Martin Lawrence

Martin Lawrence was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1965 to a military family, his dad was serving in the European country at the time of his birth.

Lawrence started his career with the role of Maurice on the TV sitcom, What’s Happening Now! He played a number of other bit parts in films until Russell Simmons selected him to host the groundbreaking series Def Comedy Jam on HBO.

The comedian appeared in his own hit series, Martin, and when the show ended in 1997 he was cast in films like Nothing to Lose, and the Big Momma’s House films. 

In the 1990s, Lawrence was often in the news with different run-ins with the police and public arrests. In August 1999, the actor slipped into a three-day coma after collapsing due to heat exhaustion while jogging.

Lawrence was married to Patricia Southall for just a year from 1995 to 1996, and to Shamicka Gibbs from 2010 until 2012.