A story that starts with crime and drugs and ends with a famous actor and singer: Who is Mark Wahlberg?
We wrote about the life of Mark Wahlberg, who received his high school diploma at the age of 42 due to being prosecuted in different subjects at a young age and made a name for himself in many categories from music to acting, from film production to businessman.
His full name is Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg, he was born on June 5, 1971 in Boston, Massachusetts. His father, of Swedish and Irish descent, is a delivery driver, Donald Edmond Wahlberg Sr. and Alma Elaine Donnelly, a bank teller and nurse assistant, to a mother of Irish, English, and French-Canadian descent. Wahlberg, actor Robert George Wahlberg and singer/actor Donnie Edmond Wahlberg Jr. he has a total of eight siblings. When Wahlberg was 11 years old, his parents divorced and he split the rest of his time between them.
Raised as a Catholic, Wahlberg was educated at Copley Square High School in Boston. At the age of 13, he developed an addiction to cocaine and other substances, and because of this, he did not receive his high school diploma until June 2013, when he was 42 years old. Wahlberg has also been prosecuted and sentenced at various times for many different crimes and incidents.
Wahlberg first rose to fame as the younger brother of Donnie Wahlberg from the boy band "New Kids on the Block". 13-year-old Mark was one of the original members of the group along with his older brother Donnie, but left the group shortly after.
In 1990, Wahlberg collaborated with dancers/rappers Scott Ross (Scottie Gee), Hector Barros (Hector the Booty Inspector), Anthony Thomas (Ashley Ace) and Terry Yancey (DJ-T) for the hip-hop "Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch". Started recording as a hop group. They became a hit with the song "Good Vibrations" from their debut album "Music for the People". The single peaked at number one and was later considered a platinum single. The second song, "Wildside", peaked at number five on Billboard's Hot Singles Sales chart. It went up to number 10 on other charts. This single was also recognized as a gold single. The band's second album, "You Gotta Believe", wasn't as successful as the first album and featured only a minor hit song on its title single.
Wahlberg first showcased his physique in the "Good Vibrations" music video. He later did so by appearing in a series of lingerie commercials for the fashion house brand "Calvin Klein" (1992), most notably shot by photographer Herb Ritts. It was subsequently featured in the brand's television commercials.
Wahlberg made his acting debut in 1993 with the thriller drama television movie "The Substitute". After this appearance, he decided to drop the name "Marky Mark". His big screen debut came the following year in Danny DeVito's feature-length comedy "The Renaissance Man."
He also released "Marky Mark," a self-titled autobiographical picture book featuring pictures taken by Lynn Goldsmith and explanations by her. Trying to revive his music career, Wahlberg moved to Hamburg, where Frank Peterson and Alex Christensen produced under East West Records. Later, he collaborated with the late reggae/ragga singer Prince Ital Joe on his album "Life in the Streets". The project combined rap vocals, electronic ragga and "European dance floor" music to produce the song "Happy People" with Peterson and Christensen. He also released the German number one hits "United", "Life in the Streets" and "Babylon".
He later played the role of Mickey alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in the biographical crime drama film "The Basketball Diaries" (1995), a film adaptation of Jim Carroll's book of the same name. A basketball fan, Wahlberg caught the attention of critics thanks to his role. Despite all the mixed reviews, the film was widely released and grossed $2.4 million commercially.
In 1995, he released a song called "No Mercy" in support of Dariusz Michalczewski, with whom he was a friend, and Michalczewski was featured in the single's music video. Wahlberg and Prince Ital Joe released another album called "The Remix Album" for Ultraphonic Records in 1995. The album featured remixes of the duo's previous album, 'Life in the Streets', as well as Mark's solo track "No Mercy". After his album with Ital Joe became a hit in Germany, he formed a musical group called "One Love" with himself as a producer and sometimes as a lead singer. In 1996 Wahlberg returned to Hamburg to record his solo song "Hey DJ" with producer Toni Cottura.
He got her first lead role with Reese Witherspoon in the psychological thriller "Fear" (1996), directed by James Foley. Largely ridiculed by critics upon its release, the film became a dormant hit. Also, thanks to the movie, which has since become a cult hit, Wahlberg earned an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Villain. The following year, he released two solo songs, "Feel the Vibe" and "Best of My Love".
Later, in productions such as the comedy drama movie "Boogie Nights"(1997), the black comedy war movie "Three Kings"(1999), the biographical disaster drama movie "The Perfect Storm"(2000), and the action movie "Four Brothers"(2005). It later garnered positive reviews. In the early 2000s, he appeared in the crime film The Yards directed by James Gray, alongside Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron, Faye Dunaway, Ellen Burstyn, and James Caan. The following year, he made a sequel to the sci-fi adventure movie "Planet of the Apes"( 2001) The film, which received mixed reviews, was also financially successful.
