Dave Chappelle Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth & Biography

Dave Chappelle is an American comedian and actor best known as the creator and star of Chappelle’s Show, the sketch comedy series that ran on Comedy Central from 2003 to 2006 and that became one of the most influential comedy shows of its era. Born on August 24, 1973, in Washington, D.C., Chappelle, 53, walked away from a $50 million contract at the height of his fame, and he has since returned as one of the most acclaimed stand-up comedians of his generation, winning multiple Grammy and Emmy Awards for his Netflix specials.

Quick Facts

Who Is Dave Chappelle?

Dave Chappelle is a comedian and actor whose sketch show became a cultural phenomenon. As the star of Chappelle’s Show (2003-2006), Chappelle played a wide range of characters, including Tyrone Biggums, a crack addict, Clayton Bigsby, a blind white supremacist who does not know he is Black, and a version of himself, and the show’s sketches, such as the Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories episodes, became some of the most quoted comedy of the 2000s. At the height of the show’s success, in 2005, Chappelle abruptly left the production during filming of the third season and travelled to South Africa, walking away from a reported $50 million contract, a decision that became one of the most talked-about stories in entertainment.

Beyond Chappelle’s Show, Chappelle has shown a wide range. He played Ahchoo, a pickpocket, in Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), and he co-wrote and starred in Half Baked (1998), a stoner comedy that has become a cult classic. He played Reggie Warrington, a comedian, in The Nutty Professor (1996), opposite Eddie Murphy, and he played Noodles, a musician, in A Star Is Born (2018), opposite Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Like Chris Rock, Chappelle is one of the most acclaimed stand-up comedians of his generation, and he has won six Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album and four Primetime Emmy Awards.

Early Life & Background

David Khari Webber Chappelle was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Yvonne, a professor at Howard University and at Prince George’s Community College, and William David Chappelle III, a professor at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He grew up in Washington, D.C., and in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he attended high school, and he studied at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C., where he studied theatre. He began performing stand-up comedy as a teenager, appearing at clubs in Washington, D.C., and in New York City.

He moved to New York City after high school to pursue a career in comedy, and he appeared on Def Comedy Jam (1992), a comedy show on HBO, where his stand-up comedy made him a star. He appeared in the film Robin Hood: Men in Tights, in The Nutty Professor, and in Half Baked, which brought him to wide attention as a film actor. He married Elaine Mendoza Erfe, a Filipino-American woman, in 2001, and they have three children together: Sulayman, Ibrahim and Sanaa.

Career

Chappelle’s career in film and television includes Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Undercover Blues (1993), The Nutty Professor, Con Air (1997), Half Baked, Blue in the Face (1995), Chappelle’s Show, A Star Is Born, Sticks & Stones (2019), The Closer (2021), and The Dreamer (2023). He signed a deal with Netflix in 2016, reportedly worth $60 million for three specials, and he has released several stand-up specials on the platform, including The Age of Spin (2017), Deep in the Heart of Texas (2017), Equanimity (2017), Sticks & Stones, and The Closer.

He lives on a farm outside Yellow Springs, Ohio, with his wife, Elaine, and their three children. He has won six Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album, for The Age of Spin & Deep in the Heart of Texas, for Equanimity & The Bird Revelation, for Sticks & Stones, and for The Closer, and he has won four Primetime Emmy Awards, for Chappelle’s Show and for his work on Saturday Night Live. He is known for his work as a stand-up comedian, as an actor, and for a career that has lasted for more than thirty years.

Facts About Dave Chappelle

• He created and starred in Chappelle’s Show (2003-2006).
• He walked away from a reported $50 million contract in 2005, during filming of the show’s third season.
• He played Noodles in A Star Is Born (2018) and co-wrote and starred in Half Baked (1998).
• He has won six Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album and four Primetime Emmy Awards.
• He has been married to Elaine Chappelle since 2001, and they have three children together.

Frequently Asked Questions

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