Kevin Hart is an African-American comedian and actor known for his roles in the Jumanji sequels, Ride along, Think like a man and Central Intelligence.

His early stand-up comedy performances brought him more and more recognition, and his 2011 comedy special "Laugh at My Pain" significantly raised his popularity and helped him become the #1 comedian on Ticketmaster, the largest worldwide ticketing company, that year. 

But before this, before he became the world's highest grossing comedian with over 37 million twitter followers and 400 million Instagram followers, before Kevin Hart divorced his wife of four years and obtained joint custody of their two children, before he proposed to the stunning model Eniko Parish....

...before he won MTV's comedic genius award, The People's Choice comedian award, and before he became a Hollywood star sharing the screen with The Rock, Will Ferrell, Ice Cube, and Snoop Dogg, to name a few... Here's a brief history of his life before fame.

On July 6, 1979, Kevin Darnell Hart was born in Philadelphia,USA. He and his older brother Robert were both raised in the city by his single mother Nancy. 

During Kevin's upbringing, his father Henry was a crack cocaine addict and frequently spent time in jail. Money was scarce when Kevin was growing up. 

In an Instagram post, he recalled that on one occasion, all he wanted was a cake, and his mother came through by getting one for him. Additionally, his mother once gave him a big wheel bike for Christmas, and these were significant events in his upbringing because, well, they weren't exactly wealthy. 

His childhood bedroom was located in the home's hallway, cockroaches were also crawling all over the bunk bed. Usually, dinner consisted of tinned food. Kevin used comedy as a coping mechanism for these pressures, and I'm delighted to say that he and his father are now close friends.

At age 11, he recognized that comedy might be his future because when his mother would become upset and try to lash him, he would try his best to make her giggle. He began to watch as much stand-up comedy as he could find and held JB Smoove, Eddie Murphy, and Chris Tucker up as his role models.

Kevin watched as his peers outgrew him at George Washington High School in northeast Philadelphia while he awaited the onset of puberty. Well, he decided he wouldn't bother with the basketball team once he reached his height limit of five feet four. He decided to enroll in debate teams and spelling bees instead. 

His mother recommended that he take up a sport in an effort to divert her son from a life on the streets. Kevin joined the swim team as a result, and throughout his boyhood, he raced professionally. Kevin spent two years studying at Temple University before moving to New York City and completing his community college degree.

Throughout his time in school, his friends and classmates insisted that he try stand-up comedy because they thought he was hilarious. Hart had never really given this much thought, but after hearing it enough times, he decided to give it a shot. 

After receiving his degree, he returned to Philadelphia and, like most aspiring comics, appeared at as many open mics as he could under the name Little Kev the Bastard. Kevin immediately understood how challenging it was to break in when he wasn't yet sure of his own comedic voice. 

The audience did not like it when he began to copy his heroes. He received numerous boos and even had some chicken thrown at him.


Kevin was working at a shoe store, interviewing customers while moonlighting as an amateur comic. He claimed that he was quite excellent at it and that he believed he may someday work for Nike. A seasoned comic by the name of Keith Robinson quickly became his mentor, encouraging him to be authentic, act under his own name, and draw inspiration from his own experiences. 

He followed this advise, went on stage the following amateur night, and completely stunned the audience. He left his job and began performing stand-up at Philadelphia's Laugh House full-time. He won several stand-up competitions and began steadily moving up the ranks. He had also wed another comic, Tory Hart, and the two had two kids together.

Kevin did not let anyone down when he was offered the chance to take a flight to Montreal and perform at the renowned "Just for Laughs" comedy festival.

Kevin was chosen to play a part in the comedy series "Undeclared" by comedy king Jed Apatow, and with this credit and connection under his belt, Hollywood was no longer so far away.

Kevin soon received significant roles in movies like "Scary Movie," "40 Year Old Virgin," and "Soul Play." Even though he had his own ABC sitcom called "The Big House," it wasn't a success. 

Kevin had his first televised stand-up special with Comedy Central when he was 24 years old. His stand-up was still getting bigger and bolder. As a comedian seeking to solidify his position as one of the funniest new faces in entertainment, Kevin continues to secure work in television, film, and live performances.


His stand-up tour "I'm a grown tiny guy" debuted in 2009, and it quickly became a national sensation. From that point on, Hart was getting bigger jobs and was quickly becoming well-known. He even reconciled with his father, who had since cleaned up his act, and broke records with his comedy tours.