The following year, he appeared in the mystery film "The Truth About Charlie," a remake of the 1963 film Charade. The film, which was inadequately received, did not achieve the desired success at the box office. He then co-starred with Charlize Theron and Edward Norton in the heist action movie "The Italian Job" directed by F. Gary Gray. The film, which achieved success at the box office with its revenue in return for the production budget, was also critically positive.
The following year, he appeared in the black comedy film "I Heart Huckabees" directed by David O. Russell, and was named best supporting performance of the year in the 2004 The Village Voice Critics Poll for his performance. In 2006, he co-starred with Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson in the epic crime thriller "The Departed" directed by Martin Scorsese. The film was both a critical success and a commercial success. It has also been nominated for many awards and nominations in various categories. Wahlberg was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, and won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor. Later that year, he got the lead role in the American sports football drama movie "Invincible," based on the true story of bartender Vince Papale. The film, which received generally positive reviews from critics, also achieved a healthy box office revenue.
He also served as executive producer for the HBO comedy-drama TV series "Entourage" (2004–2011), which is loosely based on his experiences in Hollywood. In 2007, he starred in the action thriller "Shooter" directed by Antoine Fuqua, based on a novel. He took weapons training to prepare for his role and accomplished a shooting success in two days that should have taken weeks. Later that year, he co-starred with Joaquin Phoenix in the dramatic crime thriller "We Own the Night" directed by James Gray. Besides a healthy box office receipt, it received mixed reviews from critics.
He appeared as Eliot Moore in the thriller "The Happening" written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, which premiered in theaters on June 13, 2008. That same year, he played the lead role in the action thriller "Max Payne" based on the video game of the same name. The generally disliked movie was a box office bomb. In 2009, he appeared in Peter Jackson's supernatural thriller drama film "The Lovely Bones", based on the book of the same name, as Jack Salmon, the father of the main character Susie. The film was a moderate box office success, receiving mixed reviews from critics.
In 2012, Wahlberg began serving as a brand ambassador for "Marked," a line of sports nutrition supplements for retail company GNC. That same year, he starred in the satirical comedy film "Ted" directed by Seth MacFarlane. He reprized the same role in the movie in the sequel "Ted 2" in 2015. He later got the lead role as Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell in the war movie "Lone Survivor" (2013), based on the book of the same name. The film was a commercial success, garnering mostly positive reviews and critically acclaimed for its performance.
In 2014, he starred in the crime drama film "The Gambler", a remake heavily inspired by Dostoevsky's novel. Later that year, he appeared as the producer of the reality show "Breaking Boston", which was canceled after it premiered to 311,000 viewers. In 2015, Wahlberg starred in the friendly comedy movie "Daddy's Home" with Will Ferrell. The following year, he appeared in the biographical disaster film "Deepwater Horizon" directed by Peter Berg and the action drama film "Patriots Day" also directed by Peter Berg.
In 2018, he co-starred with Michelle Williams and Christopher Plummer in "All the Money in the World," a biographical crime thriller directed by Ridley Scott with a plot based on the book. The film, which received generally positive reviews and praise for performances, achieved a healthy box office revenue. Later that year, he produced and starred in the espionage action thriller "Mile 22." Later, in the Netflix action comedy "Spenser Confidential"(2020) and the animated mystery comedy "Scoob!" also took part. The latter was Wahlberg's first voiceover role. Later in 2022, he starred alongside Tom Holland as Victor Sullivan in the action-adventure film "Uncharted" directed by Ruben Fleischer.
Later that year, he starred as Stuart Long in the biographical drama film "Father Stu," written and directed by Rosalind Ross. The film, which received mixed reviews from critics, was also successful at the box office. That same year, he co-starred with Kevin Hart in the buddy comedy "Me Time," written and directed by John Hamburg.
Personal life
In 2001, Wahlberg started a relationship with Rhea Durham. The couple had three children and were married on August 1, 2009, at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills. After their wedding in January 2010, another child was born.
In May 2001, Wahlberg founded the "Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation" to fund and distribute youth services and enrichment programs. In 2015, Wahlberg, along with rappers Sean Combs and Ronald Burkle, invested in "Aquahydrate", a bottled water brand, and the three men own a majority stake in the company. Wahlberg and Tom Dowd founded Performance Inspired, a sports nutrition company founded in 2016. In 2017, he was ranked at the top of the list of the world's highest-paid actors. Wahlberg is the co-owner of a chain of restaurants and bars called "Wahlburgers" with his brothers Donnie and Paul. In March 2019, Wahlberg acquired a stake in the fitness series "F45 Training".
In 2021, Wahlberg, along with Stephen Levinson, launched the "Ballers Report," an online platform with inspiring business, entertainment and sports articles, videos and podcasts. In 2023, Wahlberg becomes Chief Brand Officer of F45 Training.