The Tragic True-Life Story Of Kevin Hart

When thinking about upbeat Hollywood celebrities, Kevin Hart is likely one of the first people to come to mind. Whether he's being interviewed on a talk show, participating in press for his latest flick, or performing stand up, Hart is almost always grinning big and bursting with high energy. Even his fictional personas in film are, more often than not, hilariously over the top, from CJ in 2003's "Scary Movie 3" to Roland in 2024's "Borderlands" (which Hart got ripped for).

However, before he began cracking jokes for the stage and screen, the life of this Philadelphia-born actor and comedian wasn't so joyful. After a childhood riddled with trauma thanks to a neglectful father who was addicted to drugs, Hart struggled to make a name for himself in the City of Brotherly Love, which wasn't initially so loving toward this aspiring star.

Even after finding success in the world of comedy, Hart was the subject of much negative press due to various relationship woes (some of his own doing) and tweets from his past that came back to haunt him. On top of all that, a near-fatal car crash in 2019 almost ended everything. Despite these trials, Hart holds fast to his positive demeanor, all while racking up more than 100 credits to his name, heading out on highly-attended comedy tours, and working to give his four children a better adolescence than he experienced.

Like most major cities, Philadelphia encompasses more than just well-known touristy spots like the Museum of Art and Reading Terminal Market. There are tougher neighborhoods, which Kevin Hart knows all too well as a native of North Philly.

During a conversation with Gillie Da King and Wallo267 on their "Million Dollaz Worth of Game" podcast, Hart recalled a lasting memory from his youth when he and his mom, Nancy Hart, were robbed at gunpoint while coming out of a laundromat off of Carlisle Street. A man demanded that Nancy hand over the fanny pack she was wearing, despite her fiercely insisting that there was nothing of value in it.

"I'm just standing there, I'm looking, I don't even know what to do. I'm shocked that I'm looking at a gun," said Hart. "He snatched it off, he goes through it. My mom had a bunch of [SEPTA] tokens in there. The guy gets mad, he throws it at my mom, 'You broke b****.'" Hart told the hosts that he avoided that street for some time. But in 2017, a few months before Hart was set to host "Saturday Night Live," he returned to his old stomping grounds when a mural in his likeness was painted on the side of Max's Steaks.

Throughout his lengthy stand-up career, Kevin Hart has always shared outrageous stories about his father, Henry Witherspoon. He's recalled his dad tossing him into a seven-foot-deep pool despite Hart not knowing how to swim, stealing his birthday present of $20 cash, and generally being absent from his life for long stretches of time.

Though Hart tells these stories in humorous fashion on stage, the driving force behind Witherspoon's actions — addiction — was serious. "He didn't escape any of it — jail, drugs, addictions, ruining your family to a point where my mom didn't want me and my brother to be around him," Hart told Variety in 2017. Though Witherspoon caused Hart's childhood to be shrouded in darkness, the comedian doesn't hold any ill will. In fact, he's grateful that things played out as they did because it taught him what not to do in life, especially as a father.

Hart forgave Witherspoon and regularly invited him to spend quality time with his four grandchildren before he passed away on October 12, 2022, at the age of 73. "I'm in a position where I'm blessed and I can provide," Hart told People. "I can say, 'Here, dad, here's a home, here's a car, here's some money. Go spend time with your grandkids. Be the best grandpop ... the days that you missed with me are the days that we missed, it's fine. I'm okay with that.'"

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Growing up, Kevin Hart idolized the biggest comedians of the era, with Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, and Sinbad serving as some of his strongest influences. However, it was a long road of cutting his teeth (and dodging flying food) before he managed to achieve that same level of acclaim.

When Hart started doing stand up, he was far from an instant hit with audiences. On "The Graham Norton Show," he recalled one of his first gigs — a crab festival — where things didn't go so smoothly. "I remember hearing a woman, an older lady, who was cracking crabs. I tell a joke and the joke doesn't work, and I remember this lady just going, 'Oh, no,'" said Hart. "I would much rather be booed than the disappointment from her voice. It was like, 'Oh, no, baby,' as if I made a mistake with the choice of my life."

Audience members at other early Hart shows expressed their discontent differently. One chucked a chicken wing at Hart, while another threw a Lemonhead candy. Looking back, Hart understands why he wasn't an overnight success. He had to find his footing in the industry, which took some time. "In the beginning, I was trying to be versions of what I saw or what other people were doing," he told Variety. "It was all, 'What's the new shtick? Oh, man, everyone's coming onstage and they're using music. I need to give them some music or I need to be loud.'"

