• Faith: Christian
• Career: Actor
• Birthday:  December 28, 1954

Denzel Washington is a renowned American actor, producer, and director. Celebrated for his powerful performances on stage and screen, he is widely considered one of the finest actors of his generation. In 2020, The New York Times hailed him as the greatest actor of the 21st century. Throughout his illustrious career, Washington has earned numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Tony Award, along with nominations for two Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award. His achievements have been further recognized with prestigious honors such as the Cecil B. DeMille Award (2016), the AFI Life Achievement Award (2019), and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022).

After training at the American Conservatory Theater, Washington started his career in theatre, acting in performances off-Broadway. He first came to prominence in the NBC series “St. Elsewhere” and in the war movie “A Soldier’s Story.” He won Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for his role as an American Civil War soldier in “Glory” and Best Actor for playing a corrupt cop in “Training Day.” His other Oscar-nominated roles were in “Malcolm X,” “Cry Freedom,” “Hurricane,” “Flight,” “Fences,” “Roman J. Israel, Esq.,” and “The Tragedy of Macbeth.”

He established himself as a leading man with starring roles in “Mississippi Masala,” “Mo’ Better Blues,” “Philadelphia,” “Courage Under Fire,” “Remember the Titans,” “Man on Fire,” “Inside Man,” and “American Gangster.” He starred in the “Equalizer” trilogy and directed and starred in “Antwone Fisher,” “The Great Debaters,” and “Fences.” Washington made his Broadway debut in “Checkmates” and won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in the Broadway revival of August Wilson’s play “Fences” in 2010. He has since returned to Broadway in the revivals of Lorraine Hansberry’s play “A Raisin in the Sun” and the Eugene O’Neill play “The Iceman Cometh.”

In 2023, Denzel Washington joined the cast of Ridley Scott's epic historical drama *Gladiator II*, alongside Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, and Derek Jacobi. The film serves as a sequel to Scott's 2000 classic, "Gladiator."

In 2024, Washington took on the role of producer for "The Piano Lesson," a Netflix film adaptation of August Wilson's play, starring John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, and Samuel L. Jackson. That same year, he was cast as the Carthaginian general Hannibal in an upcoming Netflix film, a decision that sparked controversy in Tunisia. 

Additionally, it was announced in 2024 that Washington would return to Broadway in the title role of a revival of William Shakespeare's "Othello," opposite Jake Gyllenhaal as Iago. Directed by Kenny Leon, who previously worked with Washington on Broadway revivals of "Fences" and "A Raisin in the Sun," the production is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2025.

In November 2024, Washington revealed he would star in the untitled sequel to "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At the same time, he also revealed he plans to retire from Hollywood after the slew of acting projects he has in the works.

Washington was born in Mount Vernon, New York, in 1954. His mother was a beauty parlor owner and operator, while his father, Denzel Hayes Washington Sr., was an ordained Pentecostal minister who was also an employee of the New York City Water Department and worked at a local S. Klein department store. When Washington was 14, his parents divorced, and his mother sent him to the private preparatory school Oakland Military Academy in New Windsor, New York. He later said, “That decision changed my life because I wouldn’t have survived in the direction I was going. The guys I was hanging out with at the time, my running buddies, have now done maybe 40 years combined in prison. They were nice guys, but the streets got them.”

After Oakland, he attended Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Florida, from 1970 to 1971. He was interested in attending Texas Tech University, but instead, he earned a BA in Drama and Journalism from Fordham University in 1977. After a period of indecision on which major to study and taking a semester off, Washington worked as a creative arts director of the overnight summer camp at Camp Sloane YMCA in Lakeville, Connecticut. He participated in a staff show for the campers, and a colleague suggested that he try acting.

Washington and his wife, Pauletta, have been married since 1983. They have four children: John David (born July 28, 1984), an actor and former football player; Katia (born November 27, 1986), who earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University in 2010; and twins Olivia and Malcolm (born April 10, 1991). Malcolm graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in film studies and made his directorial debut with "The Piano Lesson," which Denzel produced and featured John David in a starring role. Olivia appeared in Lee Daniels' film "The Butler." In 1995, Washington and his wife renewed their wedding vows in South Africa in a ceremony officiated by Desmond Tutu.

What religion is Denzel Washington?

Denzel Washington is a Pentecostal Evangelical Christian and a member of the West Angeles Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles. At one point in his life, he considered becoming a preacher. In 1999, he said, “A part of me still says, ‘Maybe, Denzel, you’re supposed to preach. Maybe you’re still compromising.’ I’ve had an opportunity to play great men and, through their words, to preach. I take what talent I’ve been given seriously, and I want to use it for good.” In 1995, he donated $2.5 million to help build the new West Angeles Church of God in Christ facility in Los Angeles. He also says that he reads his Bible daily.