Background and career
David Khari Webber Chappelle ( shə-PEL; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and former sketch comedian. He debuted his half-hour TV special in 1998 and his hour-long TV special in 2000. He co-created and starred in the sketch comedy series Chappelle's Show (2003–2006) on Comedy Central before quitting in the middle of production of the third season. After a hiatus, Chappelle returned to performing stand-up comedy across the United States. By 2006, Chappelle was called the "comic genius of America" by Esquire magazine and, in 2013, "the best" by a Billboard writer. In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked him No. 9 in their "50 Best Stand Up Comics of All Time".
Chappelle has appeared in various films, including Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), The Nutty Professor (1996), Con Air (1997), You've Got Mail (1998), Blue Streak (1999), Undercover Brother (2002), Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2005), Chi-Raq (2015), and A Star Is Born (2018). His first lead role was in the 1998 comedy film Half Baked, which he co-wrote. Chappelle also starred in the ABC comedy series Buddies (1996). In 2016, he signed a $20-million-per-release comedy-special deal with Netflix and released six stand-up specials under the deal.
He released his first hour-long stand-up special Killin' Them Softly (2000) for HBO, followed by For What It's Worth for Showtime. He has released eight specials for Netflix. He has won six Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album for The Age of Spin (2018), Equanimity & The Bird Revelation (2019), Sticks & Stones (2019), The Closer (2021), What's in a Name? (2022), and The Dreamer (2023).
He has received numerous accolades, including six Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, and the 2019 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor presented by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, considered America's highest comedy honor. Chappelle has twice won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for hosting Saturday Night Live in 2016 and 2020.
David Khari Webber Chappelle was born on August 24, 1973, in Washington, D.C. His father, William David Chappelle III, was a professor of vocal performance and the dean of students at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. His mother, Yvonne Seon (née Reed, formerly Chappelle), worked for Congolese prime minister Patrice Lumumba, is a Unitarian Universalist minister, and worked as a professor and university administrator at several institutions including Wright State University and Prince George's Community College. Chappelle has a stepmother and a stepbrother.
How Dave Chappelle makes money
In 2016, he signed a $20-million-per-release comedy-special deal with Netflix and released six stand-up specials under the deal. Due to the show's popularity, Comedy Central's new parent company Viacom offered Chappelle a $55 million contract (giving Chappelle a share of DVD sales) to continue production of Chappelle's Show for two more years while allowing him to do side projects. His decision to quit the show meant walking away from a $50 million contract with Comedy Central and forming a rift with longtime collaborator Neal Brennan.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth, in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
