Steve Harvey Biography | Steve Harvey Actor | Steve Harvey Pictures

Steve Harvey Bio

Comedic entertainer Steve Harvey was born Broderick Steven Harvey on January 17, 1957 in Welch, West Virginia. Harvey and his family later moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he attended Glenville High school and Kent State University.

Harvey started his stand-up career in his early 20s, beginning with local comedy clubs in Cleveland, and eventually taking his show on the road, cross-country. After clocking more than 120,000 miles on his car chasing club dates, Harvey landed a long-time gig on It's Showtime at the Apollo, taking over the reigns as host from Cedric the Entertainer.

In 1996, the WB network gave Harvey his own show, The Steve Harvey Show, which ran until 2002. Although the show was recognized with NAACP Image Awards consistently during the course of its six-year run, it did not achieve critical acclaim outside the African American community, of which Harvey has publicly voiced concern. In 2003, the WB took on Harvey once again for his comedic variety show, Steve Harvey's Big Time Challenge, which ran until 2005.

In1997, Harvey returned to the stand-up circuit, performing on the Kings of Comedy tour alongside Cedric the Entertainer, DL Hughley and Bernie Mac. The act was later documented on the Spike Lee film, The Original Kings of Comedy (2000).

On the big-screen, Harvey has appeared in Cliffhanger (1993) with Sylvester Stallone; The Fighting Temptations (2003) with Cuba Gooding, Jr and Beyonce Knowles; the Can't Buy Me Love re-make, Love Don't Cost a Thing (2003) with Christina Milian, and You Got Served (2004).

Harvey also played the successful sibling to Cedric the Entertainer’s character in Johnson Family Vacation (2004), and lent his voice one year later to the character of a fly named Buzz in the kids movie Racing Stripes (2005) along with David Spade, Dustin Hoffman, and Mandy Moore.

In addition to television and film, Harvey has added radio to his list of media outlets, serving as host of his own syndicated morning radio show, The Steve Harvey Morning Show, from 2000-2005. Harvey also lends his voice to speaking engagements aimed at youth drug prevention, and is a spokesperson for the Ford and Tracfone companies.

In 1997, Harvey and his wife founded the Steve and Mary L Harvey Foundation, which aims to improve the quality of education through upgrading public high school facilities. In 2001, the foundation adopted seven schools.

In 2006, Harvey hosted the Martin Luther King Jr Keeper of the Dream Award, which honored Godfather of Soul, James Brown. Harvey currently resides in New York City.