Denzel Washington

Actor
Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. was born on 28th December 1954, the son of Denzel and Lynne, a Pentecostal minister and beautician respectively. He attended Fordham University, where he gained a degree in Drama and Journalism.
Denzel had a role in the television series ‘St Elsewhere’ for six years, but gained greater recognition after playing the role of anti-Apartheid campaigner Steve Biko in ‘Cry Freedom’ in 1987 and won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance two years later with the role of Private Trip in ‘Glory’.
The lead role in ‘Malcolm X’ brought further plaudits and he followed this with a role in ‘Philadelphia’, alongside Tom Hanks. A number of strong leading roles ensued, until 2001 and the release of ‘Training Day’. He played a rogue narcotics cop who has a very ‘unique’ style of law enforcement, almost bordering on corrupt. The role earned him his second Academy Award, for Best Actor. He became only the second African American to achieve this, after Sidney Poitier.
Most of Denzel’s films have had great box office success, but he has not limited himself to working on screen and has performed in theatre productions on Broadway, proving himself a very versatile actor. In 2005 he appeared in ‘Julius Caesar’ on Broadway in the role of Marcus Brutus. The play was a commercial hit.
Denzel has been married to actress Pauletta Pearson since 1983 and they have four children. In 1995, Archbishop Desmond Tutu officiated at the renewal of their wedding vows in South Africa.