Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg in 2021
Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971),[1] formerly known by his stage name Marky Mark,[2] is an American actor, producer, and former rapper. His work as a leading man spans the comedy, drama, and action genres. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and nine Primetime Emmy Awards.
Wahlberg was born in Boston. As a youth, he took part in a number of violent and racially motivated attacks, resulting in a felony conviction. He gained fame as a member of the hip hop group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch in the 1990s, with whom he released the albums Music for the People (1991) and You Gotta Believe (1992). Wahlberg made his screen debut in Renaissance Man (1994) and had his first starring role in Fear (1996). He received critical praise for his performance as porn actor Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights (1997).
In the early 2000s, Wahlberg ventured into big-budget action movies, such as The Perfect Storm (2000), Planet of the Apes (2001), and The Italian Job (2003). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing a police officer in the crime drama The Departed (2006). He was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for portraying Micky Ward in the sports drama biopic The Fighter (2010); as co-producer, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. During the 2010s, Wahlberg landed successful comedy roles with The Other Guys (2010), Ted (2012), Ted 2 (2015), Daddy's Home (2015), and Daddy's Home 2 (2017). He also starred in the Transformers films Age of Extinction (2014) and The Last Knight (2017). He was the world's highest-paid actor in 2017.
Wahlberg served as executive producer of five HBO series: the comedy-drama Entourage (2004–2011), the period crime drama Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014), the comedy-dramas How to Make It in America (2010–2011) and Ballers (2015–2019), and the documentary McMillions (2020). He is co-owner of the Wahlburgers chain and co-starred in the reality TV series about it. Wahlberg received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010.
Early life and family
Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg was born on June 5, 1971, in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. He is the youngest of nine children,[3] including actor Robert and singer/actor Donnie. His mother, Alma Elaine (née Donnelly; 1942–2021), was a bank clerk and a nurse's aide, and his father, Donald Edmond Wahlberg Sr. (1930–2008), was a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War. After his parents divorced in 1982, he divided his time between them.[4]
Wahlberg's father was of Swedish and Irish descent. His mother was of Irish, English and French-Canadian ancestry.[5][6][7] On his mother's side of the family, he is distantly related to author Nathaniel Hawthorne.[8][9] Wahlberg was raised Catholic.[10][11]
Career
Music career
Main article: Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch
Wahlberg first came to fame as the younger brother of Donnie Wahlberg of the successful boy band New Kids on the Block. Mark, at age 13, was one of the group's original members, along with Donnie, but quit after a few months. Danny Wood, Jordan Knight, Jonathan Knight and Joey McIntyre all joined the group after Mark had left.[12]
In 1990, Wahlberg began recording with dancers/rappers Scott Ross (Scottie Gee), Hector Barros (Hector the Booty Inspector), Anthony Thomas (Ashley Ace), and Terry Yancey (DJ-T) as Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, earning a hit with "Good Vibrations" from their debut album Music for the People. The record, produced by brother Donnie, hit number one on the Billboard* Hot 100, later becoming certified as a platinum single. The second single, "Wildside", peaked at number five on *Billboard's Hot Singles Sales chart and number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.[13] It was certified as a gold single. Marky Mark opened for the New Kids on the Block during their last tour. Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch also had their own video game, titled Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch: Make My Video, which, despite the band's success, was a huge flop.[14][15] The second Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch LP, You Gotta Believe, was not as successful as the first, yielding only a minor hit single in the title track.[16]
In December 1992, while performing on the British TV show The Word, Wahlberg praised Shabba Ranks, who had stated gay people should be crucified. GLAAD condemned him and berated Calvin Klein for using him to promote their products.[17] A self-titled autobiographical picture book, Marky Mark, with images taken by Lynn Goldsmith and statements mostly by him, was also released.[18] Trying to resuscitate his music career, he had shifted to Hamburg, where he was produced under the label of East West Records by Frank Peterson and Alex Christensen.[19]
Wahlberg later collaborated with the late reggae/ragga singer Prince Ital Joe on the album Life in the Streets. The project combined rap vocals, electronic-infused ragga, and "European dancefloor" music, delivering the singles "Happy People", German number one hit "United", "Life in the Streets", and "Babylon", with Peterson and Christensen as producers.[20] Many of these tracks featured on the film Renaissance Man, starring Wahlberg and Danny Devito.
