Sharp-tongued funnyman Chris Rock was born in Jamestown, S.C., on February 7, 1965, and raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, N.Y. His hard-working father was a truck driver who instilled a strict work ethic in the budding stand-up comic.When Rock was 18, his career got a boost thanks to Eddie Murphy, who caught his act in a New York comedy club. Rock made his film debut with a bit part in Murphy's Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), followed by a role in the Wayans brothers' blaxploitation spoof I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. But things really took off with a three-year stint on "Saturday Night Live."Starting with small parts in movies such as New Jack City (1991), Rock worked up to major roles while writing and producing for television and film.
Notable films include CB4, Lethal Weapon 4, Rush Hour, Nurse Betty, Down to Earth, Dogma, Head of State and a 2005 remake of The Longest Yard.