Donald Glover
*Donald Glover was born on this date in 1983. He is a Black actor, comedian, writer, producer, director, musician, and DJ. He performs music under the stage name Childish Gambino and as a DJ named mcDJ.
Donald McKinley Glover Jr. was born at Edwards Air Force Base, California, and was raised in Stone Mountain, Georgia. His mother, Beverly Smith, is a retired daycare provider, and his father, Donald Glover Sr., was a postal worker. His parents also served as foster parents for 14 years. Glover has a younger brother, Stephen, and a sister named Brianne. Glover attended Lakeside High School and DeKalb School of the Arts and was voted "Most Likely to Write for The Simpsons" in his high school yearbook. In 2006, he graduated from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts with a degree in Dramatic Writing. While at Tisch, he self-produced the independent mixtape The Younger I Get, which was not released and was later disowned by Glover for being the "too-raw ramblings" of what he calls a "decrepit Drake."
He also began DJing and producing electronic music under the moniker MC D (later mcDJ), remixing Sufjan Stevens' album Illinois (2005). After working on Derrick Comedy while studying at New York University, Glover was hired at age 23 by Tina Fey as a writer for the NBC sitcom 30 Rock. He later became famous for portraying college student Troy Barnes on the NBC sitcom Community. Since 2016, Glover stars in the FX series Atlanta, which he created and occasionally directs. For his work in Atlanta, Glover won various accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.
In film acting, Glover has appeared in several commercially successful films, including the supernatural horror The Lazarus Effect (2015), the comedy-drama Magic Mike XXL (2015), science fiction comedy The Martian (2015), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and as the young Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). Glover starred in and produced his own short film, Guava Island (2019). He also provided the voice of adult Simba in the remake of the Disney film The Lion King (2019).
Following several independently released albums and mixtapes, Glover signed with Glassnote Records. He released his first studio album, Camp, on November 15, 2011. His second studio album, Because the Internet, was released in 2013. Glover's third album, "Awaken, My Love!" was released on December 2, 2016, spawning the single "Redbone," eventually earning him his first Grammy Award.
In May 2018, Glover released the song and music video "This Is America," which debuted at number one on the Hot 100. The song won four Grammy Awards at the 2019 edition: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap/Sung Performance, and Best Music Video. On March 20, 2020, he released his fourth studio album, 3.15.20.
