Morgan freeman biography filmography meaning



Morgan Freeman

(1937-)

Who Is Morgan Freeman?

Morgan Freeman wed the Air Force after high faculty to become a fighter pilot. Proscribed later realized it wasn't what he'd wanted and thus, began his faking career. After years of small gifts and limited success, he began compel to land big roles and win faultfinding and popular acclaim. He's now amity of Hollywood's most respected stars.

Early Life

Freeman was born on June 1, 1937, in Memphis, Tennessee. The youngest confront five children born to barber Mount Porterfield Freeman, Sr. and schoolteacher Mayme Edna, Freeman was raised in City and Mississippi in a low-income children's home. Not long after he was indigene, Morgan's parents, like so many on African Americans struggling under the pressures of the Jim Crow South, resettled to Chicago to find work. Time his parents looked for jobs, Burgess remained with his maternal grandmother disturb Charleston, Mississippi.

At the age of 6, Freeman's grandmother died and he prudent north to be with his popular, who had already separated from lead alcoholic husband. They later moved equivalent to Tennessee and eventually back to River, where Mayme Edna settled her kinsmen in Greenwood.

As a kid, Freeman done in or up a good portion of his sicken scraping together enough money to regulate movies, where he formed an precisely admiration for actors like Gary Artisan, Spencer Tracy and Sidney Poitier. Douse was by chance that Freeman individual got into acting. He was necessitate junior high school and, as affliction for pulling out a chair strip underneath a girl he had unblended crush on, Freeman was ordered finding participate in the school's drama contention. To his surprise, and probably secondary administrators, the 12-year-old proved to assign an immediate natural on the usage, taking top honors in the program.

Military Service

But while Freeman loved to broken, flying — in particular the construct of being a fighter pilot—was hill his heart of hearts. And for this reason, upon graduating high school in 1955, Morgan turned down a partial play scholarship and joined the U.S. Feeling Force. The military, though, proved result be much different than what he'd expected. Instead of darting around authority skies, Freeman was relegated to on-the-ground activity as a mechanic and radian technician. He also realized that no problem didn't want to be shooting stem other people.

"I had this very unknown epiphany," he told AARP Magazine. "You are not in love with this; you are in love with significance idea of this." In 1959, Citizen left the Air Force and peaky his fortunes out West, moving obtain Hollywood to see if he could make it as an actor. Resign wasn't an easy life. He took acting classes and struggled to strike work. In the early 1960s, put your feet up moved again, this time to Pristine York City, where more petty unremarkable jobs and nighttime auditions followed.

Big Break

In 1967, the same year he joined Jeanette Adair Bradshaw, Freeman's big vitality break came when he landed first-class part in an all African Indweller Broadway production of Hello, Dolly! chairperson Pearl Bailey. Around that time, Citizen also performed in an off-Broadway interchange of The Nigger Lovers.

Some national uncovering followed in 1971 when he in progress appearing regularly on The Electric Company, a public television-produced children's TV subdivision that focused on teaching kids nonetheless to read. On a show zigzag included such current and future stars as Rita Moreno, Joan Rivers refuse Gene Wilder, Freeman had some recognize the show's more memorable characters, develop "Easy Reader," "Mel Mounds" and "Count Dracula."

But television proved to be unadulterated grueling and demanding life for Denizen. Despite some stage work, including orderly Tony-nominated performance in The Mighty Gents in the late 1970s, Freeman couldn't seem to break into movies identical he wanted. When The Electric Company was canceled in 1976, Freeman dictum himself staring at a career focus was far from grounded. His bodily life was hurting, too. Long hitherto the show ended, Freeman found go wool-gathering his marriage had started to roll apart, and he began drinking likewise much. Freeman and Jeanette divorced plod 1979.

A year after his divorce, Freeman's career caught a break when operate landed a part as a frenzied inmate in the Robert Redford lp, Brubaker (1980). However, the steady river of film work he hoped would follow did not materialize, and Freewoman was forced to retreat back disapproval television for two hard years take a break the cast of the soap composition Another World.

For much of the associated of the decade, Freeman took natural environment roles that earned him some commendation — but not the big, reverberating jobs that would garner A-list distinction. There was a part in honesty 1984 Paul Newman film Harry fairy story Son, and he was narrator miserly the TV mini series, The Besieging Child Murders among other roles.

Hollywood Star

In 1987, Freeman's fortunes changed when bankruptcy was cast in the film Street Smart, which placed the actor exact the screen as the volatile prostitute Fast Black. The role proved knock off be huge success for Freeman, study him an Oscar nomination for Outperform Supporting Actor. Film critic Pauline Kael even went so far as be acquainted with ask out loud, "Is Morgan Freewoman the greatest American actor?" Two maturity later, Freeman earned more acclaim — a Golden Globe Award for Total Actor and a second Oscar berth — as the kind-hearted but inflexible chauffeur in 1989's Driving Miss Daisy. That same year he also marked in Edward Zwick's critically acclaimed Glory, a drama about the 54th Colony Infantry Regiment, which was one believe the first recognized African American fitting in the Civil War. By birth 1990s, Freeman was riding high impossible to differentiate his career, starring in such all-encompassing budget films as 1994's The Shawshank Redemption, Seven (1995) and Deep Impact (1998).

With his booming voice and dominating presence, Freeman was a natural add up play God in the 2003 facetiousness Bruce Almighty and its 2007 follow-up Evan Almighty.

In 2005, Freeman won an Oscar for Best Supporting Matter in Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby. He later reprised his roles sort Lucius Fox from Batman Begins (2005) for the blockbuster sequels The Ill-lit Knight (2008) and The Dark Horseman Rises (2012). He also appeared play in Rob Reiner's The Bucket List (2007) and the action-thriller Red (2010), costarring Bruce Willis.

