Kevin Hart is an American comedian, actor, writer, rapper and producer, who was born on July 6th, 1979, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He grew up in the city, alongside his older brother, being raised by his single mother, Nancy Hart, due to his father’s addiction to cocaine, which kept him in and out of jail during most of Kevin’s childhood, resulting in the development in his interest for humor, as a way to cope with the feelings that his family’s struggles caused him.
Right after graduated from high school, a young Kevin moved to New York to attend community college, but later, moved again to Brockton, Massachusetts, where he’d work as a shoe salesman while pursuing his career in stand-up comedy. There, as he performed at an amateur night club, he came closer to reach his goal.
He first started to perform under the name of Lil’ Kev in different small clubs, but it didn’t go well. However, Keith Robinson soon began to mentor Hart, whose performances improved and then, gained some popularity and acceptance on stage; after that, he began to perform under his own, real name, and competed in several comedy competitions. That was when his career started to blossom.
He had made appearances and had played different roles in movies such as the Scary Movie franchise, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Soul Plane, before he released his first stand-up comedy album, entitled “I’m A Little Grown Man”, in 2009. Then came the tour “Seriously Funny”, in 2010, followed by “Laugh at My Pain, in 2011, which encompassed around 90 cities and grossed $15 million. But without turning face to comedy, he pursued his acting career, not only playing parts in movies like Think Like A Man (2012), Ride Along (2013), and Get Hard (2015), but also making appearances or having cameos in some TV shows and hosting a variety of award ceremonies, two episodes of Saturday Night Live, and more recently, Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber.
He divorced his ex-wife, Torri Hart, in 2010, requesting the custody of their children, Heaven and Hendrix, but remarried in August, 2016, with Eniko Parrish.
Nowadays, he ranks No. 6 in Forbes Magazine’s Highest Paid Celebrities list, possessing an estimated fortune of $87.5 million at age 37, being one of the most successful young comedians.