Early life

Kevin Hart was born on July 6, 1979 in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was raised by his single mother, Nancy Hart, and has one older brother, Robert. His father, Henry Robert Witherspoon, a cocaine addict, was in and out of jail throughout most of Kevin's childhood. Kevin used his natural ability to make people laugh as a coping mechanism to deal with his family struggles and to stay out of trouble.

After attending George Washington High School in Northeast Philadelphia and Temple University for roughly two years, he moved to New York City to attend community college, graduating two years later. He then moved to Brockton, Massachusetts, and found work as a shoe salesman. He began pursuing a career in stand-up comedy after performing at an amateur night at a club in Philadelphia.

Career

Stand-up

Hart's first gig was at The Laff House in Philadelphia under the name of Lil Kev, which did not go well. His career suffered a slow start, as he was booed off stage several times, once even having a piece of chicken thrown at him. After those initial unsuccessful shows, Hart began entering comedy competitions throughout Massachusetts, and his fortunes soon turned for the better.

It took time for Hart to develop a unique comedic style. After an early period of attempting to imitate comedians like Chris Tucker, he found his own rhythm by delving into his insecurities and life experiences. "Because of what I do, it has to be an open book," he has said. "But right now this is a book that is being written."

Hart has cited fellow Philadelphian Bill Cosby as a personally significant comedic influence. "When you talk about your flaws, people gravitate towards you," Hart said in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine. "I'm just not that manly man." This humility may be somewhat attributed to his short stature, since he is only five feet, four inches tall.

Hart's comedy tours began in 2009 with his act titled "I'm a Grown Little Man," followed by "Seriously Funny" in 2010, "Laugh at My Pain" in 2011, and most recently, his TV special titled "Let Me Explain" in 2013. Hart grossed over $15 million from "Laugh at My Pain", making it one of the year's top-selling comedy tours. Hart also has a game available through iTunes called "Little Jumpman." His Facebook page, Twitter account, and YouTube channel are all connected to and accessible through this app. Most overseas fans of Hart discovered him on YouTube, as well.

It was announced in October 2013 that ABC will be making a 30-minute pilot based on Hart's stand-up act. Hart does not plan to star in the sitcom, but does plan on having a recurring role.

Film and television roles

Hart came to prominence from his guest appearance in Undeclared. He made his film debut in the film Paper Soldiers. Hart then came to prominence from his other films such as the Scary Movie franchise, Soul Plane, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Death at a Funeral, and Little Fockers.

He played Doug in the film The Five-Year Engagement (2012) and appeared in Think Like a Man which was a box office success. He also appeared in the sequel. He had a cameo as himself in This Is the End. In 2013, Hart played a boxing promoter in Grudge Match and appeared in Exit Strategy as Mannequin Head Man. He also appeared in 35 and Ticking.

In 2014, Hart starred as Ben in Ride Along, opposite Ice Cube. The film received generally negative reviews from critics, but was a major box office success. Hart returned in the sequel, Ride Along 2, which was released on January 15, 2016.

In 2013, Hart co-created Real Husbands of Hollywood with Chris Spencer. The show follows Hart along with other married celebrities (each playing a comical fictionalized version of themselves) within the series including: Boris Kodjoe, Nelly, Duane Martin, J.B. Smoove, Nick Cannon, and Robin Thicke. Thicke didn't return for the second season due to his music career, though Hart has stated that the door is open for Thicke to return. The series is intentionally filmed in a style similar to Bravo's The Real Housewives. Episodes often hinge on the "real" Kevin Hart's desperately unsuccessful attempts to climb Hollywood's celebrity social ladder (which always backfire in humiliating ways), and the character's barely-hidden jealousy of his more successful celebrity friends. A sneak peek was shown as a segment during the 2012 BET Awards and the official promo was released in October 2012. And in 2015 Hart starred in a film 'Get Hard' with Will Ferrell. Also he starred in a film called the Wedding Ringer where he was one of the main characters.

In addition to acting, Hart has also hosted various ceremonies. Hart first hosted the 2011 BET Awards. Hart then hosted the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards. His longtime friend Judd Apatow, the director who gave him his first big on-screen break in the TV series Undeclared, was the one who recommended him for the gig. Hart hopes that this will project him further into a side career as an emcee, stating, "Hopefully after MTV, of course we’re talking Emmys, Oscars, whatever." He has hosted two episodes of Saturday Night Live. In 2015, Hart hosted the Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber.

Personal life

Kevin and Torrei Hart filed for divorce in February 2010, citing irreconcilable differences. Hart requested joint custody of their two children, daughter Heaven and son Hendrix. The divorce was finalized in November 2011.

Hart's relationship with his father improved after the latter recovered from his addiction. Hart said, "My dad said I was supposed to be on drugs. I was like, 'Dad, shut up,' but then I thought about it, and it was stupid, but it made sense. He was saying that basically he was my example to never go down that road."

Hart also talks about his mother in his stand-up routine, portraying her as a loving, yet intimidating woman. She died from cancer in 2007.

On August 18, 2014, Hart proposed to model Eniko Parrish. Their wedding is planned for August 8, 2016.

