Martin Lawrence

Highest Rated: 93% House Party (1990)

Lowest Rated: 5% Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son (2011)

Birthday: Apr 16, 1965

Birthplace: Frankfurt-am-Main, Hessen, Germany

Arguably one of the most popular and successful comedians of the mid-1990s, not to mention being the man who first popularized "Wassup?" as a socially acceptable expression of hello, actor Martin Lawrence quickly rose to prominence on the back of his popular sitcom "Martin" (Fox, 1992-97), only to become embroiled in personal travails that very nearly ruined his career. While basking in the early success of "Martin," Lawrence began making strides in the feature world, starting with the hit action-comedy, "Bad Boys" (1995). But trouble began to surface when he landed in the hospital following an outburst while on the set of his first directing job, "A Thin Line Between Love and Hate" (1996), which precipitated a series of embarrassing events that included sexual harassment charges from his "Martin" co-star, a brutal divorce from his first wife, and a strange episode where he was found waving a gun at tourists in Los Angeles. Despite his personal problems, Lawrence had a popular hit with "Big Momma's House" (2000) while maintaining a steady career pace that saw its share of misfires, but always kept Lawrence in the public eye.