Christopher "Chris" Tucker (born August 31, 1972) is an American actor and comedian, Tucker known for his roles as Smokey in Friday and James Carter in the Rush Hour trilogy.

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Biography

Early life

Chris Tucker was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Mary and Norris Tucker. His mother was closely involved in church work, and his father was an independent businessman who owned a janitorial service. ^{[1] [2]} Tucker was raised in Decatur, Georgia.

After graduating from Columbia High School, Tucker moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy and movies.

Career

Tucker's first major movie role was alongside rapper Ice Cube in the 1995 film Friday . He also starred with Charlie Sheen in 1997's Money Talks and alongside Bruce Willis in The Fifth Element the same year. He later starred in the 1998 martial arts action comedy Rush Hour and its sequels, Rush Hour 2 and Rush Hour 3 , in which he played James Carter, an abrasive, wise-cracking detective. Realizing the success of the first Rush Hour film, Tucker held out from studio bosses until they paid his price tag of $20 million for Rush Hour 2 ; ^[3] the film became an enormous success. The other star, Jackie Chan, received $15 million and gross points.

Despite a flurry of films at the start of his career, Tucker has only made three appearances since 1998, all as Detective James Carter. Tucker's career trajectory is unusual in that, while he has made such a relatively small number of films, he has already become a member of the unofficial "$20 million per film" club, joining such actors as Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington, Tom Cruise and Will Smith. Tucker signed a two-movie contract with New Line Cinema for 40 million dollars to star in Rush Hour 3 and another unnamed film. He is also to receive 20% of the gross against his salary from the 3rd Rush Hour film. ^[4]

Tucker did not reprise his role of Smokey in Next Friday (2000) because he had become a born-again Christian after filming Money Talks (1997). He chose to do the Rush Hour series instead. He also starred in Michael Jackson's video "You Rock My World." On February 13, 2009, Tucker participated in the NBA All-Star Weekend's Celebrity Game. Other celebrities participating include rapper Master P, NBA Hall of Famer's Clyde Drexler, Dominique Wilkins, wide receiver Terrell Owens, and four Harlem Globetrotters.

Personal life

Tucker is friends with fellow Rush Hour star Jackie Chan. He was also friends with the late singer Michael Jackson, and appeared in Jackson's video "You Rock My World" (2001) and on the intro of the track on the album Invincible . He also attended Jackson's memorial service.

Tucker also appeared at the beginning of the music video for "California Love" by Tupac Shakur. A friend of Bill Clinton, Tucker has travelled with the former President overseas, though he endorsed Barack Obama rather than Hillary Clinton in the 2008 primaries. ^{[5] [6]}

He also has a son named Destin Christopher Tucker, who was born in 2000 and lives with his mother in Los Angeles. He resides in the luxury community of Bella Colina in Montverde, Florida, located west of Orlando. He also lives in a gated community in Tarzana, California, where he raises his children.

Tucker participated in a PBS documentary on the genetic makeup of African Americans. He found he has African American, European American, and Native American ancestry. ^[7] Through DNA tests (as aired on the 2006 PBS documentary African American Lives ), Tucker's paternal ancestry was traced back to the Mbundu ethnic group of Angola and one line of his mother's to the Bamileke of Cameroon. ^{[8] [9] [10]} Tucker also managed to trace his family tree back to the 1830s. ^[11] Tucker was shown traveling to Angola, the birthplace of his ancestors, with the program's host Henry Louis Gates. ^[12]

Filmography

Films

Year	Film	Role
1994	House Party 3	Johnny Booze
1995	Friday	Smokey
	Panther	Bodyguard
	Dead Presidents	Skip
1997	Money Talks	Franklin Hatchett
	Jackie Brown	Beaumont Livingston
	''The Fifth Element	Ruby Rhod
1998	Rush Hour	Detective James Carter
2001	Rush Hour 2	Detective James Carter
2007	Rush Hour 3	Detective James Carter
2009	Mr. S: My Life with Frank Sinatra	George Jacobs

TV

Year	Series	Role	Episodes
1988	Roseanne	Himself	1
1992	Hangin' with Mr. Cooper	Rapper	1
2001	Diary	Himself	1
2006	African American Lives	Himself	4

References

1. Chris Tucker Biography - Yahoo! Movies
2. Chris Tucker Biography (1972-)
3. Chris Tucker's profile at the Internet Movie Database
4. Chris Tucker signs onto Brett Ratner's Rush Hour 3 accessed August 5, 2007 8:31PM
5. Obama sees rock-star power in action
6. On the trail: Stars talk politics, endorsements as they 'stand for change' with Obama
7. DNA rewrites history for African-Americans
8. "African Ancestry & DNA Tests: The Results"
9. Chris Tucker 'Rush Hour 3' Interview with Kam Williams
10. Chris Tucker and Brett Ratner The A.V. Club
11. African Ancestry & DNA Tests
12. Oprah, Bishop Jakes, Chris Tucker Trace Roots On PBS Accessed August 5, 2007 8:28PM