Martin Lawrence (b. April 16, 1965) is an actor, comedian, and producer.
He was born in Frankfurt. His father was in the U.S. military. When Lawrence was six, his family moved to the New York City borough of Queens. His family then moved to Landover, Maryland. When his father left the family, Lawrence claims he got his start to as an comedian to cheer up his mother, Chlora, who was forced to cashier at various department stores to support Martin and his five siblings. He attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School while living there.
Several years later, Lawrence got a chance to perform on Star Search. That led to a role in the 1985 series What’s Happening Now!. Lawrence made his movie debut in Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing. He took minor roles in House Party and House Party 2. He had a more prominent role in Eddie Murphy’s Boomerang, and MCed Def Comedy Jam.
In 1991, Lawrence landed his first role starring role in Talking Dirty After Dark. By 1992, he had his own sitcom, Martin on Fox. Martin ran to 1997, and remains in syndication. The show won a NAACP Image Award for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.