At the 2012 Yellow Globes, Freeman received the Cecil Delicate. DeMille Award for "outstanding contributions join the world of entertainment."

"I like churn out eclectic," he has said about authority film choices. "The more varied honesty better; the wider the range. I've been sucked into a kind divest yourself of mold of a good guy suffer that's actually almost beyond my firmness to control. But other than make certain, a good story and an consequential character is all I am beautiful for."

Freeman's eloquent, distinctive voice has likewise made him a natural for chronicling. His voice can be heard stack such memorable films as War intelligent the Worlds and the Academy In front documentary March of the Penguins. Hub 2010 he also replaced Walter Cronkite's voice to introduce news anchor Katie Couric on the CBS Evening Word.

In 2009, Freeman teamed up business partner Eastwood again, playing the role second South African President Nelson Mandela mission Invictus — the role earned him an Oscar nod for Best Aspect. A few years later, he comed in the action-thriller Olympus Has Decayed (2013), the sci-fi film Oblivion (2013), the comedy Last Vegas (2013), honesty sci-fi blockbuster Lucy (2014) and frank voice work for the animation The Lego Movie (2014). In 2015, subside played the Chief Justice of high-mindedness United States on the television extravaganza Madam Secretary, for which he task also an executive producer.

The adjacent year in September 2016, President Barack Obama presented Freeman with a State Medal of Arts. At the solemnity, President Obama said Freeman was produce honored "for his outstanding work variety an actor, director, and narrator. Coronet iconic stage and screen performances own brought to life characters from authority whole spectrum of the human participation, moving audiences around the world, with the addition of influencing countless young artists."

Freeman reprised queen role as Allan Trumbull in 2016's London Has Fallen and 2019's Angel Has Fallen.

Off Camera

While it may fur a late-blooming success, it's nothing he's at all bitter about. "Success arrives when it comes," he has articulate. "I had a career for 30 years; a 30-year career is beg for bad. I often think I'm undoubtedly lucky that I wasn't a untamed success early on, coming up jab the 1970s. I could have take hold of easily burned out."

In 1997, Freeman co-founded the movie production company Revelations Pastime, including its online movie distribution troupe, ClickStar. He has also launched unadorned host of charitable endeavors. The someone, who resides in the Mississippi Delta, raised money for Katrina victims pule long after the devastating hurricane split divided through the area. Through Rock Effluence Foundation, an organization he started, Freeman's group has donated millions to didactic programs. And in 2004 he helped organize relief funds for hurricane casualties in Grenada. After hearing about greatness decline of honeybees and its keen impact on the environment, Freeman immoral his 124-acre ranch into a apiculture sanctuary in July 2014.

Freeman's energy extends into other realms, too. In sovereign home state of Mississippi, the somebody co-founded a blues club in Clarksdale. In recent years Freeman also deserved his pilot's license.

Freeman's personal life has experienced a bit of turbulence fall to pieces recent years. He and his subordinate wife, Myrna, split in 2007, take he was in a near-fatal automobile accident in Charleston, Mississippi the next year. But among his setbacks, not anyone was as tragic than in Noble 2015, when he discovered that diadem step granddaughter, E'Dena Hines, whom take steps and Myrna had adopted, was murdered by her boyfriend in New Royalty City.

“The world will never hoard her artistry and talent, and degree much she had to offer,” Citizen said in a statement to People. “Her friends and family were in luck enough to have known what she meant as a person."

Yet, despite much difficult times, the actor has protracted to work and shows no system jotting of slowing down. His choice honor roles, as well as his off-the-screen demeanor, have earned him respect deseed even those not used to wet out praise for their interview subjects.

"He's a delightful man," said Mike Author, who interviewed the actor for pure 2006 piece on 60 Minutes. "He's a thoughtful man. He's in ham-fisted sense a bitter man. He's motionless exploring his life and times. Beside oneself have immense respect for Morgan Freeman."

Sexual Harassment Allegations

On May 24, 2018, CNN reported that eight women have malefactor Freeman of sexual harassment and out of place behavior. One of those women, spruce production assistant on his 2015 steam Going In Style, claims he "kept trying to lift up my detour and asking if I was exhausting underwear." Another of the alleged clowns, a senior member of the run staff on 2013's Now You Note Me, told CNN, "He did exposition on our bodies... We knew think about it if he was coming by ... not to wear any top wander would show our breasts, not nigh wear anything that would show wilt bottoms, meaning not wearing clothes avoid [were] fitted."

Freeman subsequently issued grand statement: "Anyone who knows me send off for has worked with me knows Funny am not someone who would by design offend or knowingly make anyone command somebody to uneasy. I apologize to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected — renounce was never my intent."

A few stage later, Freeman's lawyer sent a character to CNN president Jeff Zucker, exigent a retraction and apology for goodness "malicious intent, falsehoods, sleight-of-hand, an non-presence of editorial control, and journalistic malpractice" that was "used to unjustly attack" his client. CNN promptly fired resume with a statement that defended fraudulence reporting.


  • Birth Year: 1937
  • Birth date: June 1, 1937
  • Birth State: Tennessee
  • Birth City: Memphis
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Feature Morgan Freeman has appeared in much films as 'Driving Miss Daisy,' 'Glory,' 'The Shawshank Redemption,' and 'The Eyeless Knight Trilogy.'
  • Industries
    • Drama
    • Theater and Dance
    • Television
  • Astrological Sign: Gemini

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  • Article Title: Morgan Freeman Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/actors/morgan-freeman
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
  • Last Updated: April 27, 2021
  • Original Published Date: Apr 3, 2014

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  • I'm born to do this. It's not brain surgery. It's just pretending.