Terry Crews is an American actor, comedian, activist, artist, and former American football player.
More recently, he has become the face of humorous Old Spice television commercials and has become a public advocate for women’s rights and activist against sexism.
He has bravely shared stories about his abusive and violent father in recent years, offering strength and understanding to those facing similar issues.
Terry started off as an NFL player but he quickly moved into acting, starring in various movies television shows.
But how much do we really know about Terry Crews and his story?
This in-depth Terry Crews biography is going to cover the whole of his story, from his early life to his successful acting career.
We’re going to be paying close attention to Terry’s impressive story and look at some of the lessons we can learn from him.
So, with the introductions out of the way, let’s start taking a closer look at Terry’s life.
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Terry Crews Information
• Full name: Terry Alan Crews
• Date of Birth: 30 July 1968
• Place of Birth: Flint, Michigan, USA
• Age: 54 years old
• Height: 6ft 3in (191cm)
• Weight: 245 lbs (111kg)
• Net Worth: Unconfirmed
• Instagram: @terrycrews
Who is Terry Crews?
Terry Crews was born on 30 July 30 1968 in Flint, Michigan, USA. He is the son of Patricia and Terry Crews.
He grew up in a Christian household and Terry was mainly raised by his mother. His father was an alcoholic who was abusive to his mother.
Reflecting on his difficult relationship with his father in an article written for the Huffington Post back in 2014, Terry explained how he had managed to deal with the difficulty of the situation.
“It had been bad, sure, but it had made me who I am,” he wrote. “This didn’t mean that some of the things that had happened weren’t wrong, but they had truly made me stronger, and not just in the fantastical way of superheroes. Life had made me stronger only because I had learned from it.”
After having earned his high school diploma, Terry won a full athletic scholarship for football at Western Michigan University (WMU) in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Terry played as a defensive end for the WMU Broncos, and he earned All-Conference honors, winning the 1988 Mid-American Conference Championship.
He enjoyed several seasons playing in the NFL after he was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the 11th round of the 1991 NFL Draft. He was pick 281.
His professional American Football career included spells with the Rams, the San Diego Chargers, the Washington Redskins, and the Philadelphia Eagles.
(Photo: @terrycrews / Instagram)
Reflecting on his NFL career, Terry said in an interview with Wired in 2018: “I was not very good. Six teams in seven years – I was all over the place. But it was good, it got me the body that I wanted.”
Terry decided to move to LA and pursue a career in acting after having retired from the NFL in 1997 after six years.
He had a long-standing passion and desire to work in the film industry – and he wanted to make his dream come true.
(Photo: @terrycrews / Instagram)
In 1999, around two years after moving to LA, Terry secured his first paid acting role. He had earned a place as a character athlete (who were known as Warriors) in the syndicated game show Battle Dome.
Despite landing his first acting role, he struggled to find much other success in the industry in the years that followed.
Terry opted to appear in commercials, films and music videos. His first breakout appearance in a movie came in the 2002 film Friday After Next, where he starred alongside Ice Cube.
He then starred in a number of other movies including White Chicks (2004) and The Longest Yard (2005).
Terry then began to grow in notoriety when he landed the role of playing Julius Rock, the father on the UPN/CW sitcom on Everybody Hates Chris. He also starred in Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Deadpool 2.
Terry Crews in an Old Spice commercial (Photo: @terrycrews / Instagram)
Terry has since enjoyed a successful acting career. He has earned a sustained role in the humorous Old Spice television commercials, and also featured in various other shows, including hosting Who Wants To Be A Millionaire from 2014 to 2015.
Throughout the later stages of his career, Terry has not been afraid to open up about his struggles in the public eye.
For example, in 2016, he revealed that he had struggled with an addiction to pornography.
In a series of videos posted to his official Facebook page, Terry said: “Some people say, ‘Hey, man … you can’t really be addicted to pornography.’ But I’m gonna tell you something: If day turns into night and you are still watching, you probably have got a problem. And that was me.
“It changes the way you think about people. People become objects. People become body parts; they become things to be used rather than people to be loved.
“It affected everything. My wife was literally like, ‘I don’t know you anymore. I’m out of here.’ I had to change. I literally had to go to rehab for it.”
