Eddie Murphy

Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the NBC's sketch comedy and variety series Saturday Night Live, which he was a cast member from 1980 to 1984. Eddie Murphy was part of the 1980s completely new SNL cast. That cast was fired at the end of the season, except for Eddie and Joe Piscopo. For the next few years, they dominated SNL, with the rest of the cast only supporting them.

Eddie Murphy's final episode as a regular cast member was on February 25, 1984. He has since starred in movies and recorded two albums of serious music.

On December 11, 1982, the ninth episode and Christmas show of Season 8, Murphy hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time and he was the only person to host while he was still a cast member, with musical guest Lionel Richie.

Murphy returned to Saturday Night Live to host for the second time after leaving the cast for four years, hosting the ninth episode and Christmas show of Season 10 on December 15, 1984, with musical guests Robert Plant & The Honeydrippers.

Murphy returned to Saturday Night Live again to host for the third time and his first appearance for the first time in 35 years, 5 months and 19 days, on December 21, 2019, the tenth episode and the Christmas show of Season 45 of Saturday Night Live, as well as the final SNL episode of 2019, with musical guest Lizzo.

Murphy is also well known for the movie Coming to America t(1988), a movie where an African prince flees to Queens, New York to find a woman who he can marry and love for who she is, instead of for status or for not being trained to please him; and it's sequel Coming 2 America (2021). Murphy is cast as Akeem (the protagonist), two of the barbers, and Randy Watson, the vocalist of the band Sexual Chocolate; while Arsenio Hall is cast as Akeem's companion Simi, a third barber, and the Extremely Ugly Girl.

Murphy has received Golden Globe Award nominations for his performances in 48 Hrs. (1982), the Beverly Hills Cop series (1984–present), Trading Places (1983), The Nutty Professor (1996), and Dolemite Is My Name (2019). He has also won numerous awards for his work on the fantasy comedy film Dr. Dolittle (1998) and its 2001 sequel. In 2007, Murphy won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of soul singer James "Thunder" Early in the musical film Dreamgirls.

Murphy has worked as a voice actor, including Mushu in Disney's Mulan (1998), Thurgood Stubbs in the sitcom The PJs (1999–2001), and Donkey in the Shrek franchise (2001–present), the latter of which he earned a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role nomination. Murphy often takes on multiple roles in a single film, such as in Coming to America, the Nutty Professor films, Bowfinger and Norbit. This is intended as Murphy's tribute to one of his idols, Peter Sellers. Following a string of poorly received films, he had a career resurgence with leading roles in films such as Dolemite Is My Name (2019), Coming 2 America (2021), You People, Candy Cane Lane (both 2023) and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024).

In 2020, he won his first Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for hosting Saturday Night Live. Murphy's films have grossed over $3.8 billion ($6.5 billion adjusted for inflation) in the United States and Canada box office, and over $6.7 billion worldwide. In 2015, his films made him the sixth-highest grossing actor in the United States. As a singer, Murphy has released three studio albums, including How Could It Be (1985), So Happy (1989), and Love's Alright (1993). He is also known for the hit song "Party All the Time" from 1985.