After struggling to make a comedic name for himself (all while dodging various flying snacks), Kevin Hart was relieved when his big break had seemingly arrived in the form of a 2004 ABC sitcom entitled "The Big House." Hart played an exaggerated version of himself who is forced to give up his lavish life, and instead reside with his working-class aunt and uncle in Philadelphia after the arrest of his father.

However, ABC pulled the plug on "The Big House," which Hart had pitched to the network, before it even had a chance to begin. In a #TBT Facebook post featuring the cast, which also included "Community" actress Yvette Nicole Brown, Keith David, and Faizon Love, Hart said, "I was the creator/writer/producer/star of the show. I thought I had made it and that I was about to be rich. Then my TV show was cancelled before we started filming and my entire world came crashing down. That was one of my lowest points in my career." Though ABC later apologized and agreed to air "The Big House," it was cancelled yet again after only six episodes. 

Hart didn't learn about the cancellation from network executives. Rather, it was at the Upfronts from "a guy named Barry in the back, holding the curtain," Hart revealed on "60 Minutes" (via CBS News). Instead of wallowing in this setback, Hart used it as fuel to catapult him forward, saying, "I might be sitting here all day if I don't go grab it and I don't go make what I feel should be mine."

Kevin Hart may not have had a close relationship with his father growing up, but there was no shortage of parental love in his life. His mother, Nancy Hart, a computer analyst at the University of Pennsylvania, worked hard to provide for Kevin and his older brother Robert. Things weren't easy for this single mother, who shared a one-bedroom apartment in North Philly with her two boys. But through the struggles, she instilled in them a strong work ethic and supported Kevin's dreams of becoming an entertainer.

Therefore, when Nancy passed away in 2007 from ovarian cancer, Kevin was devastated, especially since he only found out about her diagnosis a few weeks prior to her death. At the time, things were finally starting to go right in Kevin's career (he was preparing to shoot "Fool's Gold" alongside Matthew McConaughey and Donald Sutherland), and Nancy didn't want to cause him any stress.

Hart knows that he wouldn't be where he is today without his mom. Though she didn't get to see his career truly take off, she was staunchly by his side during those early days. Nancy assisted Kevin with rent (she hid six months' worth of checks in a Bible to encourage him to stay faithful in his journey) and kept clippings and videos in a box of every interview, show, and movie that featured her boy. "Anything I'd ever done, she had it," Hart told Variety. "She never missed anything."

When studying at Community College of Philadelphia in 2001, Kevin Hart met — and fell in love with — fellow aspiring comedian Torrei Hart, with whom he soon moved to Los Angeles to pursue their respective careers. By 2003, the couple had tied the knot and, two years later, welcomed daughter Heaven Leigh Hart. Their second child, son Hendrix Hart, was born in 2007.

As Kevin's star power grew, his personal life fell apart. Citing irreconcilable differences, he and Torrei parted ways in February 2010, and officially divorced the following year. Things got especially ugly when Torrei accused Kevin of cheating on her with Eniko Parrish, whom he met in 2009 and married in 2016. The accusation came in 2017, when Parrish commemorated eight years with the actor in an Instagram post. Fans didn't hesitate to comment on the fact that he had only been divorced from Torrei for six. Parrish, in her own defense, said (via People), "Their marriage was broken way before I came in the picture. They were separated living in separate homes. I was never a secret." She added, "I never wrecked any home." In response, Torrei told TMZ, "Numbers don't lie. Dates don't lie at the end of the day." 

Despite that period of turmoil, Kevin and his ex-wife are making sure to put their children first, and are successfully co-parenting. Torrei told Hollywood Unlocked in 2024 that any hard feelings have been put aside for the sake of their kids, saying, "He's a good guy. We just didn't work out romantically."

In 2014, Kevin Hart was at the top of his game. As his filmography rapidly grew to include "Ride Along," a buddy cop flop with Ice Cube that's arresting audiences on Netflix, and "Think Like A Man Too," he was making waves in the world of stand up with sold out shows. Though his fanbase was expanding like rapid fire, one person didn't understand the hype: Mike Epps.

On the Dallas-based radio show "DeDe in the Morning" (via HuffPost), the "Resident Evil" star described Hart as being "overrated," and said, "In this business right here, guess what? Sometimes marketing can be bigger than talent. This business is not about being funny. This business is about being forced on people." Hart was not pleased with Epps' commentary, and took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to fire off numerous tweets against him. The two continued to make snarky remarks about each other over the following years, including in 2018, when Epps commented on Instagram that everyone is funnier than Hart. In response, Hart said, in part (via People), "All I can say is that you're a sad individual. I talked to you several times face to face in attempts to put the B.S. behind us."

