Broderick Steven "Steve" Harvey (born January 17, 1957) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
,
comedianA comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, entertainer, television and
radio personalityA radio personality is a person with an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality can be someone who introduces and discusses various genres of music, hosts a talk radio show that may take calls from listeners, or someone whose primary responsibility is to give news, weather,...
and best-selling
authorAn author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He is best known as the star of the
WBThe WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
sitcom
The Steve Harvey ShowThe Steve Harvey Show is an American sitcom that aired for six seasons from August 25, 1996 to February 17, 2002 on The WB Television Network. It was created by Winifred Hervey and directed by Stan Lathan.-Synopsis:...
, and as one of the four comedians featured in the
Spike LeeShelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
film
The Original Kings of ComedyThe Original Kings of Comedy is a 2000 stand-up comedy film, directed by Spike Lee, and featuring the comedy routines of Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, and Bernie Mac. Filmed in front of an audience at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, the comedians give the...
. Currently, he is the host of the nationally syndicated radio program
The Steve Harvey Morning ShowThe Steve Harvey Morning Show is a nationally-syndicated radio program, featuring host Steve Harvey and a team of comedians and commentators.-Broadcast history:...
, and the current host of the television game show
Family FeudFamily Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
. He also hosts the
Steve Harvey Project, on an extended cable channel. He is the author of
Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment, which was published in March 2009, and the book
Straight Talk, No Chaser: How to Find and Keep a Man.
Early years
Harvey was born in
Welch, West VirginiaWelch is a city located in McDowell County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The population was 2,406 at the 2010 census. Incorporated as a city in 1893, it is the county seat of McDowell County.-History:...
, the son of Eloise and Jesse Harvey, a coal miner. His family moved to
Cleveland, OhioCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
where he graduated from
Glenville High SchoolGlenville Academic Campus is a public high school in the Glenville neighborhood on the East Side of Cleveland, Ohio. The school is part of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Founded in 1905, the school's original campus was located at Everton and Parkwood. The current campus was built in...
in 1974. Shortly after high school he attended
Kent State UniversityKent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
and
West Virginia UniversityWest Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
and is a member of
Omega Psi PhiOmega Psi Phi is a fraternity and is the first African-American national fraternal organization to be founded at a historically black college. Omega Psi Phi was founded on November 17, 1911, at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. The founders were three Howard University juniors, Edgar Amos...
fraternity. He has been a boxer, an insurance salesman, and a mailman.
Comedy career
Steve Harvey first performed
stand-up comedyStand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
on October 8, 1985 at the Hilarities Comedy Club in
Cleveland, OhioCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. He was a finalist in Second Annual
Johnnie WalkerJohnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch Whisky owned by Diageo and originated in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland.It is the most widely distributed brand of blended Scotch whisky in the world, sold in almost every country with yearly sales of over 130 million bottles.-History:Originally known as Walker's...
National Comedy Search in 1989, eventually leading to a long stint as host of
It's Showtime at the Apollo, succeeding
Mark CurryMark G. Curry is an American actor and comedian. He is best known as the star of the ABC sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, and as one of the various hosts of the syndicated series It's Showtime at the Apollo.-Early life and education:...
in that role. His success as a
stand-up comedianStand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
led to a starring role on the
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
show
Me and the Boys in 1994. He would later star on the WB network show,
The Steve Harvey ShowThe Steve Harvey Show is an American sitcom that aired for six seasons from August 25, 1996 to February 17, 2002 on The WB Television Network. It was created by Winifred Hervey and directed by Stan Lathan.-Synopsis:...
, which ran from 1996 to 2002. While wildly popular in the African-American community (the show won multiple
NAACP Image AwardAn NAACP Image Award is an accolade presented by the American National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to honor outstanding people of color in film, television, music, and literature....
s), the show never achieved critical acclaim outside of the African-American community, a matter about which Harvey has often complained.
In 1997, Harvey continued his work in stand-up comedy, touring as one of the
Kings of ComedyKings of Comedy was a reality television series broadcast made by Endemol for Channel 4. The show was presented by Russell Brand and narrated by Matthew Rudge...
, along with
Cedric the EntertainerCedric Antonio Kyles , known professionally by his stage name Cedric the Entertainer, is an American actor, comedian and director...
, D.L. Hughley and
Bernie MacBernard Jeffrey McCullough , better known by his stage name, Bernie Mac, was an American actor and comedian. Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Mac gained popularity as a stand-up comedian. He joined comedians Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and D. L...
. The comedy act would later be put together into a film by
Spike LeeShelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
called
The Original Kings of ComedyThe Original Kings of Comedy is a 2000 stand-up comedy film, directed by Spike Lee, and featuring the comedy routines of Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, and Bernie Mac. Filmed in front of an audience at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, the comedians give the...
.
DVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
sales of
The Original Kings of Comedy and
Don't Trip, He Ain't Through With Me Yet increased Harvey's popularity. Harvey released a
hip hopHip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
and R&B audio CD on a
record labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
he founded, and authored a book,
Steve Harvey's Big Time. That title was also used as the name of Harvey's comedy and variety television show (later renamed
Steve Harvey's Big Time ChallengeSteve Harvey's Big Time Challenge, also known as Steve Harvey's Big Time and Big Time, is a television show that aired on the WB Network from 2003 to 2005, hosted by Steve Harvey. In each episode, performers compete for a $10,000 prize....
) which aired on The WB network from 2003 until 2005. Harvey also launched a clothing line which features the line of dress wear. In 2005 he co-starred in the movie
Racing StripesRacing Stripes is a 2005 comedy film directed by Frederik Du Chau, the director of Quest for Camelot. Although set in Kentucky, the movie was filmed in Pietermaritzburg and Nottingham Road, South Africa.-Plot:...
. He had appeared in the 2003 movie
The Fighting TemptationsThe Fighting Temptations is a 2003 American musical dramedy film produced by Paramount Pictures and MTV Films. It stars Cuba Gooding, Jr. as the film's protagonist as he attempts to revive a church choir in order to enter a gospel competition with the help of a beautiful lounge singer with whom he...
alongside Cuba Gooding Jr. and
Beyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
.
In 2008, Harvey hosted the Disney Dreamers Academy with Steve Harvey, a teen-focused personal and professional enrichment event that took place January 17–20, 2008 at the
Walt Disney World ResortWalt Disney World Resort , is the world's most-visited entertaimental resort. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; approximately southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States, the resort covers an area of and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels Walt...
in
Lake Buena Vista, FloridaLake Buena Vista is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is mostly known for being home to the Walt Disney World Resort. It is one of two Florida municipalities controlled by The Walt Disney Company, the other being Bay Lake....
. Harvey along with a team of judges chose 100 teens to attend the event.
The Steve Harvey Morning Show
Harvey is the host of a weekday-morning radio program,
The Steve Harvey Morning Show, which was originally syndicated through Radio One, Inc. from September 2000 until May 2005, and which continues to air to the present time.
Television roles
| Year | Title | Character | Notes | Reference |
| 1993–2000 |
Showtime at the ApolloShowtime at the Apollo is a syndicated music television show, first broadcast on September 12, 1987 to May 24, 2008 with 1093 episodes, and is produced by the Apollo Theater...
|
Himself |
Host |
|
| 1994–1995 |
Me and the Boys |
Steve Tower |
Main Role |
|
| 1996–2002 |
The Steve Harvey Show The Steve Harvey Show is an American sitcom that aired for six seasons from August 25, 1996 to February 17, 2002 on The WB Television Network. It was created by Winifred Hervey and directed by Stan Lathan.-Synopsis:...
|
Steve Hightower |
Main Role |
|
| 2010 |
Who Wants To Be a MillionaireWho Wants to Be a Millionaire is an American television quiz show which offers a maximum prize of $1,000,000 for correctly answering 14 consecutive multiple-choice questions of random difficulty. Until 2010, the format required contestants to correctly answer 15 consecutive questions of increasing...
|
Himself |
Host |
|
| 2010–present |
Family FeudFamily Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
|
Himself |
Host |
|
Family Feud
Steve became the host of
Family FeudFamily Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
in September 2010, replacing host
John O'HurleyJohn George O'Hurley is an American actor, voice actor, and television personality. He is known for the role of J. Peterman on the NBC sitcom Seinfeld and was the host of the game show Family Feud from 2006 to 2010.-Early life:...
.
Film roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Reference |
| 2000 |
The Original Kings of Comedy The Original Kings of Comedy is a 2000 stand-up comedy film, directed by Spike Lee, and featuring the comedy routines of Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, and Bernie Mac. Filmed in front of an audience at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, the comedians give the...
|
Himself |
Host / Stand-up Comedy |
|
| 2003 |
The Fighting Temptations The Fighting Temptations is a 2003 American musical dramedy film produced by Paramount Pictures and MTV Films. It stars Cuba Gooding, Jr. as the film's protagonist as he attempts to revive a church choir in order to enter a gospel competition with the help of a beautiful lounge singer with whom he...
|
Miles the DJ |
Minor Role |
|
| 2003 |
Love Don't Cost a Thing Love Don't Cost a Thing, stylized as Love Don't Co$t a Thing, is a 2003 teen comedy film written and directed by Troy Beyer and starring Nick Cannon and Christina Milian It also stars Steve Harvey, Kenan Thompson and Kal Penn...
|
Dad |
Main Role |
|
| 2004 |
Johnson Family VacationJohnson Family Vacation is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Christopher Erskin. It stars Cedric the Entertainer, Vanessa Williams, Bow Wow, Gabby Soleil, Shannon Elizabeth, Solange Knowles, and Steve Harvey...
