Cedric the Entertainer

Cedric Antonio Kyles, born April 24, 1964, in Jefferson City, Missouri, is a comedian, actor, producer, and television host who performs under the stage name Cedric the Entertainer. He was raised in Caruthersville, Missouri, before relocating to Berkeley, Missouri, a northern suburb of St. Louis, where he graduated from Berkeley High School. He studied mass communication at Southeast Missouri State University and worked as a State Farm Insurance claims adjuster and substitute high school teacher before pursuing comedy full time. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi. His parents are Rosetta Kyles, a schoolteacher, and Kittrell Kyles, an employee of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. His younger sister, Sharita Kyles Wilson, is a communications professor at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.

His stage name originated from an introduction in which someone described him as "an entertainer, Cedric the entertainer," and the phrase adhered. An earlier attempt at a stage name, "Cheerio," was abandoned after General Mills issued a cease and desist letter over their cereal of the same name. Cedric's early comedy career gained visibility through an appearance on It's Showtime at the Apollo in 1992, followed by his hosting of BET's ComicView during the 1993–1994 season and Def Comedy Jam in 1995. He won $500 in the Johnny Walker National Comedy Contest in 1990 and placed first in the Miller Genuine Draft Comedy Contest in 1993. BET named him Richard Pryor Comic of the Year, and he has received four NAACP Awards. On June 7, 2008, he was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame, with his star placed at 6166 Delmar. In 2019, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

His first acting role came in 1995, when he was cast as the Cowardly Lion in the Apollo Theater revival of The Wiz. He subsequently joined The WB sitcom The Steve Harvey Show, playing Cedric Jackie Robinson, the friend of Steve Harvey's character. Alongside Harvey, D.L. Hughley, and Bernie Mac, he toured as one of the Kings of Comedy headliners, a concert tour later documented in Spike Lee's film The Original Kings of Comedy in 2000. From 2002 to 2003, he hosted his own Fox sketch comedy program, Cedric the Entertainer Presents, which was renewed for a second season but canceled before that season aired. He also recorded comedic interludes on Nelly's albums Country Grammar in 2000 and Nellyville in 2002, as well as on Jay-Z's The Black Album in 2003. His HBO comedy special Cedric the Entertainer: Taking You Higher was released in 2006.

His film work includes Ride in 1998, Big Momma's House in 2000, Barbershop in 2002 and its sequels Barbershop 2: Back in Business in 2004 and Barbershop: The Next Cut in 2016, Serving Sara in 2002, Intolerable Cruelty in 2003, Johnson Family Vacation in 2004, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events in 2004, Man of the House in 2005, Be Cool in 2005, and the 2007 comedy Code Name: The Cleaner, in which he played Jake, a janitor with amnesia entangled in an illegal arms conspiracy. He starred in both Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins and Street Kings in 2008, and appeared as Lou Dunne in the 2016 comedy Why Him?. His voice work includes the character Carl in Ice Age in 2002, Maurice the aye-aye in Madagascar in 2005 and its sequels Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa in 2008 and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted in 2012, Golly the gander in Charlotte's Web in 2006, and Leadbottom in Planes in 2013 and Planes: Fire & Rescue in 2014. He also voiced Bobby Proud in The Proud Family from 2001 to 2005 and reprised the role in the revival series The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder beginning in 2022.

In March 2010, Cedric made his directorial debut with Dance Fu, produced independently through his company Bird and a Bear Entertainment with producer Eric C. Rhone. The film starred Kel Mitchell and was released directly to DVD on October 4, 2011. In October 2005, he joined the Champ Car auto racing series as a part owner. He served as the lead comedian at the 2005 White House Correspondents Dinner. On September 21, 2009, he was the special guest host for WWE Raw in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he defeated Chavo Guerrero Jr. by pinfall in a match that also featured Santino Marella as guest referee.

On television, Cedric starred as the lead character in the TV Land original series The Soul Man from 2012 to 2016, a show that ran for five seasons and featured Niecy Nash. He hosted the 12th season of the daytime syndicated version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which premiered on September 2, 2013, and departed the program on April 30, 2014, after the 2013–14 season. Terry Crews succeeded him as host on September 8, 2014. Beginning in 2018, he has starred as Calvin Butler in the CBS sitcom The Neighborhood. In 2024, he served as the official commentator for the Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson boxing match. In 2025, he competed on season thirteen of The Masked Singer as "Honey Pot," with bees on the costume's mask wearing miniature versions of his trademark fedoras; he was the first contestant from Group A to be eliminated, in the season premiere.

Cedric's Broadway career spans from 2008 to 2026. He appeared in the Broadway revival of David Mamet's American Buffalo, and he is set to star in the Broadway revival of August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone, with previews beginning March 30, 2026, and opening night scheduled for April 25, 2026. The production will be directed by Debbie Allen and will co-star Taraji P. Henson.

Cedric is married to Lorna Wells. The couple has two children together, Croix, born in 2000, and Lucky Rose, born in 2003. He also has a daughter, Tiara, born in 1989, from a previous relationship.