Samuel Leroy Jackson was born on December 21, 1948 in Washington; D.C. He is an American movie and television actor and film producer. He grew up as an only child in Chattanooga with his mother, Elizabeth Jackson.

Jackson attended several segregated schools and graduated from Riverside High School in Chattanooga. Jackson initially majored in marine biology at Morehouse College before switching to architecture.

He later settled on drama between the third and twelfth grades, he played the French horn and Trumpet in the school orchestra.

Jackson found an interest in acting and switched his major. Before graduating in 1972, he co-founded the "Just Us Theatre”.

When Martin Luther Jr was assassinated in 1968, Jackson attended the funeral in Atlanta as one of the ushers. Jackson then flew to Memphis to join an equal protest march.

Jackson drew upon his middle class roots during the 2008 Democratic Primary when he campaigned for then Illinois Senator Barack Obama in Texarkana, Texas.

He said, "Barack Obama represents everything I was told I could be growing up. I am a child of segregation. When I grew up and people told me I could be president, I knew it was a lie. But now we have a representative... the American Dream is a reality.

Anyone can grow up to be a president.” After Jackson became involved with the civil Rights movement he moved on to acting in theatre at Morehouse College and then films.

 He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor Morgan Freeman and the Director Spike Lee after gaining critical acclaim for his role in Jungle Fever in 1991. He has since appeared in over 100 films. In 1980, Jackson married LaTanya Richardson with whom he has one daughter, Zoe.

Jackson is one of the Celebrities who joined millions of people in commemorating innocent Rwandans who were massacred in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

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