Donnie Wahlberg
Wahlberg in 2010
Born	Donald Edmond Wahlberg Jr. (1969-08-17) August 17, 1969 (age 54) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupations	Singer songwriter actor record producer film producer
Years active	1984–present
Spouses	Kim Fey ​ ​ (m. 1999; div. 2008)​ Jenny McCarthy ​ ​ (m. 2014)​
Children	2
Relatives	Mark Wahlberg (brother) Rhea Durham (sister-in-law) Robert Wahlberg (brother) Jim Wahlberg (brother) Paul Wahlberg (brother) Jeff Wahlberg (nephew)
Musical career
Genres	Pop hip hop blue-eyed soul
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Labels	Columbia Interscope
Member of	New Kids on the Block
Formerly of	NKOTBSB Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch
Musical artist

Donald Edmond Wahlberg Jr.^[1] (born August 17, 1969^[2]) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, and producer. He is a founding member of the boy band New Kids on the Block. Outside music, he has had roles in the Saw films, Zookeeper (2011), Dreamcatcher (2003), The Sixth Sense (1999), Righteous Kill (2008), and Ransom (1996), as well as appearing in the World War II miniseries Band of Brothers as Carwood Lipton.

From 2002 to 2003, he starred in the crime drama Boomtown. He has starred in the drama series Blue Bloods as Danny Reagan since 2010, and since 2014 is an executive producer of the TNT reality television show Boston's Finest.^[3] He was nominated for Choice Scream at the 2006 Teen Choice Awards for his work in the Saw films. He has also produced and starred in Rock This Boat, Donnie Loves Jenny and Return of the Mac on Pop TV. Wahlberg also produced and starred in Wahlburgers on A&E TV. He is a brother of actor Mark Wahlberg.

Early life

Wahlberg was born in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. He is the eighth of nine children, with older siblings, Arthur, Jim, Paul, Robert, Tracey, Michelle, Debbie and younger brother, Mark. Wahlberg began his entertainment career as the leader of the late 1980s/early 1990s boy band, New Kids on the Block. He also has three half-siblings from his father's first marriage: Donna, Scott and Buddy. His mother, Alma Elaine (née Donnelly), was a bank clerk and nurse's aide who died on April 19, 2021, and his father, Donald Edmond Wahlberg, was a teamster who worked as a delivery driver; they divorced in 1982.^[4][5] His father was of Swedish and Irish descent, and his mother was of Irish, English, and French-Canadian ancestry.^[6]

Career

New Kids on the Block

As a recording artist, Wahlberg is known as an original member of the boy band New Kids on the Block. The band, that was put together by Maurice Starr and Mary Alford, who were sought to create a "white counterpart" to New Edition, first found Wahlberg fifteen, and made him the first member of the band after hearing his rapping skills.^[7][8][9] His brother Mark was also in it but left after a few months.^[10][11][12] With the additions of Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Danny Wood, and Joey McIntyre, they became to be known as New Kids on the Block.

After ten years, they announced their break up in 1994.^[13] In April 2008, Wahlberg confirmed to CNN that NKOTB were planning on recording and starting up a new tour.^[14] Their first album as a reunited group, The Block, was released in September 2008, and topped American charts and was Certified gold.^[15][16] The group's reunion tour, New Kids on the Block: Live, began at Toronto's Air Canada Centre on September 18, 2008. As of 2024, NKOTB still tour and Wahlberg remains a member.

Acting career

Wahlberg's first film acting role was in the 1996 film Bullet with Mickey Rourke and Tupac Shakur. Also in 1996, he appeared as a kidnapper in Ransom with Mel Gibson. He went back to his home town for a starring role in the South Boston-based film Southie. Wahlberg received attention for his role in the 1999 film The Sixth Sense, playing the patient of Bruce Willis' character in the opening sequence.

