Chris Rock was described by Comedy Central as the fifth greatest stand-up comedian of all times, Christopher Julius Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. Rock was born on February 7, 1966 in Andrews, South Carolina. Shortly after his birth, his parents moved to Brooklyn, New York and a few years later, they moved to the working-class area of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn where they settled.

Rock began doing stand-up comedy in 1985 in New York City's Catch a Rising Star. Rock slowly rose up the ranks of the comedy circuit in addition to earning bit roles in the film I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and the TV series Miami Vice. Upon seeing his act at a nightclub, Eddie Murphy befriended and mentored the aspiring comic. Murphy gave Rock his first film role in Beverly Hills Cop II. Rock also auditioned to be on MTV as a VJ.

While Rock has acted in movies since 1987 beginning with a small role in Beverly Hills Cop II, it was not until the success of his stand-up act in the late 1990s that Rock began receiving major parts in films. These include roles in Dogma, Beverly Hills Ninja, Lethal Weapon 4 and Nurse Betty and a starring role in Down to Earth. Rock has also increasingly worked behind the camera, both as a writer and director of Head of State and I Think I Love My Wife.

Rock became a cast member of the popular sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live in 1990. He and other new cast members Chris Farley, Adam Sandler and David Spade became known as the Bad Boys of SNL. In 1991, he released his first comedy album Born Suspect and won acclaim for his dramatic role as a crack addict in the film New Jack City. His tenure on SNL gave Rock national exposure, but he was rarely used on the show, save for his recurring Nat X character.

He starred in his first HBO comedy special in 1994 titled Big Ass Jokes. But it was his second stand-up special, 1996's Bring the Pain that reinvented Rock as one of the best comedians in the industry. His routine featured commentaries on race in America, stirred up a great deal of controversy. Rock won two Emmy Awards for that special. Adding to his popularity was his much-publicized role as a commentator for Comedy Central's Politically Incorrect during the 1996 Presidential elections. Rock was also the voice for the "Lil Penny" puppet that was the alter ego to basketball star Penny Hardaway in a series of Nike shoe commercials from 1994-1998, and hosted the '97 MTV Video Music Awards.

In the fall of 2005, the UPN television network premiered a comedy series called Everybody Hates Chris, based on Rock's school days, of which he is the executive producer and narrator. The show has garnered both critical and commercial success, and Rock describes it as "honest" and "very working-class, so people can relate."

Often the subject of tabloids, when asked about paparazzi and the other negative aspects of fame, Rock says he accepts the bad with the good: "You can't be happy that fire cooks your food and be mad it burns your fingertips."

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