|
Mack |
Supporting Role |
|
| 2004 |
You Got Served You Got Served is a film written and directed by Chris Stokes, manager of its stars, recording artist Omarion, Marques Houston and the members of boy band B2K. The plot concerns a group of dancers, who take part in a street dancing competition...
|
Mr. Rad |
Supporting Role |
|
| 2005 |
Racing Stripes Racing Stripes is a 2005 comedy film directed by Frederik Du Chau, the director of Quest for Camelot. Although set in Kentucky, the movie was filmed in Pietermaritzburg and Nottingham Road, South Africa.-Plot:...
|
Buzz the Fly (voice) |
Supporting Role |
|
| 2009 |
Madea Goes to Jail |
Himself |
Cameo |
|
Personal life
Harvey has been married three times and has four biological children. He has twin daughters, Karli and Brandi (born 1982) and a son, Broderick Jr. (born 1991), from his first marriage. Harvey also has another son, Wynton (born 1997), from his second marriage to Mary Shackelford. The couple divorced in November 2005.
In June 2007 he married his current wife, Marjorie Bridges, who he says is responsible for making him a better man and changing his life. The Harveys live in Atlanta, Georgia with four of their youngest children as a "blended family".
Controversies
On March 27, 2009, Harvey appeared on an episode of The Tyra Show with
Tyra BanksTyra Lynne Banks is an American model, media personality, actress, occasional singer, author and businesswoman. She first became famous as a model, but television appearances were her commercial breakthrough...
to promote his book
Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. During the course of the interview, Harvey advised that women should not date
atheistsAtheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
. Saying
You sitting up there talking to a dude and he tells you he’s an atheist, you need to pack it up and go home. You talking to a person who don’t believe in God . . . what’s his moral barometer? Where’s it at? It's nowhere.
Later that year, on May 30, Harvey appeared on an episode of
Larry King LiveLarry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was CNN's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly....
guest hosted by
Joy BeharJosephina Victoria "Joy" Behar is an American comedian, writer, actress, and a co-host of the talk show The View. Behar has a commentary program, entitled The Joy Behar Show, on CNN's sister network, HLN...
. During that interview, Harvey reiterated his assertion that women should not date atheists, who he claimed have "no moral barometer". Harvey stated that he refuses to speak to anyone claiming to be an atheist, who he said are "idiot(s)". Harvey went on to suggest that modern astrophysics and evolutionary biology are without merit by saying
You can't just tell me it spun out of a gastrous [sic] ball and then all of a sudden we were evolved from monkeys. Why we still got monkeys? [sic]
In August 2011 on his radio show, Harvey called
Cornel WestCornel Ronald West is an American philosopher, author, critic, actor, civil rights activist and prominent member of the Democratic Socialists of America....
and
Tavis SmileyTavis Smiley is a talk show host, author, liberal political commentator, entrepreneur, advocate and philanthropist. Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi and grew up in Kokomo, Indiana. After attending Indiana University, he worked during the late 1980s as an aide to Tom Bradley, the mayor of...
"
Uncle TomUncle Tom is a derogatory term for a person who perceives themselves to be of low status, and is excessively subservient to perceived authority figures; particularly a black person who behaves in a subservient manner to white people....
s" because they have criticized President
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
.
Awards
In 2007, Harvey won the
Syndicated Personality/Show of the Year award by
Radio & RecordsRadio & Records was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It originally started out as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006, up until its final issue in 2009.-History:The company was founded in 1973 and...
magazine. Other finalists included:
DelilahDelilah Rene Luke , almost always known mononymously as Delilah, is an American radio personality, author, and songwriter, best known as the host of a nationally syndicated nightly U.S...
,
Blair GarnerBlair Garner is an American radio personality. According to his After MidNite with Blair Garner show website, he purchased his first car at age 12. He is the host of the syndicated radio programs After MidNite with Blair Garner and The Blair Garner Show...
,
Kidd KraddickKidd Kraddick is an American radio host. His nationally-syndicated morning radio show, Kidd Kraddick in the Morning, is based in Las Colinas, Texas, in Irving, a suburb of Dallas, and airs throughout the United States, syndicated by Kraddick's company, Yea Network.-Early life:Kraddick was born on...
,
The Lia ShowThe Lia Show, formerly known as Neon Nights, is a nationally syndicated country music and entertainment radio program hosted by Lia Knight . The program airs nightly from 7 pm to midnight locally across the United States...
and
John TeshJohn Frank Tesh is an American pianist and composer of pop music, as well as a radio host and television presenter. His 10-year-old 'Intelligence for Your Life Radio Show' reaches 14.2 Million listeners/week, and is syndicated by Teshmedia on 400 stations in US, Canada, and the UK...
.
External links