What You Don't Know About Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy is an actor and a comedian known for his roles in movies such as Trading Places, the Beverly Hills Cop series, The Nutty Professor, Dr. Dolittle, the Shrek franchise, Dreamgirls, Dolemite Is My Name, Mulan, and Coming to America, as well as its sequel, Coming 2 America, which is set to release on March 5, 2021.

His career has also featured stand-up comedy work, songs and studio albums, philanthropy, and recognition and celebration through numerous awards. In his personal life, he has been linked to some notable stars and has welcomed several children into the world.

Eddie Murphy has been in the spotlight for decades, which means that most people are familiar with the main highlights of his life. However, there are some lesser-known facts about this hilarious celebrity — touching on areas like his childhood, his bumps in the road to success, and his foray into a singing career.

In 1989, Eddie Murphy had his first child, Eric, with Paulette McNeely. That birth was followed in 1990 with another child who Murphy shares with Tamara Hood — a son named Christian (via Closer Weekly). He has five children (Bria, Myles, Shayne, Zola, and Bella) with ex-wife Nicole Mitchell — the two were married from 1993 to 2006 (via Parade). In 2007, former Spice Girl Melanie Brown had a daughter, Angel Iris Murphy Brown, and Murphy is the father (via People). Murphy also has a daughter, Izzy, who was born in 2016, and a son, Max, who was born in 2018, with his current fiancée, Paige Butcher (via Distractify).

While Murphy has only been officially married once in his life, he did enter into a "symbolic union" with Tracey Edmonds in 2008. However, just two weeks later, they told TMZ that their romantic relationship was over and that they would "remain friends."

As mentioned and as many know, Eddie Murphy also had a music career. According to TheCinemaholic, he has worked on songs by the Bus Boys. He was in some music videos with Michael Jackson like "Whatzupwitu” and "Remember the Time," which also featured Magic Johnson and model Iman. He covered songs for the Shrek flicks, such as "I'm a Believer” by the Monkees, "Livin' La Vida Loca” by Ricky Martin, and "Thank You (Falletin Me Be Mice Elf Agin)" by Sly and the Family Stone.

This part of his career hasn't all been successful, though. In 1985, Murphy released "Party All the Time," and in 2004, VH-1 and Blender named it one of the "50 Worst Songs of All-Time." And while, at one point, he was supposed to be working on a new album, called 9, he said on Krista Smith's Present Company podcast that may not actually happen. "I've never stopped doing music ... I stopped putting it out though, because the audience gets weirded out by it. And I don't want to be that guy."

Atisone Seiuli was 20 years old when arrested for an outstanding prostitution warrant and sentenced to 90 days in jail. Another person at the scene of the alleged crime walked away with no legal consequences: Murphy. Yes, the actor picked up Seiuli, a transsexual prostitute, back in 1997. But the story his publicist told, as stated by the Los Angeles Times, was that he was simply being a "good Samaritan." As reported by the New York Daily News, Murphy was just giving a "weeping, weary-looking prostitute a ride home."

Eddie Murphy also faced challenges in the 1980s, when gay rights groups criticized his comedy routines, when he went to court over contract disputes with a former agent, and when Michael Michele accused him of firing her after she refused to sleep with him. Michele filed a suit, and when Rolling Stone asked about it, Murphy said, "She wasn't working out. As for her claim that I was touching her — realistically speaking, if you're gonna be a sleaze and try to f*** somebody, you try to f*** 'em before you give 'em the part."

Eddie Murphy was born in Brooklyn to Lillian, a telephone operator, and Charles, a transit police officer who also dabbled in acting and comedy. After his father passed away, his mother got sick, so he and his older brother, Charlie, were in foster care for a year, according to haringey.gov.uk. They were then raised by Lillian and her new husband, Vernon Lynch (via IMDb).

When it came down to how Murphy lost his father, he discussed it with Rolling Stone in 1989. He said that he did not know all the details but called it a crime of passion. "He was a victim of the Murphy charm. A woman stabbed my father. I never got all the logistics. It was supposed to be one of those crimes of passion: 'If I can't have you, no one else will' kind of deal." He also stated that he had two fathers, as Lynch raised him.

A past quote from Eddie Murphy claimed that he would stop acting at a certain age. "I keep telling people I'll make movies until I'm fifty, and then I'll go and do something else. I'm going to be a professional gentleman of leisure" (via IMDb). However, he is going to be 60 years old next month, and he still has films coming out, including the Coming to America sequel this month and a fourth Beverly Hills Cop flick that is being released on Netflix (via The New York Times).

While Eddie Murphy's acting has led to him winning a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award (via IMDb), to name a few, he has been criticized for not-so-great movies, as well. In fact, one in particular — a dramedy titled A Thousand Words that came out in 2012 — received a 0 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.