Overview (4)

Born June 5, 1971 in Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Birth Name Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg Nicknames Marky Mark

Monk D Height 5' 8" (1.73 m)

Mini Bio (1)

Spouse (1)

Trade Mark (5)

Boston accent



Often plays tough, no-nonsense characters, with sarcastic sense of humor



Frequently plays law enforcement officials, military personnel or criminals in his films



Often plays fathers (Daddy's Home, The Lovely Bones, Instant Family)



Trivia (59)

Named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. [May 1992]





Was originally cast as Linus Caldwell in Ocean's Eleven (2001) but dropped out. The role went to Matt Damon

Bought a $5 million mansion in Beverly Hills, California and moved his mother there. [December 2001]





His music group, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, debuted on The Arsenio Hall Show (1989) in the late 1980s.

His father was of half Swedish and half Irish descent, and his mother's ancestry is 11/16ths Irish, one eighth French-Canadian, one eighth English, and one sixteenth Scottish. Mark's paternal grandfather, Axel Simon Wahlberg, was the son of Swedish immigrants, Axel Gustaf Wahlberg and Ida Albertina Nordstrom.





His older sister Debbie passed away on September 2, 2003, leaving behind a teenage son. She died on the same day that Mark's first child, Ella Rae Wahlberg , was born.



Has a tattoo of Bob Marley on his left shoulder.



Is very close to his mother Alma McPeck

Has a summer home in Wrentham, Massachusetts.





Turned down the role of Hero in the horror film Feast (2005), which went to Eric Dane

He and some friends were actually booked to fly on one of the planes that crashed in to the twin towers on September 11, 2001. Originally planning on flying from Boston to Los Angeles but at the last minute they decided to charter a plane to Toronto, Canada for a film festival and then from there to Los Angeles. A near brush with death that he still dreams about today. "We certainly would have tried to do something to fight. I've had probably over 50 dreams about it."



Ranked #65 on VH1's 100 Sexiest Artists.





His father, Donald E. Wahlberg Sr. , a veteran of the Korean War, passed away on February 14, 2008.

As of 2008, he earns a reported $12-15 million per film in addition to a percentage of the back end profits.





While performing as Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch he often wore nothing but underpants on stage. Calvin Klein consequently asked him to model for Klein's underwear line.



Was originally a member of New Kids on the Block , but left the band before they had their big break.



Through being a distant relative of Madonna , he is also one of Céline Dion

Had to spent about 60 days in the House of Correction in Massachusetts when he was a teenager.



Was a drug dealer as a young teenager.



Was born in St. Margaret's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.



Dropped out of school when he was age 13.





Has stated his performance as Max Payne in Max Payne (2008) as his favorite role.

Has stated that he struggled with weight gain his whole life.



Was briefly sent to prison for two 1988 incidents in which he attacked, beat, and yelled ethnic slurs at two Vietnamese men in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Both incidents were unprovoked by the victims, and in the second attack, Wahlberg beat and permanently blinded in one eye a man who was trying to help him escape from the police after the first attack.



Ranked #1 on VH1's "Hottest Hotties of the 90's".



Paid $8.25 million to purchase a 6.14-acre, vacant lot in Beverly Hills, California's Beverly Park neighborhood where he plans to custom-build a mansion on the property (2009).



He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6259 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on July 29, 2010.





On August 1, 2009, he married longtime partner, Rhea Durham , at a private Catholic ceremony in Beverly Hills, California.

Is a registered Democrat.



Received his high school diploma 25 years after dropping out of the Snowden International School in Massachusetts (previously known as Copley Square High School).





Became a father for the first time, at age 32, when his girlfriend [now wife] Rhea Durham gave birth to their daughter, Ella Rae Wahlberg , on September 2, 2003.



Became a father for the second time at age 34 when his girlfriend [now wife] Rhea Durham gave birth to their son Michael Wahlberg on March 21, 2006.



Became a father for the third time at age 37 when his girlfriend [now wife] Rhea Durham gave birth to their son Brendan Joseph Wahlberg on September 16, 2008.



Became a father for the fourth time at age 38 when his fiancée [now wife] Rhea Durham gave birth to their daughter Grace Margaret Wahlberg on January 11, 2010.

One of the ingredients of the cheeseburgers served at his family restaurant is "government cheese", which was provided to welfare recipients when he was a child. Wahlberg has said he wanted the burgers to honestly and accurately reflect the working-class meals he and his siblings were raised on.



