Tall, strikingly handsome leading man of films and television in the 1980s and 1990s, Denzel Washington was born in 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York. He was the middle child of the 3 children of a Pentecostal minister father and a beautician mother. After graduating from high school, Denzel enrolled at Fordham University intent on a career in journalism. However, he caught the acting bug while appearing in student drama productions and upon graduation he moved to San Francisco and enrolled at the American Conservatory Theater. He left A.C.T. after only 1 year to seek work as an actor. With his acting versatility and powerful sexual presence, he had no difficulty finding work in numerous television productions. He made his first big screen appearance in Carbon Copy (1981) with George Segal. Through the 1980s he worked in both movies and television and was chosen for the plum role of Dr. Chandler in NBC's hit medical series "St. Elsewhere" (1982), a role that he would play for 6 years. In 1989 he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Tripp, the runaway slave in Ed Swick's powerful historical masterpiece Glory (1989).

Through the 1990s Denzel co-starred in such big budget productions as Pelican Brief, The (1993); Philadelphia (1993); Crimson Tide (1995); Preacher's Wife, The (1996); and Courage Under Fire (1996) - a role for which he was paid $10 million. He lives quietly in Los Angeles with his wife Pauletta and their 4 children. Cerebral and meticulous in his film work, he made his debut as a director in 2002 with _Antwone Fisher Story, The (2002)_ .

Often portrays real people: Reuben Carter in The Hurricane, Malcolm X in Malcolm X, Herman Boone in Remember the Titans

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#77). [1995]

Children: John David (b. 1985), Katia (b. 1988), and twins Malcolm and Olivia (b. 1991)

Son, Malcolm, was named in honor of Malcolm X

To prepare for his role as boxer Rubin Carter in Hurricane, The (1999), Washington worked out for a year with L.A. boxing trainer Terry Claybon.

Attended Fordham University, receiving a B.A. in Journalism.

1996 Harvard Foundation Award

In a Newsweek cover story about the biological basis of the perception of beauty, he was used as a key example in a scientific explanation why he is considered an extremely handsome man.

Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world [1990]

According to a 1995 Premiere magazine article, Denzel confronted director Quentin Tarantino when he visted the set of Crimson Tide. Quentin had done an uncredited rewrite of the script. Denzel lambasted Tarantino about his use of racial slurs in his films. Tarantino got embarrassed and wanted to move the conversation to a more private area. Denzel said, "No, if were going to discuss it, let's discuss it now." Denzel later said he still felt that Quentin was "a fine artist".

Denzel is named after his father who was in turn named after the doctor, Doctor Denzel, who had delivered him.

In the early 1980s, years before he portrayed Malcolm X in the Spike Lee film, Denzel Washington portrayed Malcolm X in the off-Broadway production of "When the Chickens Came Home to Roost", at the Henry Street Theatre in NYC.

Frequent collaborator of Spike Lee (3 films together).

Named one of E!'s "top 20 entertainers of 2001."

Supports charities such as the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, and the Gathering Place (an AIDS hospice).

Met his wife Pauletta in 1977 when both had small roles in the TV-movie Wilma (1977) (TV), the story of runner Wilma Rudolph. They wed five years later.

His father was a Pentecostal minister; his mother a beautician and former gospel singer. They divorced when he was 14.

Is a spokesperson for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, having been a member of the Boys Club once himself.

Only the second actor of color (after Sidney Poitier) to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Training Day)

Was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful People by People Magazine in 2002.

Father of actor John David Washington

Ranked #28 in Premiere's 2003 annual Power 100 List. Had ranked #40 in 2002.

Often works with director Edward Zwick.

(In 1998) "Acting's like someone asking you for years to write the characters, but they write the book."

"I'm very proud to be black, but black is not all I am. That's my cultural historical background, my genetic makeup, but it's not all of who I am nor is it the basis from which I answer every question."

[on where he likes to keep his Oscars] "Next to each other."

Director Ed Zwick-who directed Washington's Oscar-winning performance in Glory (1989)-said of this charismatic black actor, "Whatever that mysterious electrochemical process is that makes the camera love someone, he has more of it than any one person should." It is this presence that has made Washington one of the most exciting actors onscreen. After studying theater at Fordham and San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre, he performed on stage in New York, appeared in the TV movie Flesh and Blood (1979), and made his film debut in the "title" role of the negligible comedy Carbon Copy (1981). He caught TV audiences' attention as Dr. Chandler on the outstanding dramatic series "St. Elsewhere" (1982-88) and made a vivid impression in A Soldier's Story (1984), repeating his Obie Award-winning stage role. He earned his first Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Steven Biko in Cry Freedom (1987), and won the Supporting Actor Oscar two years later for his rich performance as a malcontented Negro soldier in Glory. He also appeared in the short subject Reunion and For Queen and Country (both 1988). Washington has made an easy transition from supporting actor to leading man with roles that have proven his range and versatility: a Caribbean police chief in The Mighty Quinn (1989), a dead spirit inhabiting a cop's body in Heart Condition a self-absorbed trumpet player in Mo' Better Blues (both 1990), a street cop pitted against a slimy bad guy in Ricochet (1991), a carpet cleaner involved in an interracial romance in Mississippi Masala (1992), and especially the famous black activist in Malcolm X (1992, for which he was Oscar-nominated), whom he had previously played on stage in "When the Chickens Came Home to Roost." In 1993 he tackled Shakespeare with Kenneth Branagh in the exhilarating Much Ado About Nothing played a homophobic lawyer who agrees to take the case of an AIDS victim in Philadelphia and starred with Julia Roberts in the John Grisham thriller The Pelican Brief-as impressive a parlay as any actor could claim in the 1990s. He almost matched it in 1995 with Crimson Tide, Devil in a Blue Dress and Virtuosity.