Eddie Murphy Biography

Eddie Murphy’s stint as a standout funny guy on Saturday Night Live (1981-84) led to a career as one of the most successful movie stars of the 1980s and 1990s.

On SNL, Eddie Murphy was known for playful impressions of rocker James Brown, children’s host Mister Rogers, and Billie “Buckwheat” Thomas of the old Our Gang show, with Murphy tweaking racial stereotypes as part of the act.

He became a star with the success of his first three movies: the buddy movie 48 Hrs. (1982, opposite Nick Nolte), the comedy Trading Places (1983) and the frisky actioner Beverly Hills Cop (1984). Murphy also had success with his comedy recordings, winning a Grammy for Eddie Murphy: Comedian (1983) and even scoring a hit dance single in 1986 (“Party All The Time”).

After sequels to Beverly Hills Cop in 1987 and 1994, Murphy turned to straight comedy with a remake of the Jerry Lewis comedy The Nutty Professor (1996). He followed up with a string of successes, including Dr. Doolittle (1998), Bowfinger (1999, with Steve Martin) and voice roles in Mulan (1998) and Shrek (he voiced the Donkey in the original in 2001, plus the sequels Shrek 2 in 2004,  Shrek the Third in 2007 , and Shrek: The Final Chapter in 2011).

Murphy often played several roles in the same movie, frequently under heavy makeup. His multi-role movies include the Nutty Professor films, Bowfinger, Coming to America (1988) and Vampire in Brooklyn (1995).

Eddie Murphy’s other films include Harlem Nights (1989, with Richard Pryor), Boomerang (1992, with Halle Berry), I Spy (2002, with Owen Wilson), Dreamgirls (2006, with Jamie Foxx and Beyoncé), the action comedy Tower Heist (2012) and the dramedy Mr. Church (2016).