Martin Lawrence

Martin Lawrence got to Star Search the hard way: grinding D.C. comedy clubs before anyone was watching. TV executives saw him in the finals and cast him in What's Happening Now!!, which got him just enough exposure to land the Def Comedy Jam hosting gig. That HBO show was the real breakthrough. But Martin on Fox (1992-1997), which he co-created and executive produced, made his name permanent: five seasons of culturally specific sitcom that competed with NBC's Thursday lineup and helped define what Black primetime TV could actually look like.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die pulled $405 million worldwide in 2024, his biggest theatrical run in two decades. That was supposed to be the story. Instead, the conversation after the premiere was about footage of Lawrence slurring his words and leaning on Will Smith on the red carpet, and immediate speculation about strokes and serious health issues. He denied all of it and launched the 'Y'all Know What It Is' stand-up tour that same summer, 40 cities. The box office still works. Whether the audience is cheering for the franchise or just hoping he's okay is harder to say.

His name isn't accidental. His parents named him Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence to honor Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy, which is a lot of pressure for a kid from the housing projects of Landover, Maryland. Before comedy, he was a serious competitive boxer who reached the Mid-Atlantic Golden Gloves, then stopped after a training injury that reportedly threatened his vision. In 1999 he collapsed from heat exhaustion during film prep and spent three days in a coma. NBC banned him from the network in 1994 after an SNL monologue they considered too explicit. A lot of the chaos was real.