Is a fan of all the four major Boston sports teams, The New England Patriots, Boston Celtics, Boston Bruins and the Boston Red Sox.



Known for being very nice and polite to fans who recognize him on the street.





Was friends with fellow rapper-turned-actor Will Smith . The two hung out in the early 1990s.



Around the 2000's he discussed starring in "Urban Townies" which was going to be directed by Mike Figgis but then pulled out to star in "Spy Games" after which Mike also walked.

Highest paid actor of 2017, earning $68 million.



Petitioned for a pardon as a convicted Felon in 2014 as he desired to become a law enforcement officer in Los Angeles. Felons are prohibited from becoming police officers, so his conviction would prevent him from doing so. He dropped the petition request in 2016, so his status as a Felon from the 1988 assault in Boston remains unchanged.



He was a Calvin Klein underwear model in the early 1990s.





He was considered for the role of Johnny Rico in Starship Troopers (1997).

Was considered & lobbied hard for the role of Neo in The Matrix but Keanu Reeves was chosen over him.



Personal Quotes (17)

I've always looked at my career as an athlete would look at his. I won't play forever. Some don't know when to walk away, but the smart ones do.





[His reaction to his Oscar-nomination for Departed - Unter Feinden (2006)] Any time someone says you have an opportunity to work with Martin Scorsese you jump at the chance.



Marty and I were constantly in this struggle. I had problems with Marty. He was "I'm Martin Scorsese ... da-dee-da." He was pushing me in different ways. But it wasn't just Marty. The whole time I was in the character so I was mad at everybody. It was Leo, Matt and Jack. Fuck Jack too. We were able to laugh about it afterwards and we have a great relationship now and we're going to do other stuff in the future.



In my movies, I'm not trying to erase any old image of myself, really. And also I'm not trying to imitate anyone or follow in their footsteps, because I know, Burt Reynolds was just one of the people that told me this, I know how you can only last in this business if you got something special to offer, just by being yourself. Imitators don't last, and I'd like to last.



[on Boogie Nights (1997)] It was a showstopper, and it had a good screenplay, a real story. It also helped Burt Reynolds ' career, and now I can more sympathize with that, now that I've been in the business a fairly long time, so I can see how doing a comeback that's popular and also critically liked is something rare and real special.



[on David Beckham , jokingly] I'm not telling Beckham to take his family home. I'm just not sure why he came to America in the first place. Man, we don't want your soccer. There's no way Americans are going to buy the idea of 90 minutes of running around without much happening. Thanks for trying guys, but we'll stick to baseball and basketball.



[on George Michael being sent to prison for driving under the influence of drugs] I was 16 when I went to prison but he's been busted a couple of times. He should get a driver or go to Amsterdam where pot is legal. But my heart goes out anyone who goes to prison. I pray for him.

I like to talk to people. I've got one assistant, one Blackberry. That's my overhead. I don't text that much or email. I like to sit down face-to-face and have a conversation with you. I'm old-fashioned.



[on narrowly avoiding being on hijacked 9/11 flight United 93] If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn't have went down like it did. There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, "Okay, we're going to land somewhere safely, don't worry." We certainly would have tried to do something to fight. I've had probably over 50 dreams about it.



I did a lot of things that I regretted and I certainly paid for my mistakes. You have to go and ask for forgiveness and it wasn't until I really started doing good and doing right, by other people as well as myself, that I really started to feel that guilt go away. So I don't have a problem going to sleep at night.



As far as I'm concerned, there's no job more important on the planet than being a mom.



I don't want to let my guard down and feel too comfortable. If you become complacent, you start feeling entitled. I'm ready to go dig ditches if I have to. Whatever I gotta do to provide for my family. Whatever I gotta do to make sure that I do the best possible job at whatever wonderful opportunities I've been handed.



For actors who sit there and talk about, "Oh, I went to SEAL training." I don't give a fuck what you did. You don't know what these guys did. For somebody go sit there and say my job was as difficult as being in the military? How fucking dare you, while you sit in a makeup chair for two hours?



I pray to be a good servant to God, a father, a husband, a son, a friend, a brother, an uncle, a good neighbor, a good leader to those who look up to me, a good follower to those who are serving God and doing the right thing.



Actually, you English people always get to play Americans but they never let us play Englishmen. So if some great 18th-century English royal role came up, I could go over there for two years. I could become that character. And I tell you what, I'd kill it.



[about his criminal past as a teenager] No, I don't have any problems sleeping at night.



Salary (5)