Mark Wahlberg's Life and Career Highlights

Mark Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971, in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.) is an American singer and actor who first gained fame as a member of the rap group 'Marky Mark' and the 'Funky Bunch'. He later became a well-known Calvin Klein model before embarking on a successful film career.

Mark Wahlberg was the youngest of nine children in a working-class family living in the Dorchester district of Boston. His parents divorced when he was a child, and he dropped out of high school at the age of 14. Wahlberg led a troubled life, engaging in stealing, drug dealing, substance abuse, and violence. At age 16, he was convicted of assault and served 45 days in prison.

After his release, his older brother Donnie, who was in the popular band New Kids on the Block, helped him start a music career. In 1990, Mark created the persona Marky Mark and formed the group 'Marky Mark' and the 'Funky Bunch'. Their first album, 'Music for the People' (1991), which Donnie helped with, had some success and included two hit songs, “Good Vibrations” and “Wildside.”

He was hired by the fashion design company Calvin Klein as an underwear model, and the billboard, TV, and print photo campaign brought him more fame than his music career. Despite his success, his “bad boy” image had mixed consequences, so Wahlberg decided to leave his Marky Mark persona behind and pursue acting. Wahlberg’s first movie role was a small part in the comedy 'Renaissance Man' (1994). He gained critical attention the following year in 'The Basketball Diaries' and continued to work steadily in the film industry.

Mark Wahlberg won more fans when he played the bad guy in the 1996 mystery-suspense film 'Fear' opposite a young Reese Witherspoon. He was nominated for Best Villain at the MTV Movie Awards in 1997 for his chilling performance in the film.

Wahlberg’s breakout role was the lead in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 'Boogie Nights' (1997), where he portrayed a porn star. Highly sought after, Wahlberg took roles in a wide range of genres, including comedy, action, and drama. He delivered standout performances in films such as David O. 'Russell’s Three Kings' (1999); 'The Perfect Storm' (2000), a drama about an ill-fated fishing boat; 'Planet of the Apes' (2001), a remake of the 1968 sci-fi classic; and 'The Italian Job' (2003), which was based on the 1969 British cult hit.

In addition, Wahlberg produced both films and TV shows. Notably, he was the executive producer of the cult hit HBO series 'Entourage' (2004–11), a comedy loosely based on his own experiences in Hollywood, and the acclaimed series Boardwalk Empire (2010–14). 'Entourage' was even adapted into a movie in 2015. He also appeared as himself in 'Wahlburgers' (2014–19), a reality TV series about his brother Paul's hamburger restaurant business, and he was the executive producer for that series as well.

Wahlberg teamed up with Russell again for 'The Fighter' (2010), a highly praised movie about a boxer and his family. He then took on lighter roles with Seth MacFarlane’s comedy 'Ted' (2012), about a talking teddy bear, and its 2015 sequel

His other notable films included 'Lone Survivor' (2013), where he played a Navy SEAL on a mission gone wrong; 'Transformers: Age of Extinction' (2014) and its sequel 'Transformers: The Last Knight' (2017); 'The Gambler' (2014), a remake of a 1974 film based on a novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky; and the comedy 'Daddy’s Home' (2015) and its 2017 sequel.

In 2018, Wahlberg starred in the action thriller 'Mile 22' and the comedy 'Instant Family'. He then played a former police officer turned private investigator in 'Spenser Confidential' (2020) on Netflix.