Chris Rock became a certified Hollywood star in the ’90s — and he hasn’t slowed down since.
Rock gained traction after joining the Saturday Night Live cast in 1990. He remained on the series until 1993 and has since returned to host the late-night show multiple times over the years.
In his stand-up, Rock often gets real about politics and race — and he’s no stranger to making a controversial quip. The Everybody Hates Chris alum publicly faced the consequences of an edgy joke at the 2022 Academy Awards after commenting on Jada Pinkett Smith‘s shaved head.
“Will Smith just smacked the s— out of me,” Rock exclaimed at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles in March 2022 after the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air alum got out of his seat and walked onto the stage, striking Rock in the face. (Smith later returned to the audience and warned, “Keep my wife’s name out your f—ing mouth.”)
The Academy Awards saga wasn’t the only time Rock made headlines. In a 2017 Rolling Stone interview, the Grown Ups actor got candid about his divorce from Malaak Compton-Rock after two decades of marriage. (The former couple were married from 1996 to 2016 and share two daughters.)
“My faults are magnified. Your significant other, if they really love you, has a high opinion of you. And you let them down,” Rock confessed to the outlet, noting that he’d toned down his remarks about marriage in his stand-up shows at the time. “It’s not fair. I have a mic, she doesn’t. God forbid people are bugging her in the supermarket. That’s not cool. I’m going to have to see her at weddings and graduations.”
Scroll down for a look back at Rock’s career highlights:
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