Legal issues

On April 14, 2013, Hart was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after his black Mercedes nearly collided with a tanker truck on a Southern California freeway. Hart failed a field sobriety test and was booked for misdemeanor DUI. On August 5, 2013, Hart was sentenced to three years’ probation after pleading no contest to one count of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
2002	Paper Soldiers	Shawn
2003	Scary Movie 3	CJ
	Death of a Dynasty	P-Diddy / Cop 1 / Dance Coach / Hyper Rapper / H. Lector
2004	Along Came Polly	Vic
	Soul Plane	Nashawn Wade
2005	The 40-Year-Old Virgin	Smart Tech Customer
	In The Mix	Busta
2006	Scary Movie 4	CJ
	The Last Stand	F Stop/G Spot
2007	Epic Movie	Silas
2008	Fool's Gold	Bigg Bunny
	Superhero Movie	Trey
	Extreme Movie	Barry
	Meet Dave	Number 17
	Drillbit Taylor	Pawn Shop Dealer
2009	Not Easily Broken	Tree
2010	Something Like a Business	JoJo
	Death at a Funeral	Brian
	Little Fockers	Nurse Louis
2011	35 and Ticking	Cleavon
	Let Go	Kris Styles
	Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain	Himself	Stand-up film
2012	The Five-Year Engagement	Doug
	Think Like a Man	Cedric
	Exit Strategy	Mannequin Head Man
2013	This Is the End	Kevin Hart
	Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain	Himself	Stand-up film
	Grudge Match	Dante Slate, Jr.
2014	Ride Along	Ben Barber
	About Last Night	Bernie
	Think Like a Man Too	Cedric
	School Dance	OG Pretty Lil' Thug	Uncredited role
	Top Five	Charles
2015	The Wedding Ringer	Jimmy
	Get Hard	Darnell Lewis
2016	Ride Along 2	Ben Barber
	Central Intelligence		Post-Production
	The Secret Life of Pets	Snowball (voice)	Filming
	Kevin Hart: What Now?	Himself	Stand-up film / Post-Production
2017	Captain Underpants	George Beard (voice)	Pre-Production
TBA	Untitled The Intouchables remake	Driss	Announced

Television
Year	Show	Role	Notes
2002-2003	Undeclared	Luke	3 episodes
2002-2004	Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn	Himself	8 episodes
2004	The Big House	Kevin	5 episodes
	Comedy Central Presents	Himself	Stand-up special
2005	Barbershop	James Ricky	3 episodes
2005-2006	Jake In Progress	Nugget Dawson	2 episodes
2006	Love, Inc.	James	2 episodes
	Help Me Help You	Kevin	Episode: "Raging Bill"
2007	All of Us	Greg	Episode: "The B-R-E-A-K-U-P"
	Wild 'n Out	Various	21 episodes
2009	Party Down	Dro Grizzle	Episode: "Taylor Stiltskin Sweet Sixteen"
	Kröd Mändoon and The Flaming Sword of Fire	Zezelryck	6 episodes
	Kevin Hart: I'm a Grown Little Man	Himself	Stand-up special
2010	Kevin Hart: Seriously Funny	Himself	Stand-up special
	Cubed	Security Guard	Episode: "2.10"
2011-2012	Modern Family	Andre	2 episodes
2011	BET Awards 2011	Host	TV special
2012	Workaholics	Kevin	Episode: "To Kill a Chupacabraj"
	2012 MTV Video Music Awards	Host	TV special
2013-present	Real Husbands of Hollywood	Himself	Also co-creator, writer, executive producer
2013	Second Generation Wayans	Himself	Episode: "The Arrival"
2013-2015	Saturday Night Live	Host	2 episodes
2015	Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber	Host	TV special
2016	Lip Sync Battle	Himself	Kevin Hart vs Olivia Munn

Music videos
Year	Song	Artist	Role
2011	"Booty Wurk (One Cheek at a Time)"	T-Pain	Himself

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2004	Teen Choice Award	Choice Breakout TV Star - Male	The Big House	Nominated
2005	BET Comedy Award	Platinum Mic Viewers' Choice		Nominated
2012	BET Award	Best Actor	Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain	Won
	Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie: Male Scene Stealer	Think Like a Man	Nominated
	Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Hissy Fit	Think Like a Man	Nominated
2014	BET Award	Best Actor	Ride Along, Real Husbands of Hollywood, About Last Night	Nominated
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Comedy Series	Real Husbands of Hollywood	Won
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series	Real Husbands of Hollywood	Won
	NAACP Image Award	Entertainer of the Year		Won
	Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award	Favorite Funny Star		Won
	MTV Movie Award	Best Comedic Performance	Ride Along	Nominated
	MTV Movie Award	Best On-Screen Duo	Ride Along	Nominated
	Acalpulco Black Film Festival	Artist of the Year	Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain, This Is the End, Grudge Match	Won
	Teen Choice Award	Choice TV: Reality Show	Real Husbands of Hollywood	Nominated
	Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Actor: Comedy	Ride Along	Won
	Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie: Chemistry	Ride Along	Nominated
	Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie: Hissy Fit	Ride Along	Nominated
	Teen Choice Award	Choice Comedian		Won
2015	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Comedy Series	Real Husbands of Hollywood	Nominated
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series	Real Husbands of Hollywood	Nominated
	MTV Movie Award	Best Comedic Performance	The Wedding Ringer	Nominated
	MTV Movie Award	Comedic Genius Award		Won
	BET Award	Best Actor	The Wedding Ringer	Nominated
	Teen Choice Award	Choice Comedian		Nominated

Charities

Kevin Hart supports the following charitable cause: ALS (amyrotrophic lateral sclerosis).

[ Source: Wikipedia ]