In 2001, Wahlberg co-starred as Second Lieutenant C. Carwood Lipton in the television miniseries Band of Brothers. He also starred in the 2002–2003 NBC drama series Boomtown as Joel Stevens, a Los Angeles police detective. Graham Yost, executive producer and writer of Boomtown, had worked with him in Band of Brothers and was so impressed by his performance that he wrote the role of Joel Stevens specifically for him.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, Wahlberg starred alongside Timothy Olyphant, Jason Lee, and his Band of Brothers co-star Damian Lewis as the mentally challenged Duddits in William Goldman and Lawrence Kasdan's adaptation of the Stephen King alien-invasion thriller, Dreamcatcher. In 2005, he starred as Detective Eric Matthews in the second installment of the Saw series. He reprised the role in Saw III in 2006 and Saw IV in 2007, also appearing in Saw V in 2008 via archive footage from the previous films.

In 2006, Wahlberg played Lieutenant Commander Burton in the military/boxing drama Annapolis. In September 2006, he played the lead role in the short-lived television drama Runaway on The CW. The show was cancelled in October 2006 due to poor ratings. In 2007, he starred in the television film Kings of South Beach on A&E. Also in 2007, he starred on the TV series The Kill Point.

In 2008, Wahlberg appeared in Righteous Kill and co-starred in What Doesn't Kill You.

Wahlberg stars as 1st Grade Detective Danny Reagan on CBS's Blue Bloods, a police drama set in New York City.^[17]

As of 2011^[update], Wahlberg is the host of an internet radio show on Friday nights at 8 pm PST called "DDUB's R&B Back Rub" on Cherry Tree Radio^[18] and appeared in the 2011 comedy Zookeeper.

Wahlberg is the current host of HLN's "Very Scary People".

In 2021, Wahlberg worked on season five of The Masked Singer as the rooster "Cluedle-Doo" who gave exclusive clues to the viewers. After performing Mark Morrison's "Return of the Mack" in the semi-finals, Wahlberg was unmasked. He even stuck around when Omarion was unmasked as the wildcard contestant "Yeti".^[19]

Personal life

In 1991, Wahlberg was charged with first-degree arson for setting a fire at the historic Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. Authorities stated that Wahlberg, then known as the "bad boy" of boy band New Kids on the Block, was partying with fellow band member Danny Wood and fans in the early morning hours when Wahlberg dumped vodka on a hallway carpet and ignited it. Wahlberg was facing up to twenty years in prison, but the charge was later reduced to misdemeanor criminal mischief, and eventually dismissed after Wahlberg agreed to appear in public-service videos addressing fire safety, drug abuse, and drunk driving.^[20]

Wahlberg married Kimberly Fey on August 20, 1999, with whom he has two sons. They filed for divorce on August 13, 2008, citing irreconcilable differences.^[21] In July 2013, it was reported by Us Weekly that he was dating actress Jenny McCarthy after meeting on Watch What Happens Live in March.^[22] They announced their engagement on The View on April 16, 2014,^[23] and wed on August 31, 2014, at the Hotel Baker in St. Charles, Illinois.^[24][25][26]

Wahlberg is a fan of the Boston Celtics and has been seen attending many of their games. He narrated The Association: Boston Celtics, a documentary about the team's 2010 season,^[27] and co-narrated, alongside Ice Cube, the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies, about the Celtics' rivalry with the Los Angeles Lakers.^[28] He co-owns a line of restaurants, Wahlburgers, located in Boston, MA and St. Charles, IL with brothers Paul and Mark.^{[citation needed]}

Political views

In February 2016, Wahlberg endorsed Republican candidate Marco Rubio for president of the United States,^[29] but later said the decision had been "tough" because "we have a lot of things we don't agree on." On the prospect of Donald Trump as president, he commented, "We can blame the president, we can blame the government, but we also have to look at ourselves if we vote with emotion, which we're on the verge of doing again collectively, the angry vote is what is moving the meters right now."^[30]

Discography

with New Kids on the Block

• New Kids on the Block (1986)
• Hangin' Tough (1988)
• Step by Step (1990)
• Face the Music (1994)
• The Block (2008)
• 10 (2013)

Solo

• "The Right Combination" – duet with Seiko Matsuda (1990)

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Video games

Award nominations