Terry also made the headlines back in October 2015 when he revealed that he and his wife had completed a 90-day “sex fast”.
“90 days – no sex, all relationship, all talk, all cuddle,” Terry explained at the time. “I found that at the end of that 90 days … I knew who she was, and it wasn’t about ‘Let’s go out because I know I’m gonna get some sex later.’ It was like, ‘Let’s go because I want to talk to you. I want to know you’.”
Terry Crews and his wife Rebecca (Photo: @terrycrews / Instagram)
Terry is also famous for his impressive physique. So how does he work out?
He was asked directly about the Terry Crews workout back in May 2018 an interview with Wired, and he replied:
“My workout is with weights. Lots of weights – as heavy and as big as I can do it, because I like muscles.”
Terry also gave an update about his diet in the same interview. After being asked if he followed a vegan diet, he smiled and replied: “Hell no!”.
In 2013, Terry also appeared to confirm that he does not follow a Vegan or Vegetarian diet. He wrote on his official Facebook page: “Why can animals eat meat, but it’s cruel if we do? Huh?”
So, to summarize, Terry Crews is not a Vegan or Vegetarian.
He also considers himself an artist. What you may not know is that during his American Football career, Terry added to his income by creating portraits of fellow players.
Asked if he is an artist in an interview with Wired Magazine, Terry said: “Yes, I am an artist. It’s the first thing I knew how to do since I was five years old – and I’m still doing it. I’m sketching, drawing and painting – and I will keep doing it until I’m long gone.”
In October 2017, Terry revealed that he had been sexually assaulted by a Hollywood executive, claiming that an unnamed male executive groped his genitals in front of his wife.
It is clear to see that Terry Crews has enjoyed an incredibly successful acting career – but it did not come easy.
He started off with a dream of working as an actor – and despite initial struggles, he managed to follow his heart and make his vision a reality.
Age, Height, Weight, Wife and Children
Terry Crews was born on 30 July 1968 in Flint, Michigan, and he is currently 54 years old.
He is 6ft 3in (191cm) tall and weighs around 245 lbs (111kg).
Terry married his wife Rebecca in 1990. The couple have five children together – Azriel Crews, Tera Crews, Naomi Burton-Crews, Isaiah Crews, Wynfrey Crews. Their grandchild is called Miley Crews.
Terry Crews and his wife Rebecca (Photo: @terrycrews / Instagram)
Rebecca was born on 24 December 1965 (she is 57 years old) in Benton Harbor, Michigan, USA.
“I’m married to a beautiful woman named Rebecca. We have five beautiful kids and we even have a grandbaby. Let me tell you, we’re building a dynasty!”.
Net Worth
Unfortunately, there is no official figure for Terry Crews’ net worth.
That being said, there are some websites which claim to know the figure. For example, wealthygorilla.com estimates that Terry Crews’ net worth is around $20m.
However, this number is unofficial, and so it’s probably best not to take it too seriously.
What Can We Learn from Terry Crews?
There is clearly plenty that we can learn from Terry Crews’ story.
He started out with a dream to become an actor and pursued that path after having spent several years in the NFL.
Like most of us, Terry has clearly been through a lot of struggles in his life.
However, he has emerged stronger through it all and his story can serve as an inspiration to us.
His courage to speak out about his past troubles, including his pornography addiction and difficult relationship with his father, can help people in similar situations.
(Photo: @terrycrews / Instagram)
Most importantly, Terry has seemingly stayed true to his heart throughout his career. He has always loved being an artist and he continues that practice to this day.
We could do much worse than follow Terry’s example in terms of his journey of self discovery and self actualization.
In Conclusion – Final Thoughts
That brings us to the end of our look at Terry Crews’ life.
He is clearly an inspirational figure to millions of people worldwide.
Terry did not have it all easy. He struggled as an NFL player before pursuing a career in acting.
Like most of us, he encountered bumps in the road of life, but he has appeared to stay true to his heart as much as possible.
Terry has enjoyed the stability of a strong marriage with his wife Rebecca, and he clearly looks after himself physically.
His comedic roles have brought smiles to the faces of millions of people worldwide, and he will surely look back at his life and career one day with a great deal of pride.
