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Nick Cannon
Nick Cannon, January 2007
Background information
Born	October 8, 1980 (1980-10-08) (age 29) San Diego, California, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, comedian, record producer, actor, television host
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Jive, Can I Ball, Columbia
Website	www.nickcannon.com

Nicholas Scott "Nick" Cannon (born October 8, 1980)^[1] is an American actor, comedian, rapper, and television personality. On television, Cannon began as a teenage sketch comedian on All That before going on to host shows The Nick Cannon Show and Wild 'N Out and the fourth season of America's Got Talent. He acted in the films Drumline, Love Don't Cost a Thing, and Roll Bounce. As a rapper, he released a self-titled debut album in 2003 with the hit single "Gigolo", a collaboration with singer R. Kelly. In 2006, Cannon recorded singles "Dime Piece" and "My Wife" for a planned album Stages, which was never released. Cannon married singer Mariah Carey in 2008.

Early life

Cannon was born in San Diego^[1] to Beth Gardner and James Cannon, a televangelist who hosted a public access TV ministry in Charlotte, North Carolina.^[2] As a child, Cannon divided his time with his mother and grandmother in San Diego, and with his father in Charlotte. He began performing at the age of eight,^[3] and at the age of eleven, he landed a spot on his father's cable access program performing stand-up comedy.^[4] When Cannon was in his mid-teens, he moved to Hollywood, where he performed stand up at The Improv, The Laugh Factory, and the Comedy Store.^[3] Nick attended Quail Hollow Middle School. He graduated from Monte Vista High School in 1998. When he was cast for the movie Drum Line, he was residing in Southside Terrace off of Nellieville Road in Augusta, Georgia.

Career

Acting

Cannon scored his television debut on Nickelodeon's All That. In 2002, he was featured in his own series, The Nick Cannon Show. Later that year, he had his first starring role in Drumline, followed by the 2003 comedy Love Don't Cost a Thing. In 2005, he appeared in Roll Bounce with fellow actor and rapper Bow Wow.^[5] That same year, Cannon starred in and executive produced the comedy Underclassman.^[6] In 2006, Cannon lent his voice for the animated feature Monster House,^[3] followed by a role in the drama Bobby.^[7]

His successful sketch comedy show Wild 'n Out ran for 4 seasons on MTV from 2005-2007. The following year, Cannon created Short Circuitz, a sketch comedy series that also aired on MTV,^[8] but it was not well received and cancelled shortly after it premiered.

Most recently, he has appeared in the Direct-to-DVD remake of Day of the Dead^[9] and the independent drama American Son.^[10] He will return to Nickelodeon in the TV movie The School Gyrls, starring the band of the same name created by him.

Hosting

In 2005, Cannon produced and hosted the MTV improv comedy series Wild 'N Out.^[11] In 2009, He hosted the fourth season of America's Got Talent.^[12] He also hosted the first and only season of Nickelodeon's Friday Night Slimetime. He also was the DJ on Ellen DeGeneres's Bigger, Longer, And Wider show. In 2009, Cannon hosted the HALO Awards along with Justin Timberlake, Hayden Panettiere, LeBron James, and Alicia Keys which premiered on December 11th.

Rapping

As a teenager, Cannon formed the rap duo "Da Bomb Squad" with his best friend Steve Groves; they opened for the likes of Will Smith, LFO, 98 Degrees, and Montell Jordan.

After signing with Jive Records in 2001, he was featured alongside Lil' Romeo and 3LW on the Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius soundtrack with a cover of the 1988 hit song "Parents Just Don't Understand".^[13] His debut self titled album was released in 2003 and included the single "Your Pops Don't Like Me".^[14]

In 2005, Cannon formed his own record label, Can I Ball Records, with plans to release his second album, Stages, later that year.^[15] The album's first single, "Can I Live?" was released in July 2005^[16] followed by the second single "Dime Piece" in March 2006.^[17] His second album has been shelved and has not seen release as of 2009.

Business

The former Nickelodeon star and MTV Networks personality is now the Chairman of TeenNick and the development and creative consultant on the network.

Radio Hosting

Cannon started hosting a morning show (6-10AM) at 92.3 NOW FM (WXRK-FM) in New York on January 19, 2010.

Personal life

Cannon dated Grammy-nominated singer and actress Christina Milian^{[18] [19]} Cannon began dating Victoria's Secret model Selita Ebanks in February 2007^[20] and just six weeks later on May 7, 2007, Cannon proposed to Ebanks via the Times Square jumbotron.^[21] The couple called off their engagement five months later in October 2007.^[22]

On April 30, 2008 Cannon married singer Mariah Carey at Carey's estate on the Bahamian island of Windermere.^[23][24][25]

Cannon is the nephew of prominent womanist theologian Katie Geneva Cannon, who is currently serving as Annie Scales Rogers Professor for Christian Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Nick Cannon at the Internet Movie Database
• Nick Cannon at Allmusic