Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, producer, and singer. Eddie Murphy is best known for his work at Saturday Night Live, his famous acting roles in movies like Coming to America, and his stand-up comedy specials. Eddie Murphy was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City. When his father died at a young age and his mother became ill, Eddie Murphy and his brother lived in foster care for a year. He has said that this period of his life has had a lot of influence on developing his sense of humor. At 15 years old, Eddie Murphy listened to one of Richard Pryor's comedy albums which became one of his main inspirations behind becoming a comedian. This led him to start his stand-up comedy career in 1976 when he performed for the first time at a talent show at the Roosevelt Youth Center. He continued performing at various other clubs when in 1980, he got hired as a cast member at Saturday Night Live, where his performances earned him national attention. Three years later, in 1983, Eddie Murphy released Delirious, his first stand-up special and one which today is seen as one of the most influential stand-up specials ever made. His second stand-up special, Raw, was released in 1987, receiving a wide theatrical release and becoming the highest-grossing stand-up comedy film of all time, making over $50 million. Between the releases of his two stand-up specials, Eddie Murphy also starred in various highly successful comedy movies like Beverly Hills Cop and Coming to America. He continued his work as an actor through the 1990s and 2010s. In 2019, Eddie Murphy produced and starred in Dolemite Is My Name which was released on Netflix and received critical acclaim. Two years later, he starred in the sequel to Coming to America which was released on Amazon Prime Video.

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