Bernie Mac Biography

Date of Birth: October 5, 1958

Birth Name: Bernard Jeffrey McCollough

Bernie Mac grew up in a rough Chicago neighborhood, living with 12 people (siblings, parents, cousins, aunts and nephews) under one roof. He got his start in comedy when he performed a routine about his grandparents in front of the church congregation at the age of eight, much to the consternation of his grandmother. The laughs he received were well worth the effort, however, and he went on to make his professional stand-up debut at The Cotton Club in 1977, after giving performances for free in parks around Chicago. Mac had a job as a gopher for the performers at the Regal Theater, but was so broke, he had to borrow a suit from his brother to make his professional debut.

Mac continued in stand-up, but his first big break didn't come until 1990, when he won the Miller Lite Comedy Search. From there he went on to work as the opening act for stars such as Dionne Warwick and Redd Foxx, which gave him the experience to later form his own show, called the Who Ya Wit Tour. In 1992 Mac made his feature film debut in Mo' Money, playing a club doorman. Although the role was small, Mac's career was beginning to take off, and in 1993 he landed another small role in the feature Who's The Man?, as well as guesting on an HBO special starring Rosie Perez. He began to get larger roles in feature comedies, such as House Party 3 (1994), Above The Rim (1994) and The Walking Dead (1995) before landing his own one-month HBO series called Midnight Mac. When Mac appeared in the highly successful Friday (1995), people were finally beginning to take notice of this rising star. After several more movie roles, including in Spike Lee's Get on the Bus (1996), Mac landed a recurring role on the hit TV sitcom Moesha. His biggest success to date came when he produced and starred in his own series, The Bernie Mac Show (2001), in which he plays a stand-up comedian who gets custody of his sister's three children. The show won an Emmy award for outstanding writing in 2002, and Mac was nominated for both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his performance in the series.

He continues to act in feature films such as Ocean's Eleven (2001) with Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts, Head of State (2003) with Chris Rock, and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003) as Bosley's brother. Mac and his wife married in 1974, and have one daughter, Je'Niece, who has a PhD in Child Psychology.

Filmography:

American Dog (2008) (voice)
Transformers (2007)
Ocean's Thirteen (2007)
Pride (2007)
Guess Who (2005)
Lil' Pimp (2005) (voice)
Ocean's Twelve (2004)
Mr. 3000 (2004)
Bad Santa (2003)
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003)
Head of State (2003)
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
What's the Worst That Could Happen? (2001)
The Original Kings of Comedy (2000)
Life (1999)
The Players Club (1998)
How to Be a Player (1997)
B*A*P*S (1997)
Booty Call (1997)
Reasons (1996)
Get on the Bus (1996)
Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996)
Friday (1995)
The Walking Dead (1995)
Above the Rim (1994)
House Party 3 (1994)
Who's the Man? (1993)
Mo' Money (1992)