Biography

Dave Chappelle

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Dave Chappelle's career started while he was in high school at Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC where he studied theatre arts. At the age of 14, he began performing stand-up comedy in nightclubs. Shortly after graduation, he moved to New York City where he quickly established himself as a major young talent. At the age of 19, Chappelle made his film debut in Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993). Chappelle then starred in the short-lived sitcom, Buddies (1996) and had a featured role in The Nutty Professor (1996).
- IMDb mini biography by: Monecia Samuel
Dave Chappelle is an American comedian, actor, producer and writer. Dave Signed $20 Million deal with Netflix. He also won Emmy award in 2017 for his guest appearance on Saturday Night live. Dave won a grammy award in 2018 for his Netflix Series The Age of Spin & Deep in the Heart of Texas. Chappelle is better known for his iconic and acclaimed satirical comedy sketch series Chappelle's Show (2003). Chappelle was called the "comic genius of America" by Esquire in 2006 and "the best" by a Billboard writer in 2013.
- IMDb mini biography by: Arpit Paul

His maternal grandmother, Beatrice (Murray), was born in Grenada, and was a real estate broker and civil rights activist. His other grandparents were all African-American. Dave's paternal great-grandfather, William D. Chappelle (William David Chappelle), was an educationalist, a bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and President of Allen University. A paternal great-great-grandfather, Robert J. Palmer, was a land-owning merchant, who was a member of the South Carolina Legislature, then majority black, during Reconstruction.
His SNL hosting debut generated the highest ratings in three years.
Chappelle signed a deal to perform and produce and star in three specials for Netflix, each special worth $20 million.
Grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland; Yellow Springs, Ohio; and Washington, D.C., and still lives in Yellow Springs, Ohio, with his wife and children.
Met Muhammad Ali when he was three years old. A photo of their meeting is in the Bettman Archive.

I still think people do have racial hang-ups, but I think one of the reasons I can joke about it is people are shedding those racial hatreds.
If you're Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, and your marriage is breaking up - that's an awful thing. But to see that speculation in people, it's gotta sting a little bit.
"I figured, let me just cut myself off from everybody, take a minute and pull a Flintstone, stop a speeding car by using my bare feet as brakes." - on his abrupt departure from Chappelle's Show (2003).
I look at it like that word, 'nigger', used to be a word of oppression. But that when I say it, it feels more like an act of freedom. For me to be able to say that unapologetically on television.
You can become famous but you can't become unfamous. You can become infamous but not unfamous.