In 1995, he released a single titled "No Mercy", in support of his friend Dariusz Michalczewski, whom he had befriended earlier in the 1990s.[21] Michalczewski also appears in the music video of the song.[22] Wahlberg and Prince Ital Joe released another album in 1995 for Ultraphonic Records. Titled The Remix Album, it featured remixes from the duo's previous album, Life in the Streets, as well as Mark's solo track, "No Mercy".[23]
After his album with Ital Joe became a hit in Germany, he started putting together a musical act called One Love with him as its producer and also sometimes its lead singer. He also started production on a third studio album.[24] He featured in their song titled "That's the Way I Like It".[25] In 1996, Wahlberg returned to Hamburg to record a solo single titled "Hey DJ" with producer Toni Cottura.[26] Two more solo tracks titled "Feel the Vibe" and "Best of My Love" were released in 1997.[27][28]
In 2000, he was featured in the Black Label Society music video for "Counterfeit God", as a stand-in for the band's bassist.[29]
Business interests
Wahlberg is a co-owner of Wahlburgers, along with his brothers Donnie and Paul.[61] It was Mark's idea to expand Paul's restaurant in Hingham, Massachusetts into a full-fledged chain, with a reality show to promote it.[62]
In July 2013, Wahlberg bought an equity interest of the Barbados Tridents cricket team.[63] Wahlberg was introduced to the game by his friend Ajmal Khan, the club's chairman and Caribbean Premier League founder.[64][65] Following the announcement, Wahlberg stated, "I am a huge cricket fan now. I'm excited to be a part of the Limacol Caribbean Premier League because I know cricket is huge in the Caribbean and a rich part of the region's heritage. Sports and entertainment are a powerful combination, and the LCPL will appeal to a huge audience worldwide."[66]
In 2015, Wahlberg recruited rapper Sean Combs and billionaire Ronald Burkle to join him in investing in Aquahydrate, a bottled water brand Wahlberg discovered. Together, the three men own a majority stake in the company.[67] Wahlberg, together with former GNC executive Tom Dowd, co-founded Performance Inspired, a sports nutrition company launched in 2016.[68] In February 2017, Wahlberg was one of the investors who took part in a $6 million funding round for StockX, a sneaker resale marketplace.[69] In March 2019, Wahlberg bought a stake in the F45 fitness franchise.[70]
On July 20, 2018, Wahlberg and his business partner, Jay Feldman, announced the purchase of Bobby Layman Chevrolet in Columbus, Ohio. The dealership was renamed Mark Wahlberg Chevrolet.[71] Due to the success of the dealership, local ABC affiliate WSYX reported in March 2020 that Haydocy Buick-GMC, right across the street from Mark Wahlberg Chevrolet, had filed paperwork with Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose to rename itself Mark Wahlberg Buick-GMC; Feldman later confirmed that he and Wahlberg were purchasing their second General Motors dealership in the city.[72] The deal became official on June 29, 2020, and also included Haydocy's Airstream and RV dealership, located next door at the car dealership's former Oldsmobile showroom. Shortly afterward, Wahlberg and Feldman announced they were purchasing Jack Maxton Chevrolet in nearby Worthington, Ohio, their fourth Columbus-area dealership, with plans to rename it Mark Wahlberg Chevrolet of Worthington.[73] A fifth dealership, Mark Wahlberg Chevrolet of Avon, was added in Avon, Ohio in July 2021; unlike the other dealerships, the Avon location is in Greater Cleveland, marking Wahlberg and Feldman's entry into Northeast Ohio.[74]
In 2021, Wahlberg, along with his producing partner/manager Stephen Levinson, launched Ballers Report, an online platform (and spin-off of their HBO series Ballers) that features inspiring business, entertainment and sports articles, videos and podcasts.[75]
In 2021, he invested in the Tequila brand Flecha Azul.[76]
In 2023, Wahlberg became Chief Brand Officer for F45 Training.[77]
Personal life
Wahlberg started dating Rhea Durham in 2001. They had three children during the first seven years of their relationship, and married on August 1, 2009, at the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills, near where they lived. They had another child five months after their wedding in January 2010.[99][100][101][102]
Wahlberg was booked to fly on American Airlines Flight 11 on September 11, 2001, but changed his plans the day before and travelled instead to Toronto to attend the Toronto International Film Festival.[103] He received backlash for stating in a 2012 interview, "If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn't have went down like it did". He added that "there would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, 'OK, we're going to land somewhere safely, don't worry.'" He issued an apology after family members of those killed on the flight expressed outrage.[104]
Wahlberg is Catholic,[105] and has described his religion as "the most important part" of his life; he goes to Mass twice on Sundays.[106] He fervently supports same-sex marriage despite the Church's opposition.[107] In September 2015, he apologized to Pope Francis over the crude jokes he made in the film Ted,[108] and he stated in an interview with Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago in 2017 that he sought forgiveness from God for playing a porn star in Boogie Nights.[109][110] He later stated on Andy Cohen's radio show that the interview "was a joke taken too seriously".[111] In 2023, Wahlberg stated that the Christian practices of fasting and prayer during Lent were meaningful to him, as he discussed using the Hallow Christian prayer app.[112]
Wahlberg established the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation in May 2001 for the purpose of raising and distributing funds to youth service and enrichment programs.[113] Wahlberg is active with The Good Shepherd Center for Homeless Women and Children.[114]
In 2022, Wahlberg and his family moved from Hollywood to Las Vegas.[115]
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