In more recent years, Hart and Epps appear to have finally squashed their beef. Hart shared a photo on Instagram of the two smiling together in 2023 with the caption, "So happy that me and my comedy brother @therealmikeepps were able to settle our differences and look at the bigger picture."

After only a year of marriage, Kevin Hart and Eniko Parrish were the hot topic of tabloids when a shocking extortion scandal revealed that he cheated on his wife, who was about seven months pregnant at the time. While partying in Las Vegas, Hart was, according to him, pressured by a friend to do Molly, despite not regularly partaking. He later found himself in bed, fully clothed, with a woman named Montia Sabbag, with whom he was intimate the next morning.

In a deposition that spans more than 30 pages, Hart recalled how Sabbag kept trying to position him in front of an alleged hidden camera. His former friend Jonathan "J.T." Jackson, who threatened to leak the video, was charged with the attempted extortion of Hart, though the charges were then dropped in September 2021.

Naturally, Parrish was devastated by her husband's betrayal. In the Netflix documentary "Kevin Hart: Don't F*** This Up" (via People), she reflected on how she learned of the situation through a DM from a stranger. "You publicly humiliated me. Your whole everything's on Instagram, everything's on social media. It was an ongoing fight all the time. Every single day," she said. "I kept questioning him, like, 'If this is what you're gonna do, I don't want to be a part of that.'" Hart issued a public apology on Instagram, saying, in part, "I made a bad error in judgement and I put myself in a bad environment where only bad things can happen and they did."

The opportunity of a lifetime was presented to Kevin Hart in early December 2018: Hosting the 2019 Academy Awards. But his excitement was short-lived. Almost immediately after he was announced as host, Hart and the Academy were met with fierce backlash over old social media posts from the comedian that were deemed homophobic.

From 2009 to 2011, Hart made numerous tweets that were considered anti-LGBTQ, including a few about how he wouldn't be happy if his son were to ever come out as gay. Similar content was part of his 2010 comedy special "Seriously Funny." Hart addressed such jokes in a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, though without apology or remorse.

Three years later, many hadn't forgotten. And when Hart was hired as Oscars host, X (then Twitter) became flooded with retweets of his old posts, with the public calling for him to be replaced. Hart took to Instagram, sharing a video about how he was given an ultimatum by the Academy: Apologize or they'd find someone else. "I chose to pass. I passed on the apology. The reason why I passed is because I've addressed this several times." Yet the next day, Hart shared on X that he was stepping down and issued a long-awaited apology: "I'm sorry that I hurt people. I am evolving and want to continue to do so. My goal is to bring people together and not tear us apart." Now, even if the Academy asked, Hart will never host the Oscars.

Kevin Hart found a new lease on life in September 2019 after being in a near-fatal car crash. Hart, his friend Jared Black, and Black's fiancé Rebecca Broxterman were riding around the Malibu area in Hart's beloved 1970 Plymouth Barracuda (Black behind the wheel, Hart as a passenger). However, shortly before 1:00 a.m., their nighttime cruise turned into a nightmare.

According to a detailed report released by the California Highway Patrol (via Today), "reckless, sudden, and rapid acceleration" caused Black to lose control of the vehicle and crash into a ditch. Everyone survived this single-car accident, but Hart and Black, neither of whom were wearing seatbelts at the time, suffered major back injuries that required surgery. After spending 10 days at the hospital, Hart transitioned to a rehabilitation facility, where he endured several weeks of intense physical therapy before he was able to move without a walker. 

When he was finally able to go home, it was emotional. Hart said on the "Joe Rogan Experience," "There was an option of me never seeing that house again. There was an option of me never walking on that driveway again. There was an option of me never seeing my wife and my kids again." Hart also spoke with Men's Health about the incident and how he used it as an opportunity for growth, explaining, "It's a resurrection. That's the best way for me to put it. I feel like the other version of myself died in that moment and this new version was born to understand and to do better."

Though Kevin Hart will always be, first and foremost, a comedic actor, he occasionally enjoys stepping into more serious waters ... literally. After receiving praise for his performance in 2021's "Fatherhood," a dramady that's dominating Netflix, he returned to the streaming platform in 2024 for the action flick "Lift." Hart portrays Cyrus, a thief tasked with completing a $500 million heist. But while filming one particular boat chase scene, Hart feared for his life.

On the choppy waters of Venice, and with a language barrier between himself and the boat's stunt driver, who insisted on picking up speed, Hart saw his life (and breakfast) flash before his eyes as the vessel rose and crashed down, over and over. He told Radio Times, "I remember specifically saying to myself, 'Well, this is it. This is death.'" 

Hart also remembers the cameraman falling over as he attempted to capture the shot. Luckily, no injuries ensued, though Hart did have a greenish hue to him once back on land.