Denzel Washington Net Worth

Biography of Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington is the second Oscar-winning African American in Hollywood, who became famous after the role of Steve Biko in the historical-biographical drama Freedom Cry directed by Richard Attenborough. Producer of the sensational films The Great Equalizer, The Book of Eli and other films. As a film director, he created three full-length films, the last of the works in this field is the drama “Fences”. Loving husband and father of many children.

Childhood: Mouth Vernon

The second boy, born in the family of a priest from Mout Vernon on the eve of the new year, 1955, was named, like his father, Denzel. Denzel Hayes Washington, Sr., barely taking the baby in his arms, mentally decided that he, like him, was born to later become a minister of the church.

But his wife, Lennis Love, had a different opinion about the future of the child. Being a highly sought-after business woman, owning her own beauty salon, Mom often took Denzel to her work, where he played while the woman was doing business, and when he became a student at Pennington Grimes Elementary School, he resorted after school to help her.

In one of the interviews, Washington told how, on one of these visits, one of the elderly clients did not take her eyes off him. Then she wrote on a piece of paper that Denzel has a great future, millions of people will listen to him. About this woman in the city they said that she had the gift of foresight, and the boy kept a sheet of prophecy.

When another boy appeared in the family, the father began to insist that the middle son visit his church more often than the mother’s salon. The couple began to quarrel frequently. For fourteen-year-old Denzel, the divorce of his parents was a painful blow, but the path of a priest then did not seem to him the only possible one in life. Mom transferred her son to the Auckland Military Academy, where he completed his school education.

Youth: New York-San Francisco

In the early 1970s, Fordham University in New York (of which Donald Trump was an alumnus) added Denzel Washington as a student. The young man chose a medical specialization, but soon decided to become a journalist and transferred to the specialized faculty, which he successfully graduated in 1977.

In addition to studying at the university, Denzel played sports, and thanks to his participation in many theatrical student productions, he soon became a popular and budding amateur actor. Particularly striking was his role of Shakespeare’s Othello.

After winning a tuition grant, Washington traveled to San Francisco, where he attended classes at the American Conservatory for a year. It was here that fate gave him his first chance – the role of the young Robert Eldridge in the biographical sports drama Wilma. Denzel finally feels like a congenial element, he leaves the conservatory and works as an actor on stage and film sets. “Wilma” presents Washington with another very important gift: he meets Pauletta Pearson, his future wife.

Career: two Roberts, two Oscars

The name Robert is symbolic for Denzel. That was the name of both his first movie hero and the hero of The Great Equalizer, between whom Washington managed to appear in more than fifty films. Jad Taylor’s drama “Flesh and Blood” with a small role as boxer Kirk drew a line under the seventies.

The real breakthrough in Washington’s acting career was the eighties. A six-year marathon in the medical series “St. Elsware” was interspersed with the main roles in a big movie. Denzel – Roger from the comedy “Replica” and Arnold Billing from the drama “Power”, in which Richard Gere played the main role.

This was followed by the television drama The George McKenna Story, where the actor got the main role of an educator, the action movie For Queen and Country with the story of the paratrooper James, the historical and biographical drama Cry for Freedom, in which Washington plays the leader of the movement for the national identity of Africans. The result of this work was the first Oscar nomination.

Denzel played the main roles in the thriller The Mighty Quinn, the comedy-fiction drama State of the Heart, and the military biographical film Valor. His private Trip in this film brought Washington the first Oscar statuette and recognition of Denzel by the Film Academy as the best supporting actor.

Successful and in demand, in the early nineties he conquered director Spike Lee, who cast the actor in the melodramatic film Better Life Blues, and then in the biographical drama Malcolm X. It was Spike who helped Denzel discover his talent for impersonation, and gave him the opportunity to demonstrate the versatility of acting in the future (sports drama “His Game” paired with Mila Jovovich).

The role of John Hobbs from the mystical thriller Fallen, where Washington worked together with Donald Sutherland and John Goodman, is another confirmation of the actor’s multifaceted role, as is the paralyzed detective Lincoln Rhyme from the crime thriller The Power of Fear. Denzel’s partner in the film was Angelina Jolie, whom he called one of the most talented actresses he had met.

Undoubted commercial success enjoyed such films with the participation of the actor as “Philadelphia” with Tom Hanks, “The Siege”, which also starred Bruce Willis, “Training Day” with Ethan Hawke. In the latter, Denzel received his second Oscar for the lead role of the villain Alonzo Harris, and his first Golden Globe for the role of Rubin Carter in The Hurricane.

In the 2000s, Washington tries his hand at directing, filming The Story of Antoine Fischer, The Great Debaters and Fences. Filmed with Jodie Foster in the film Not Caught – Not a Thief, with Eva Mendes in the action movie Out of Time, with Dakota Fanning in the drama Wrath, with Meryl Streep in the fantasy thriller The Manchurian Candidate, with Russell Crowe in the biographical Drama Gangster.

The role of teacher Melvin Tolson in his own melodrama The Big Debates brought Washington a well-deserved Golden Globe, the second in the treasury of cinematographic awards. With John Travolta, Denzel starred in the action movie “Dangerous Passengers on Train 123”, with Gary Oldman in “The Book of Eli”, with Ryan Reynolds in “Cape Town Access Code”, with Kelly Reilly in “The Crew”, with Mark Wahlberg in “Two Guns” .

2014 and 2018 in the life of the actor are closely connected with the role of former CIA agent Robert McCall, who administers his own justice on the streets of the city. The Great Equalizer was so successful that director Antoine Fuqua decides to direct a sequel, to which Washington gladly agreed. After reading the script, Denzel exclaimed, “Wow! It’s a completely different world!” There was a feeling that this is a completely new picture, although with the same hero – the equalizer of good and evil in his own way.

Personal life of Denzel Washington

Acquaintance with Pauletta Pearson on the set of “Wilma” grew into a five-year romance, which resulted in a wedding and a wedding in 1982. The first-born David was born in 1985, three years later his wife gave Denzel a daughter, who was named Katya by the Russian name. The happy parents of twins Malcolm and Olivia Washington became in 1991.

For everything he has achieved in life, the actor thanks God every day, reading the Bible. On the eve of the millennium, Denzel even seriously considered becoming a preacher, but his confessor noticed that much more people heard Washington in his place, and the man shelved this idea, donating two and a half million dollars to build the Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles.

Denzel Washington now

On December 28, 2018, Denzel Washington celebrated his personal sixty-fourth New Year with family and friends. With his wife, Pauletta, they are regulars at the games of their favorite basketball team, the Lakers.

In January 2019, the Washington family attended the Golden Globe Awards. The reason for this was the nomination of the eldest son David for the best male role in Spike Lee’s film “Black Klansman”. And although the debutant did not become the owner of a prestigious award, his father believes that his creative potential will still be fully revealed.

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