People, Locations, Episodes

Morgan Freeman, Actor born

Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman was born on this date in 1937. He is a Black actor, director, and activist.

Morgan Freeman was born in Memphis, TN. Freeman attended Los Angeles Community College and served in the United States Air Force from 1955 to 1959. His acting career began on the stage in the mid-1960s when he appeared in an off-Broadway production of The Niggerlovers with Pearl Bailey, and, in 1968, he appeared in an all-Black Broadway production of Hello, Dolly! After starting on the stage, he worked in television, playing Easy Reader on the PBS network's children's educational series, The Electric Company, from 1971 through 1976.  In 1983, he played The Messinger in the stage production of Gospel at Colonus.

Although he has said in interviews that Freeman has never been cast opposite a love interest in any of his movies, he has been married twice. His first marriage to Jeanette Adair Bradshaw in 1967 ended in divorce.  His second marriage was to Myrna Colley-Lee in 1984. He has two children from each of his wives: sons Alphonse and Saifoulaye and daughters Deena and Morgana.  Freeman has also earned his private pilot's license.

In 1997, Freeman and Lori McCreary founded the movie production company Revelations Entertainment. After four past nominations, he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby at the 77th Academy Awards in 2005.  For some time, he had wanted to do a film based on Nelson Mandela.  In 2007, he purchased the film rights to a book by John Carlin, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation.  Clint Eastwood directed the Nelson Mandela bio-pic Invictus, starring Freeman as Mandela.

In 2010, Freeman co-starred in Red.  In 2013, Freeman appeared in the action-thriller Olympus Has Fallen, the science fiction drama Oblivion, and the comedy Last Vegas. In 2014, he co-starred in the action film Lucy.  In 2015, Freeman played the United States Chief Justice in the season two premiere of Madam Secretary (Freeman is also one of the series' executive producers).

In 2004, Freeman and others formed the Grenada Relief Fund to aid people affected by Hurricane Ivan on the island of Grenada. The fund has since become PLANIT NOW, an organization that seeks to provide preparedness resources for people living in areas afflicted by hurricanes and severe storms.  In 2018, CNN reported the results of an investigation during which eight women accused Freeman of sexually harassing them, and eight others said they witnessed his inappropriate behavior on the set of movies while promoting his movies or at his production company.

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