Short Biography

Morgan Porterfield Freeman, Jr. (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, film director, and narrator. Freeman is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. In 1989, Freeman won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy in the film Driving Miss Daisy. In 2004, he then won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Eddie "Scrap Iron" Dupris in Million Dollar Baby. Freeman was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Mayme Edna (née Revere), a cleaner, and Morgan Porterfield Freeman, Sr., a barber who died in 1961 from liver cirrhosis. He was sent as an infant to his paternal grandmother in Charleston, Mississippi. He has three older siblings. Freeman`s family moved frequently during his childhood, living in Greenwood, Mississippi, Gary, Indiana, and finally Chicago, Illinois. Freeman made his acting debut at age eight, playing the lead role in a school play. He then attended Broad Street High School (Mississippi) currently Threadgill Elementary School in Mississippi. At age 12, he won a statewide drama competition, and while still at Broad Street High School (Threadgill Elementary School), he performed in a radio show based in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1955, he graduated from Broad Street High School (Threadgill Elementary School), but turned down a partial drama scholarship from Jackson State University, opting instead to work as a mechanic in the United States Air Force.

Freeman was married to Jeanette Adair Bradshaw from October 22, 1967, until 1979. He has been married to Myrna Colley-Lee since June 16, 1984. Since December 2007, he has been separated from Myrna. Freeman`s attorney and business partner Bill Luckett, announced in August 2008 that Freeman and his wife are in the process of divorce. He has two sons, Alfonso and Saifoulaye from previous relationships. He adopted his first wife`s daughter, Deena, and the couple also had a fourth child, Morgana. Freeman lives in Charleston, Mississippi, and New York City. He has a private pilot`s license, which he earned at age 65, and co-owns and operates Madidi, a fine dining restaurant, and Ground Zero, a blues club, both located in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He officially opened his second club Ground Zero in Memphis, Tennessee on April 24, 2008. In 2008 Freeman`s family history was profiled on the PBS series African American Lives 2. A DNA test showed that he is descended from the Songhai and Tuareg peoples of Niger.

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