Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington is one of the most recognizable names in Hollywood. Iconic roles in films such as Training Day, and Mo’ Better Blues have solidified his position as one of the greatest of all time. His family life has also captured the hearts of fans. Washington has been married to Pauletta Washington since June 1983. The couple first met in 1977. They welcomed four children: John, Katia, and twins Malcolm and Olivia.

While Katia maintains a low profile, she also works in film behind the camera, having earned several production credits, including on her father’s film, Fences. Olivia is an actress who has landed roles in the television series Empire and in movies such as The Butler and The Little Things. As for Malcolm and John’s journey into the family business was much more surprising, as both were initially leaning toward careers in professional sports.

John Washington Briefly Played In the NFL

SANTA BARBARA, CA – FEBRUARY 05: John David Washington attends the Virtuosos Award Presented By UGG during the 34th Santa Barbara International Film Festival at Arlington Theatre on February 5, 2019 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for SBIFF)

Before John Washington was an actor, he was an all-around athlete. While a student at Campbell Hall School in Los Angeles, John played football and basketball and was a member of the track team. After graduating and enrolling in Morehouse College, he began focusing only on football, becoming an impressive running back. In his senior year, he set a school record with 1,198 yards. After graduating in 2006, he joined the St. Louis Rams in May of that year as an undrafted free agent. However, his NFL journey was bumpy, with John being cut in August and re-signed that same month to the team’s practice squad. The following year, he played in the now-defunct NFL Europe before joining the United Football League in 2009. He played for the Sacramento Mountain Lions until 2012.

Despite his dedication to football, John has loved acting since childhood. After taking some time away from the field, he landed his first significant part in the HBO series Ballers in 2015. From there, he earned a starring role in BlacKkKlansman, playing a Black police officer who goes undercover with the Ku Klux Klan. After its theatrical release in August 2018, John’s performance earned him Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. He would move on to film The Old Man & the Gun and Tenet. Another big break of his came in the form of 2021’s Malcolm & Marie, the black-and-white film that he produced and starred in alongside Zendaya. His most recent film, The Piano Lesson debuted in August 2024 at the 51st Telluride Film Festival and will be released to theaters in November. The project is extra special, as it marks brother Malcolm’s directorial debut.

Malcolm Washington Originally Was a Standout Basketball Player

Before Malcolm Washington was a filmmaker, he was a star basketball player at Windward School, where he earned several awards, including the 2009 Windward Winter Classic Tournament MVP. After graduating, Malcolm attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he continued playing basketball during the 2009-2010 season while studying film. After leading his college team to a state championship in his senior year, Malcolm decided to put his all into the big screen.

After exiting the University of Pennsylvania, Malcolm worked his way up, starting as an assistant director on the short films The Last Bookstore and Trouble Man. His first major career milestone came in 2017 when he served as assistant to Spike Lee on his series She’s Gotta Have It, a modern adaption of Spike’s 1986 comedy romance film. Even during his work with Spike, Malcolm was also working on his own art, introducing his short film, Benny Got Shot, also in 2017. This production won him the Filmmaker to Watch award at the Atlanta Film Festival. With so much success, Malcolm’s best is yet to come. The Piano Lesson takes viewers on a beautiful journey as a family struggles to decide what they should do with an antique piano that their enslaved ancestors were sold for. His brother John, along with Samuel L. Jackson both star in this film, which has a storyline that could place it in future Academy Awards conversation.

Denzel Washington's sons

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