Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971) is an American actor, producer, model, and former rapper.
He was known as Marky Mark in his earlier years, becoming famous for his 1991 debut as frontman with the bandMarky Mark and the Funky Bunch. He later transitioned to acting, and is now known for his roles in films, includingBoogie Nights (1997), Three Kings (1999), The Perfect Storm (2000), Planet of the Apes (2001), Rock Star (2001),The Italian Job (2003), The Departed (2006) for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, The Other Guys (2010), The Fighter (2010), Ted (2012), Lone Survivor (2013), Pain & Gain (2013), andTransformers: Age of Extinction (2014).
He has also served as executive producer of three HBO series: Entourage, Boardwalk Empire, and How to Make It in America.
Wahlberg was born in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, the youngest of nine children,[1] with siblings Arthur, Jim, Paul, Robert, Tracey, Michelle, Debbie (died in 2003 at age 43), and Donnie. Wahlberg’s mother, Alma Elaine (née Donnelly), was a bank clerk and nurse’s aide, and Wahlberg’s father, Donald Edward Wahlberg, was a Teamster who worked as a delivery driver. His parents divorced in 1982 and from that moment he divided his time between them.[2][3] His father was of Swedish and Irish descent, and his mother is of Irish, English, and French Canadian descent.[4] Maternally, Wahlberg is distantly related to author Nathaniel Hawthorne.[5] Wahlberg had a Roman Catholic[6][7] upbringing and attended Copley Square High School (but never graduated) on Newbury Street in Boston. He received his high school diploma in June 2013.[8]
In the early 1990s, Wahlberg dated former child actress Soleil Moon Frye.[49] Wahlberg has been in a relationship with model Rhea Durham since 2001 and they were married on August 1, 2009 at the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills.[50] The couple have 4 children.[51][52] In a 2011 interview with USA Weekend, Wahlberg stated that he had taken his children to visit his old Dorchester neighborhood: “I want them to know that not everyone is as fortunate and how important it is to work 
hard and give back.”53]
Wahlberg’s father, a US Army veteran of the Korean War, died on February 14, 2008.[54]
Wahlberg is a committed Roman Catholic and attends church daily.[55] His wife converted from Baptist to Catholic.[56] While he is impressed with Pope Francis he has said he does not agree with the church’s view on gay marriage, which Wahlberg supports.[57]
Actively involved in charity, Wahlberg established the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation in May 2001 for the purpose of raising and distributing funds to youth service and enrichment programs.[58] Wahlberg is active with The Good Shepherd Center for Homeless Women and Children. In an interview, Mark said that it’s important to let the homeless know that people care about them and are working to help the impoverished get back on their feet.[59] Wahlberg served on theHonorary Board of Jerry Sandusky‘s The Second Mile children’s charity before Sandusky’s 2011 arrest on child sex abuse charges.[60]
In 2012, Wahlberg was quoted in a magazine interview regarding what would have happened if he had flown aboard American Airlines Flight 11 on 9-11-01. He had been booked on Flight 11, but his plans changed the day before the scheduled flight and he cancelled his reservation. Wahlberg received public criticism for stating, “If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn’t have went down like it did,” and, “There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, ‘OK, we’re going to land somewhere safely, don’t worry,'” Wahlberg issued a public apology after family members of those killed on the flight expressed outrage for his statements.[61]
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