending graduate school.
Denzel Washington lives in a house in Los Angeles, California. The house is set across 1.5 acres and features a pool and tennis court. It was located within the gated community of Beverly Park. The home is heavily guarded and only accessible from a single road. It features heavily manicured gardens.
Denzel Washington is approximately 5 feet 11 inches tall, or around 182 cm’s. He weighs around 80kg’s. For certain roles Denzel Washington gains weight, such as for his role in Flight, where he played a pilot and wanted to be heftier than his usual weight. He gained the weight with regular consumption of milkshakes and cheeseburgers.
Denzel Washington is African-America. He was born in the United States; both of his parents were African-American. Denzel Washington is descended from John Washington, his great-great-great grandfather who was born into slavery in Virginia in 1812. He lived in slavery for more than 50 years until being freed. The 1870 census records show that he was married to a woman named Phoebe and had six daughters. He was a successful farmer after being freed. The 1900 census show that they had 18 children and remained married.
Denzel Washington is a devout Christian and at one point, considered becoming a preacher. He says that he still sometimes doubts his decision to go into acting, and feels that he may be compromising. He donated $2.5 million in 1995 to the Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles and says that he is a daily Bible leader.
Denzel Washington is famous for being an American actor, director and producer. During his career he has won two Golden Globe Awards, one Tony Award and two Academy Awards. He has appeared in my critically acclaimed and commercially successful films over the course of his career.
Denzel Washington’s career began with performances at the summer stock theatre in St. Mary’s City, Maryland. He made his on-screen debut with an appearance in the television film, Wilma. His first Hollywood film was 1981s Carbon Copy. He also appeared in the Off-Broadway production, A Soldier’s Play.
Denzel Washington’s first big career break came when he got a starring role in the NBC hospital drama, St. Elsewhere as Dr. Philip Chandler. The show ran from 1982 to 1988. He had a number of motion picture and stage roles during the 1980s including A Soldier’s Story, Hard Lesson and Power. He received an nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Cry Freedom. In 1989 he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Glory. In 1990, he starred in Mo’ Better Blues and appeared in Mississippi Masala in 1991. He later appeared in Malcolm X in 1992, in what has become one of his most critically acclaimed roles. He starred in a number of other successful films in the 90s including Philadelphia, The Pelican Brief and The Preacher’s Wife.
In the 2000s Washington appeared in Remember the Titans, which was very commercially successful. He won the Golden Globe Award for his work in The Hurricane. He also won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2001 for his role in Training Day. He appeared in thrillers, Out of Time, Man on Fire, The Manchurian Candidate and Inside Man over the following years. He also starred in American Gangster, and The Taking of Pelham 123. In 2010 he starred in The Book of Eli and the action film Unstoppable. More recently he has appeared in Flight and The Magnificent Seven.
Denzel Washington’s estimated net worth is approximately $250 million. He earns a salary of roughly $60-$80 million each year thanks to his acting roles, screenwriting work and producer and director credits. Denzel Washington can earn major salaries for his films, by the time of 2001’s Training Day he was already earning approximated $12 million for his film roles.
Denzel Washington married his wife, Pauletta Pearson in 1983. The couple met on the set of the television film, Wilma. They renewed their wedding vows in 1995 in South Africa with Archbishop Desmond Tutu officiating the ceremony. The couple has now been going strong for more than 30 years.
Denzel Washington and his wife Pauletta have four children. The eldest, John David was born in 1984; he is an actor and a former football player. Daughter Katia was born in 1986 and graduated from Yale University in 2010 whilst twins Olivia and Malcolm were born in 1991. Malcolm is a University of Pennsylvania graduate whilst Olivia has acted in one film, The Butler, which was directed by Lee Daniels’.
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