Laurence Fishburne Facts: Celebrities Who Started on Soaps

Laurence Fishburne is a film, television, and theater actor who has appeared in projects like The Matrix trilogy, Apocalypse Now, the John Wick movies, Ant-Man and The Wasp, and much more. He also appeared on a soap.

Fishburne has also appeared on other television shows such as Black-ish, CSI, and Hannibal. From where he was born and raised to the time he saved Emilio Estevez’s life, here are five fast facts about the actor.

Who Is Laurence Fishburne?

Fishburne was born on July 30 in Augusta, Georgia. His mother was a junior high school teacher and his father was a juvenile corrections officer. After his parents divorced, he and his mother moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he graduated from the Lincoln Square Academy.

Soap Beginnings
Fishburne started acting when he was a kid and an early acting role was as Joshua West on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, where his character was adopted by Carla (Ellen Holly) and Ed Hall (Al Freeman, Jr.). He was on the show for two years.

Life Saver
Fishburne left the soap when he was cast as Tyrone Miller in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now when he was just 14 years old (he actually lied about his age to get the role). Emilio Estevez was also in the film (though his part was cut). Fishburne saved his life after he was sucked under by quicksand while they were hanging out off the set.

Two-Time Winner

Along with being nominated as Best Actor in a Lead Role at the Academy Awards for What’s Love Got to Do with It, Fishburne has picked up two Emmys over the course of his career. His first win was for Outstanding Made for Television Movie for the 1997 film, Miss Evers’ Boys, for his duties as an executive producer. He then won his second in 1993 for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his work in Tribeca.

Getting Personal With Laurence Fishburne
Fishburne was previously married to actress Hajna O. Moss, but the couple divorced in the ‘90s. They did have two children, son Langston, born in 1987, and daughter Montana, born in 1991. He then became engaged to actress Gina Torres in 2001 and they married on September 22, 2002. They have one daughter together, Delilah, born in June 2007. However, the couple split in 2018.