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Chris Tucker
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Chris Tucker
Birth name Christopher Tucker
Born August 31, 1972 (1972-08-31) (age 37)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Years active 1988–present
Genres Comedy
Influences Martin Lawrence
Influenced Dave Chappelle
Website Chris Tucker Official Site
Christopher "Chris" Tucker (born August 31, 1972) is an American actor and
comedian, Tucker known for his roles as Smokey in Friday and James Carter in the
Rush Hour trilogy.
Contents [hide]
1 Biography
1.1 Early life
1.2 Career
1.3 Personal life
2 Filmography
3 References
4 External links
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Chris Tucker was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Mary and Norris Tucker.
His mother was closely involved in church work, and his father was an
independent businessman who owned a janitorial service.[1][2] Tucker was raised
in Decatur, Georgia.
After graduating from Columbia High School, Tucker moved to Los Angeles to
pursue a career in comedy and movies.
[edit] Career
Tucker's first major movie role was alongside rapper Ice Cube in the 1995 film
Friday. He also starred with Charlie Sheen in 1997's Money Talks and alongside
Bruce Willis in The Fifth Element the same year. He later starred in the 1998
martial arts action comedy Rush Hour and its sequels, Rush Hour 2 and Rush Hour
3, in which he played James Carter, an abrasive, wise-cracking detective.
Realizing the success of the first Rush Hour film, Tucker held out from studio
bosses until they paid his price tag of $20 million for Rush Hour 2;[3] the film
became an enormous success. The other star, Jackie Chan, received $15 million
and gross points.
Despite a flurry of films at the start of his career, Tucker has only made three
appearances since 1998, all as Detective James Carter. Tucker's career
trajectory is unusual in that, while he has made such a relatively small number
of films, he has already become a member of the unofficial "$20 million per
film" club, joining such actors as Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington, Tom Cruise and
Will Smith. Tucker signed a two-movie contract with New Line Cinema for 40
million dollars to star in Rush Hour 3 and another unnamed film. He is also to
receive 20% of the gross against his salary from the 3rd Rush Hour film.[4]
Tucker did not reprise his role of Smokey in Next Friday (2000) because he had
become a born-again Christian after filming Money Talks (1997). He chose to do
the Rush Hour series instead. He also starred in Michael Jackson's video "You
Rock My World." On February 13, 2009, Tucker participated in the NBA All-Star
Weekend's Celebrity Game. Other celebrities participating include rapper Master
P, NBA Hall of Famer's Clyde Drexler, Dominique Wilkins, wide receiver Terrell
Owens, and four Harlem Globetrotters.
[edit] Personal life
Tucker is friends with fellow Rush Hour star Jackie Chan. He was also friends
with the late singer Michael Jackson, and appeared in Jackson's video "You Rock
My World" (2001) and on the intro of the track on the album Invincible. He also
attended Jackson's memorial service.
Tucker also appeared at the beginning of the music video for "California Love"
by Tupac Shakur. A friend of Bill Clinton, Tucker has travelled with the former
President overseas, though he endorsed Barack Obama rather than Hillary Clinton
in the 2008 primaries.[5][6]
He also has a son named Destin Christopher Tucker, who was born in 2000 and
lives with his mother in Los Angeles. He resides in the luxury community of
Bella Colina in Montverde, Florida, located west of Orlando. He also lives in a
gated community in Tarzana, California, where he raises his children.
Tucker participated in a PBS documentary on the genetic makeup of African
Americans. He found he has African American, European American, and Native
American ancestry.[7] Through DNA tests (as aired on the 2006 PBS documentary
African American Lives), Tucker's paternal ancestry was traced back to the
Mbundu ethnic group of Angola and one line of his mother's to the Bamileke of
Cameroon.[8][9][10] Tucker also managed to trace his family tree back to the
1830s.[11] Tucker was shown traveling to Angola, the birthplace of his
ancestors, with the program's host Henry Louis Gates.[12]
[edit] Filmography
Films
Year Film Role
1994 House Party 3 Johnny Booze
1995 Friday Smokey
Panther Bodyguard
Dead Presidents Skip
1997 Money Talks Franklin Hatchett
Jackie Brown Beaumont Livingston
The Fifth Element Ruby Rhod
1998 Rush Hour Detective James Carter
2001 Rush Hour 2 Detective James Carter
2007 Rush Hour 3 Detective James Carter
2009 Mr. S: My Life with Frank Sinatra George Jacobs
TV
Year Series Role Episodes
1988 Roseanne Himself 1
1992 Hangin' with Mr. Cooper Rapper 1
2001 Diary Himself 1
2006 African American Lives Himself 4
[edit] References
1.^ Chris Tucker Biography - Yahoo! Movies
2.^ Chris Tucker Biography .filmreference.com
3.^ Chris Tucker's profile at the Internet Movie Database
4.^ Chris Tucker signs onto Brett Ratner's Rush Hour 3 accessed August 5, 2007
8:31PM
5.^ Nedra Pickler (January 22, 2008). "Obama sees rock-star power in action".
Yahoo! News. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080123/ap_on_el_pr/obama_rock_star.
Retrieved 2008-01-28.
6.^ Candace Newson (January 26, 2008). "On the trail: Stars talk politics,
endorsements as they 'stand for change' with Obama". TheTimesandDemocrat.com.
http://www.thetandd.com/articles/2008/01/26/features/fries/12928835.txt.
Retrieved 2008-01-28.
7.^ Richard Willing (2008). "DNA rewrites history for African-Americans". USA
Today. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/genetics/2006-02-01-dna-african-americans_x.htm.
Retrieved 2008-08-05.
8.^ "African Ancestry & DNA Tests: The Results"
9.^ Chris Tucker 'Rush Hour 3' Interview with Kam Williams
10.^ Chris Tucker and Brett Ratner The A.V. Club
11.^ African Ancestry & DNA Tests
12.^ Oprah, Bishop Jakes, Chris Tucker Trace Roots On PBS Accessed August 5,
2007 8:28PM
[edit] External links
Chris Tucker at the Internet Movie Database
Chris Tucker Official Site
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