Wesley Snipes Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth & Biography

Wesley Snipes is an American actor and martial artist best known as Blade, the vampire hunter in the Blade film trilogy, and as the fast-talking Nino Brown in New Jack City. Born on July 31, 1962, in Orlando, Florida, Snipes, 64, became one of the most popular action stars of the 1990s, with hits including White Men Can’t Jump, Passenger 57 and Demolition Man.

Quick Facts

Who Is Wesley Snipes?

Wesley Snipes is an actor and martial artist whose work in the 1990s made him one of Hollywood’s most bankable action stars. As Blade, a half-vampire who hunts vampires, in Blade (1998) and its two sequels, Snipes combined martial arts, charisma and a leather coat into a character that helped to launch the modern era of superhero films, and the first Blade film was a box-office hit that paved the way for the Marvel films that followed. He is also known as Nino Brown, the drug kingpin in New Jack City (1991), a role that showed his range as a dramatic actor and that remains one of his most quoted performances.

Beyond those roles, Snipes has shown a wide range. He played Sidney Deane, a street basketball hustler, in White Men Can’t Jump (1992), opposite Woody Harrelson, and he played John Cutter, a security expert, in Passenger 57 (1992). He starred in Demolition Man (1993), opposite Sylvester Stallone, as Simon Phoenix, a criminal who is thawed out in the future, and he played in Jungle Fever (1991), a film directed by Spike Lee, and in Mo’ Better Blues (1990), alongside Denzel Washington. He returned to the role of Blade in a cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), a moment that delighted fans of the original films.

Early Life & Background

Wesley Trent Snipes was born in Orlando, Florida, the son of Marian, a teacher’s aide, and Wesley Rudolph Snipes, an aircraft engineer. The family moved to the Bronx, New York, when Snipes was a child, and he grew up in the South Bronx. He attended the High School of Performing Arts in New York, where he studied acting and dance, and he went on to study at the State University of New York at Purchase, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in drama in 1985.

He began training in martial arts as a child, studying Shotokan karate and other disciplines, and he holds a 5th degree black belt in Shotokan karate and a 2nd degree black belt in Hapkido. He made his acting debut on television, playing in the series Miami Vice (1986) and in The Bill Cosby Show, and he appeared in the film Wildcats (1986), in which he played Trumaine, a football player. He went on to work in Streets of Gold (1986), in Major League (1989), in which he played Willie Mays Hayes, a baseball player, and in Mo’ Better Blues, which brought him to wide attention.

Career

Snipes’s career in film includes Wildcats, Major League, Mo’ Better Blues, New Jack City, Jungle Fever, White Men Can’t Jump, Passenger 57, Demolition Man, Rising Sun (1993), U.S. Marshals (1998), Blade, Blade II (2002), Blade: Trinity (2004), The Expendables 3 (2014), Dolemite Is My Name (2019), in which he played D’Urville Martin, and Coming 2 America (2021), in which he played General Izzi. He has been nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead for The Waterdance (1992) and for the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for New Jack City.

In 2008, Snipes was convicted of three misdemeanor counts of failing to file federal income tax returns, and he served a three-year prison sentence from 2010 to 2013. He has since returned to acting, working in The Expendables 3, in Dolemite Is My Name and in Coming 2 America, and he has worked as a producer and as an author. He was married to April Dubois from 1985 to 1990, and they have a son together, Jelani. He married Nakyung “Nikki” Park, a painter, in 2003, and they have four children together: Akhenaten, Iset, Alaafia and Alimayu. He is known for his martial arts skills, for his work as an action star, and for a career that has lasted for more than thirty-five years.

Facts About Wesley Snipes

• He played Blade in the Blade trilogy (1998-2004) and returned to the role in a cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).
• He played Nino Brown in New Jack City (1991) and Willie Mays Hayes in Major League (1989).
• He holds a 5th degree black belt in Shotokan karate and a 2nd degree black belt in Hapkido.
• He studied drama at the State University of New York at Purchase, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1985.
• He served a three-year prison sentence from 2010 to 2013 for failing to file federal income tax returns.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Trending Profiles

Discover more profiles on The Celeb IO: Morgan Freeman Age & Biography, Denzel Washington Age & Biography, Tom Hanks Age & Biography and Tom Cruise Age & Biography.