Being a family man is Denzel Washington priority. My career has been enhanced by family, stability, having birthday parties. If I didn't have a family, what would I be doing this weekend?" He says that if it weren’t for his children he would be nothing. "Acting is not life; those children are life...I don't want to be that person who says, 'Oh, God, I wasn't there. I was more thinking about me than them.' Denzel is the proud father of four children: John David (an actor; born 1984), Katia (born 1987), Malcolm (born April 10, 1991; named after Malcolm X, twin of Olivia), and Olivia (twin of Malcolm). He and his wife Pauletta Pearson (aka Paulette Washington) were married in 1983. They renewed their vows in South Africa with Archbishop Desmond Tutu officiating in 1995.

Washington attributes his stable family life to his parents Denzel Washington Sr. and Lynne Washington. Even though his parents eventually divorced, they made sure the strife didn’t reach their children. Denzel Washington Sr. was a reverend and his mother was a beautician. Through this thearitical environment, Washington developed dramatic tendencies. It was a natural progression from there to acting. With the instillment of a strong work ethic, a love of God and family, and the ability to tell a good story, Washington’s parents prepared him well for the vocation of acting.

Washington got his break in the acting scene with a part in Wilma (1977), an NBC production. He then moved on to act in Coriolanus (1979), Carbon Copy (1981). And finally his big break came when he was cast as Dr. Phillip Chandler on the NBC hospital drama St. Elsewhere (1982). Upon leaving the role of Dr. Phillip Chandler, he had no trouble landing roles in movies. His portrayal in the movie Glory (1989) cemented his reputation as a first-tier actor, and earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as well. With his movie star idol’s good looks and his natural talent roles were not hard to find.

With a year of schooling at American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), where he had won a scholarship, Washington pursued the passion he developed at New York's Fordham University. After high school, Washington attended New York’s Fordham University where he formally studied the art of storytelling on a journalism track. He graduated with a B.A. in 1977 and went on to hone his acting skills at A.C.T. It was at Fordham that Washington first got a taste for acting. He landed a part in the school’s production of Othello that Fordham faculty members and alumni still talk about. His stint at A.C.T. was short due to his desire to get on with his career. This decision seems to have been a sound one.

Washington has proven to the audiences that he is a versitile actor. His movie credits will prove this: The Bone Collector (1999), The Hurricane (1999), A Century of Black Cinema (1998), Fallen (1998), He Got Game (1998), The Siege (1998), Courage Under Fire (1996), The Preacher's Wife (1996), Crimson Tide (1995), Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), Virtuosity (1995), Century of Cinema, A (1994), Devil in a Blue Dress (1994), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), The Pelican Brief (1993), Philadelphia (1993), Malcolm X (1992), Rabbit Ears - John Henry (1992), Mississippi Masala (1991), Ricochet (1991), Heart Condition (1990), Mo' Better Blues (1990), For Queen and Country (1989), Glory (1989), The Mighty Quinn (1989), Cry Freedom (1987), The George McKenna Story (1986), Power (1986), iLicense to Kill (1984), A Soldier's Story (1984), St. Elsewhere (1982), Carbon Copy (1981), Flesh and Blood (1979), Wilma (1977). Other than the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in the movie Glory in 1989, Washington has received the following awards: 1981: Audelco Award: When the Chicken Comes Home to Roost, 1981: Obie: Distinguished Ensemble Performance, A Soldier's Play, 1989: Golden Globe: Best Supporting Actor, Glory, 1992: New York Film Critics Circle: Best Actor, Malcolm X, 1992: Boston Film Critics Association: Best Actor, Malcolm X, 1992: NAACP Image: Best Actor, Mississippi Masala, 1992: Berlin Film Festival: Silver Bear Award: Best Actor, Malcolm X, 1993: MTV Movie Award: Best Male Performance, Malcom X, 1996: NAACP Image: Best Performance in an Animated/Live-Action/Dramatic Youth or Children's Series/Special, Happily Ever After: Rumpelstiltskin, and 1996: NAACP Image: Best Motion Picture Actor, Crimson Tide. His newest releases are The Bone Collector (1999), The Hurricane (1999).