Anthony Anderson

Early life

Anderson was born in Los Angeles, California. His mother, Doris (née Hancox), was a telephone operator and actress, and his stepfather, Sterling Bowman, was a native of Little Rock, Arkansas, who moved to Los Angeles to work in the steel mill industry before opening a chain of three clothing stores; Anthony has a half brother named Derrick Bowman. According to a DNA analysis, Anderson descends from the Bubi people of Bioko Island (Equatorial Guinea), and from the Tikar, Hausa, and Fulani people of Cameroon.

Anderson has stated that his first attempt at stand-up comedy was a failure. Although this experience was a blow to his ego, he did meet his future friend and fellow comedic actor Guy Torry there, who consoled him after the show and encouraged him to keep getting up on stage. He and Guy would later act together in the Eddie Murphy film titled Life. Anderson is an alumnus of the Hollywood High School Performing Arts Magnet's Class of 1988 and Howard University. He trained with actors such as Avery Brooks, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis.

Career

Anderson writes for and stars in the hit ABC series, Blackish, alongside Laurence Fishburne and Tracee Ellis Ross which airs on Wednesday nights. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for this role. His past television work includes a lead role in the teen series Hang Time as Teddy Broadis. He had many one-off and guest roles on major series such as NYPD Blue, Malcolm & Eddie, In the House, and Ally McBeal. Recurring roles were on several series such as 'Til Death and The Bernie Mac Show. He was the central character in the series All About the Andersons, which lasted for one season on The WB. Anderson joined the cast of the long-running NBC crime drama television series, Law & Order in 2008. He previously starred in two other crime series, Fox's K-Ville (as one of the lead characters) and Fox's cable channel FX's The Shield.

Anderson's series Eating America, with Anthony Anderson was a summer show in 2014, having him go to different towns in America which host "food festivals" highlighting a specific type of food. He also is a regular judge on Iron Chef America. Anderson is one of the few judges to taste dishes from all the Iron Chefs on the show. In the Ultimate Bar Food battle, he served as bartender/sous-chef for Iron Chef Bobby Flay opposite Masaharu Morimoto and fellow judge Simon Majumdar.

In 2013, Anderson signed on to host the celebrity-driven, family game show called Wall of Fame produced by Endemol USA for NBC where one family attempted to answer pop culture trivia questions while also guessing whether members of the celebrity "Wall of Fame" delivered the correct answers to those same questions. Eight one-hour episodes were taped at the time, however, the series was never aired later on.

Film

Since his film debut in Liberty Heights, Anderson has been performing as an actor, often in comedic roles, for many years. Among his more prominent feature films are: Kangaroo Jack which was one of his first films as a leading actor, My Baby's Daddy, Hustle & Flow, and Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, and King's Ransom which, to date, is his only starring role. Anderson had a small role in the Academy Award-winning The Departed". In June 2010, he was cast in a minor role in Scream 4.

Directorial work

In 2009, Anderson directed a one-minute short film featuring his Law & Order co-star Jeremy Sisto. The short was made for the Responsibility Project, a joint initiative of NBC and Liberty Mutual Group. The short aired during the In The House episode "Reality Bites" on October 16, 2009. Besides his work in TV production and acting some of his main virtues are god and family including his family Jacksonville Florida the Anderson's including his cousin Alonza Jordan Anderson

Personal life

Anderson has Type 2 Diabetes and has been active in diabetes awareness. In 1995, he married his college sweetheart, Alvina. The couple have two children, Kyra and Nathan, who stars as Tahj on the Netflix sitcom Richie Rich.

Playing for the Alzheimer's Association, in 2011, Anderson won $250,000 on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.