Wesley Trent Snipes was born on July 31, 1962 in Orlando, Florida. He is an American actor, martial artist and film producer.

Snipes made his film debut in Wildcats starring Goldie Hawn in 1986. After Spike Lee spotted him in the Michael Jackson video Bad, the director cast him in Mo' Better Blues opposite Denzel Washington in 1990. The following year, Snipes not only took the leading role in Lee's Jungle Fever, but also portrayed one of his most memorable characters to date, that of stylish crime lord Nino Brown in Mario Van Peebles' New Jack City.

He also starred in The Waterdance, Passenger 57 and the comedy White Men Can't Jump. Though audiences might best remember him in such action adventures as 1993's Rising Sun and 1988's Blade, Snipes has made a concerted effort to explore other directions with such films as Waiting to Exhale in 1995, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar and One Night Stand in 1997, for which he won a Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival.

His last projects include Blade II (2002), Blade: Trinity (2004), Chaos (2005) and The Contractor (2007).

He has recently been coupled with painter Nikki Park.

Filmography

• Gallowwalker (2007)
• The Contractor (2007)
• Hard Luck (2006)
• The Detonator (2006)
• Chaos (2005)
• The Marksman (2005)
• 7 Seconds (2005)
• Blade: Trinity (2004)
• Unstoppable (2004)
• "The Bernie Mac Show" (1 episode, 2003)
• Undisputed (2002)
• Blade II (2002)
• ZigZag (2002)
• Liberty Stands Still (2002)
• Disappearing Acts (2000)
• The Art of War (2000)
• Play It to the Bone (1999)
• Futuresport (1998)
• Blade (1998)
• Down in the Delta (1998)
• U.S. Marshals (1998)
• One Night Stand (1997)
• Murder at 1600 (1997)
• "Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child" (1 episode, 1997)
• The Fan (1996)
• America's Dream (1996)
• Waiting to Exhale (1995)
• Money Train (1995)
• To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995)
• Drop Zone (1994)
• Sugar Hill (1994)
• Demolition Man (1993)
• Rising Sun (1993)
• Boiling Point (1993)
• Passenger 57 (1992)
• White Men Can't Jump (1992)
• The Waterdance (1992)
• Jungle Fever (1991)
• New Jack City (1991)
• Mo' Better Blues (1990)
• King of New York (1990)
• "H.E.L.P." (1990)
• "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd" (1 episode, 1989)
• Major League (1989)
• "A Man Called Hawk" (1 episode, 1989)
• Vietnam War Story II (1988)
• Bad (1987)
• Critical Condition (1987)
• "Vietnam War Story" (1 episode 1987)
• "Miami Vice" (1 episode, 1986)
• Streets of Gold (1986)
• Wildcats (1986)

Awards

• NAACP Image Award Best Actor (TV Movie/Series) "America's Dream" 1997
• Venice Film Festival Volpi Cup Award Best Actor "One Night Stand" 1997
• NAACP Image Award Outstanding Actor "New Jack City" 1991
• CableACE Award Actor in a Drama Series "Vietnam War Story: An Old Ghost Walks the Earth" 1989