APR 29, 2022 by apost team
Mark Wahlberg, or “Marky Mark,” as the world knows him, is an A-list actor, businessman, and former rapper that rose to stardom during the 90s. During his career in entertainment, he has been nominated for two Academy Awards, three Golden Globes, nine Primetime Emmy Awards, and three Screen Actor’s Guild Awards.
Wahlberg was born on June 5th, 1971, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was born into a large family, and he grew up as the youngest child of nine brothers and sisters. Wahlberg’s older brother, Donnie Wahlberg, became a part of the famous boy band “New Kids on the Block,” and Mark would join the band at age 13.
By age 13, Wahlberg said he was already going down a destructive life path. Within a few years of his parent’s divorce, he had hit nearly rock bottom. In 1988 Wahlberg would serve 45 days in jail for violence. Upon getting out of jail, Wahlberg’s brother, Donnie, would help him get back on his feet. Donnie would help his younger brother create his own boy band, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. Soon after launching his band, the star would go platinum and would eventually break into the Hollywood acting scene in 1994 when he debuted in the “Renaissance Man.”
The now 50-year-old has worked extremely hard in the entertainment industry. Wahlberg was ranked the highest-paid Hollywood star in 2017. Although the famous rapper and actor is successful, he credits a lot of that to his faith as well as his wife, Rhea Durham. The actor has said without both in his life, he wouldn’t be where he is today.
“At 12 I was climbing out of the window and staying out all night and by the time I was 13 or 14 I stopped going to school,” Wahlberg recalled. These were just a few of the bad habits that Wahlberg was up to at a young age. He was also stealing cars and addicted to cocaine as well.
“I was jealous of the kids who went to private school. I thought if you wore one of those uniforms you would have a different life without all the trouble,” he said. Wahlberg’s trouble caused him to drop out of high school.
“I can’t tell my kids to go to school and get an education if I don’t have a diploma. They’d think, ‘You didn’t go and you turned out all right’,” Wahlberg stated. That’s why the megastar went decided to go back and get his high school diploma.
“I took classes for almost a year and studied every chance I could get — on movie sets, traveling for work and at home,” he said. “Now I’m officially a high school graduate,” he added.
But before getting his high school diploma to be a good example for his children, the actor said his wife was a guiding light for him to turn his life around. Durham and Wahlberg started dating in 2001 and welcomed their first daughter in 2003, before welcoming three more children in 2006, 2008, and 2010.
“She has helped me become the man that I am and created a beautiful life for me and our children. … You need the right woman in your life and that feeling that you’re going to be together for a long time. That’s especially important if you’re going to have children.” the actor said.