Forest Whitaker's Real Name: Forest Whitaker

Quick answer: The actor is known professionally as Forest Whitaker. Biography.com and Encyclopedia.com independently list a July 15, 1961, birth in Longview, Texas. Biography.com gives the longer form Forest Steven Whitaker, which appears there. This page titles him under the public name.

Real name and early life

Independent publishers identify him under the professional name Forest Whitaker. Biography.com lists the name Forest Steven Whitaker and says he was born on July 15, 1961, in Longview, Texas, with his family later moving to Southern California. Encyclopedia.com independently says he was born July 15, 1961, in Longview, Texas, but grew up in Carson and Los Angeles, California, and was the oldest of three children of an insurance salesman and a special education teacher. The same Encyclopedia.com account says he attended Palisades High School in Los Angeles, earned a sports scholarship to California State Polytechnic University, and later transferred to the University of Southern California to study voice. Biography.com independently says he was a college football player who later studied opera and drama. Encyclopedia.com also records his high-school football play as an All-League defensive back.

Career highlights

Biography.com says he made his feature film debut in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) and later appeared in Platoon (1986), The Color of Money (1986), and Good Morning, Vietnam (1987). Both Biography.com and Encyclopedia.com say his performance as Charlie Parker in Clint Eastwood's Bird (1988) won the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival. Biography.com later lists Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (2000), Panic Room (2002), his direction of Waiting to Exhale (1995), starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett, and the role of Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland (2006), for which it says he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. The same account also names later work including The Great Debaters (2007), The Butler (2013), directed by Lee Daniels, and later television appearances, including roles on The Shield and ER in 2006. Encyclopedia.com independently lists later 1980s and early 1990s credits including Platoon, Good Morning, Vietnam, and A Rage in Harlem, alongside the Cannes recognition for Bird.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Forest Whitaker are looking for the same actor, including The Last King of Scotland and Bird most often associated with his work. This page uses the public professional name. Search traffic often uses the professional name alone.