Christopher Tucker

Biography

Christopher Tucker was born on August 31, 1971, in Atlanta, Georgia, the youngest son of Mary Louise (née Bryant) and Norris Tucker. One of six children, Tucker learned early in life that humor had the power to draw attention to himself both at school and at home. His father was an independent businessman who owned a janitorial service. Tucker grew up in Decatur, Georgia, and after graduating from Columbia High School, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his comedy career. His comedy influences were Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy, and Tucker was known by his teachers and high school classmates for making people laugh by doing impressions of Murphy, Michael Jackson, and others. Tucker grew up in a Pentecostal Christian household, as his parents were members of the Church of God in Christ during his childhood.

Tucker began showcasing his comedy skills before an audience in local Atlanta comedy clubs until he decided to move to Los Angeles in 1990 to further pursue his stand-up comedy career.[9] In 1992, Tucker was a frequent performer on the HBO comedy series Def Comedy Jam. He made his cinematic debut in House Party 3 in 1994 and gained greater film recognition alongside N.W.A rapper Ice Cube in Friday the following year. In 1997, he co-starred in the films The Fifth Element and Money Talks. He also played a supporting role in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown and had a starring role in the spy comedy Double-O-Soul, but was never released.

Along with Hong Kong martial artist Jackie Chan, Tucker starred as LAPD detective James Carter in the martial arts action comedy film series Rush Hour. After the commercial success of the first Rush Hour film, he held out for a $20 million salary for Rush Hour 2, and was paid $25 million for Rush Hour 3. The latter was part of a $40 million two-movie contract with New Line Cinema that also included an unnamed future film. He was also to receive 20% of the gross from Rush Hour 3.