Denzel Washington is a multi-talented actor, screenwriter, producer, and director from the United States of America. He has a net worth of $280 million. Throughout his active performing and producing years, Denzel Washington easily earns $60-$80 million.
Denzel Washington Childhood
Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. was born on December 28, 1954, in Mount Vernon, New York. His parents, Lennis, a beauty salon owner, and Denzel Washington, Sr., a Pentecostal minister/municipal worker, divorced when Denzel was 14 years old.
After the divorce, Denzel’s mother sent him to Oakland Military Academy in New Windsor, New York. Later in life, the actor would credit that choice with saving his life.
Before entering military school, he and his closest companions were on a downward spiral. In an interview with Parade Magazine, Washington stated that their pals jointly served nearly 40 years in jail.
Denzel attended Fordham University in New York City, where he was a member of the university’s basketball team. He took a semester off to reflect on his future and decide on a major. During that period, he worked a summer at a YMCA camp.
Denzel’s performance in a camp talent competition wowed the campers and his coworkers so much that one advised he consider acting. He returned to Fordham the next autumn and resumed studying acting, earning a BA in drama and journalism in 1977.
Denzel Washington Career
Washington was awarded a full scholarship at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco but returned to New York after one year to pursue acting professionally.
He had previously starred in various productions, but his first on-screen performance was in 1977’s made-for-television film Wilma.
Washington immediately won much lesser stage and television parts, but his major break came in 1982 when he landed a role in St. Elsewhere’s popular hospital drama. He played Dr. Phillip Chandler throughout the entirety of the show’s six-year run.
Denzel Washington Box Office Successes
Washington’s popularity swiftly grew as he demonstrated his extraordinary talent in films such as Malcolm X, The Pelican Brief, Philadelphia, and Courage Under Fire. He was quickly earning substantial sums of money for his film appearances.
He earned $7.5 million in 1995 for the science fiction picture Virtuosity. Each of the 1998 films Fallen and The Siege and his Award-winning Academy performance in Training Day in 2001 earned him a cool $12 million. Denzel Washington now earns more than $60 million each year.
Denzel Washington Honors and Awards
Washington got an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1988 for his work in the anti-apartheid film Cry Freedom, and he won the prize in 1989 for his performance in Glory.
In 1992, he earned a nomination for Best Actor for his portrayal of Malcolm X. In 1999, he received another nomination and won a Golden Globe for his performance in The Hurricane.
In 2002, he finally won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal in Training Day, becoming only the second African-American actor to do so.
He also starred in the Disney football drama Remember the Titans that year, which grossed over $100 million at the box office and earned him a Black Reel Award and an NAACP Image Award for Best Actor. At the 2016 Golden Globe Awards, Denzel was honored with the Cecil B. Demille Lifetime Achievement Award.
Although he never completed graduate school, the actor has been awarded three honorary doctorates. The first came in 1991 from his alma school, Fordham University, for “impressively advancing the frontiers of his multifaceted gift.”
He received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Morehouse College in 2007 and an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2011.
Denzel Washington’s Career in Directing and Producing
Washington made his directorial debut in 2002 with Antwone Fisher; he has subsequently directed The Great Debaters (2007) and Fences (2016). Additionally, he has produced many films, including The Book of Eli and The Equalizer, and various television shows.
Denzel Washington’s Private Life
Denzel’s debut film, Wilma’s made-for-television sports drama, provided him with more than a professional break; he met his wife on the set. In 1983, he married Pauletta Pearson, with whom he had four children.
Washington, a devoted Christian, has explored becoming a preacher, even considering quitting acting to seek a career in the church. Fortunately for his supporters, he has chosen to remain in Hollywood, although he maintains his daily Bible reading.
In 2006, the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces requested assistance from a group of American artists and intellectuals led by Denzel Washington, Oliver Stone, and Michael Moore.
They pleaded with the organization to assist in persuading then-President George W. Bush to trade 600 imprisoned insurgents for 62 hostages held in Colombia.
Denzel Washington Philanthropy
Denzel Washington has not kept his celebrity and hefty salary to himself; he has provided financial and personal assistance to several deserving organizations. Since 1993, he has served as the Boys & Girls Club of America’s spokesman and on its board of directors since 1995.
He has made significant contributions to Nelson Mandela’s Children’s Fund, Fordham University, the Fisher House Foundation, and Wiley College.
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Summary
Denzel Washington is a $250 million American actor, director, and producer. Since the late 1970s, he has appeared in various stage and screen productions and is best known for his roles in Hollywood films such as Glory, Malcolm X, Training Day, and Remember the Titans.