As for being a famous dad, Eddie Murphy has more experience than most. The comedian became the father of ten children ranging from 2 to 31. His great offspring includes 19-year-old Bella, the youngest of his five children, along with ex-wife Nicole Murphy, who plays his middle daughter in the newly released Upcoming 2 America.
In a new interview with the British newspaper, the Mirror, Murphy sounds like fatherhood, which he calls ‘the center of everything’.
“I’m turning 60 in April and I have all these babies,” he said, adding that his family now takes precedence over his career.
“The whole idea of being out there and doing three movies a year, it’s over,” the Oscar-nominated star said. ‘I got all these babies … Along the way, I realized that if you put your kids first, you never make a bad decision.
“When you reach a crossroads or have some s ***, you think, ‘Well, what’s best for my kids?’ If you follow that path, you will never make a bad decision. ‘
Murphy first became a father in 1989 when he and then-girlfriend Paulette McNeeley welcomed son Eric. A year later, Tamara Hood gave birth to his son Christian. Murphy married Nicole Mitchell in 1993, and together they shared five children: Bria, Myles, Shayne, Zola and Bella.
Shortly after his divorce in 2006, the actor made headlines when he evaded former spice girl Mel B’s that he was the father of her baby, a daughter named Angel who was born in April 2007. After the paternity test proved this to be the case, Murphy has since welcomed Angel into his family. Finally, he has two children, a daughter born in 2016 and a son born in 2018, with longtime partner Paige Butcher.
Murphy, who is also a grandfather, spoke glowingly in the interview of each child.
“I am so blessed with my children,” he said. ‘I do not have one bad seed. I do not like: “Oh, you’re the one.”
“I have nothing of it. My kids are such wonderful, normal people – and no one is like the Hollywood jerk.
“My kids are smart and try to do things. I am blessed with my children. I got really, really happy. ”
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