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COPYRIGHT 2000 Knight Ridder/Tribune
Byline: Alisa LaVelle and Michelle Buzgon
Meet Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes plays hard-edged, intense and physical characters. From pool hustler to bankable movie star, Snipes takes on roles that reflect his personal style and attitude.
Vital Stats
Born: July 31, 1962, in Orlando, Fla.
Parents: Mother Marian, a teacher's assistant, and his father, an aircraft engineer, divorced before Snipes' second birthday
Siblings: Snipes is the eldest of six children
Family: Divorced from his college sweetheart in 1990; his five-year marriage produced a son, Jelai Asar Snipes, born 1988
Education: Spent two years at the High School of Performing Arts in New York; finished high school in Orlando; Snipes graduated with a bachelor's in fine arts from State University of New York at Purchase, 1984
Bad Boy
The tough South Bronx, N.Y., neighborhood Snipes grew up in made his mother decide to move the pool-hustling 15-year-old Snipes and his sisters near family in Orlando, Fla. Snipes hated the shift to slow Southern rhythms. But he adapted, making a life doing dramas, commercials and his first movie, "Wildcats" (1986). His acting career really took off with his portrayal of a gang leader in Michael Jackson's 1987 music video, "Bad." Soon top film directors Spike Lee and Barry Cooper were tailor-making lead roles for him.
Quiz
Who entered the young Snipes in talent shows?
His mother
His grandmother
His aunt (correct)
Recognizing her nephew's desire to stand apart from the crowd, aunt Della Saunders signed him up for talent shows. Her encouragement led him to a minor role in the off-Broadway play, "The Me Nobody Knew," when Snipes was 12. He later participated in an after-school drama program, then enrolled at New York City's High School of Performing Arts, the school that inspired the movie musical and TV show "Fame."
Quotable
"In the beginning, all I wanted to...
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