Michael Ealy – Bio, Career, Relationship & Net worth
Who is Michael Ealy?
Michael Ealy is an American actor who is famous for his roles in 2 Fast 2 Furious, The Intruder, Barbershop, Almost Human, Think Like a Man Too, About Last Night, etc.
The forty-eight-year-old actor has also been in Beyonce’s music video called Halo. Moreover, he has also been seen in Mariah Carey’s Get Your Number music video and Tonight’s music video by John Legend ft. Ludacris.
The blue-eyed actor has recently released a Netflix series called The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window, which stars actors like Tom Riley, Kristen Bell, and Shelley Hennig.

Besides acting, the actor also uses his voice for various awareness campaigns related to racism and cancers.
quick facts
Full Name | Michael Brown |
Also Known As | Michael Ealy |
Birthday | August 3, 1973 |
Age | 49 years old |
Sun Sign | Leo |
Traits | Positive: Generous, optimistic, and confident Negative: Egoistic, jealous, and possessive |
Birthplace | Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S. |
Currently residing | Los Angeles, U.S.A |
Nationality | American |
Education | High school from Springbrook High School Bachelor’s Degree from University of Maryland |
Height | 5 feet 8 inches (1.77 m) |
Weight | 78 kg |
Hobby | Playing table tennis |
Eye Color | Blue |
Marital Status | Married |
Spouse Name | Khatira Rafiqzada (Wife) |
Children | Elijah Ealy (Son) Harlem Ealy (Daughter) |
Profession | Actor |
Net worth | USD 3 million |
Interesting Facts
- While Michael was in college, he used to tutor some high school students and made some money.
- The actor loves playing table tennis. Moreover, he named his paddle Ram Jam.
- After graduation, he moved to New York City and worked as a waiter.
- He used to do Broadway before he moved on to other acting careers.
- His latest series, ‘The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window,’ was released in January 2022. Moreover, he works with actors like Kristen Bell, Tom Riley, and Shelley Hennig.
- The actor gave a commencement speech at Dillard University in 2021.
- Some people think actor Jesse Williams to be Michael’s twin since they both have blue eyes and dark skin. However, the actors are not related to each other.
- Ealy and his wife have been together for almost a decade now.
- Michael doesn’t have a disease, although his mother-in-law had one. She died due to pancreatic cancer.
Michael Ealy Early Life and Childhood
On August 3, 1973, Michael Ealy was born in Washington, D.C. His wonderful parent in Washington raised him.
The actor attended Springbrook High School. He was a brilliant student and therefore was able to attend college.
Ealy went to the University of Maryland, situated in College Park, Maryland. Moreover, he selected English as his major. In addition, he tutored some high school students to earn a little extra on the side during college.
Parents and siblings
Although Michael’s father’s name is not made public, Michael’s father was involved in the grocery business.
Michael’s mother used to work in IBM. It is a multi-national technology co-operation. Her name also hasn’t been revealed to the public. But you can see her picture somewhere on the internet.
Michael has a sister. But apart from this, no further information has been disclosed about her.
Romantic affairs and Relationships
Khatira Rafiqzada (Wife)
In 2008, Ealy began dating actress Khatira Rafiqzada. The couple dated for four years and then decided to get married.

Michael and Khatira tied the knot in October 2012 in Los Angeles. They have been married for almost a decade now.
As an actress, Khatira has appeared in movies Chain Letter, Layla, etc. After that, she took a break from acting to concentrate on her family.
Read the full biography of Khatira Rafiqzada here.
Michael Ealy Children
Elijah Ealy (Son)
In April 2014, the couple welcomed their first child together. They named him Elijah Ealy.
Harlem Ealy (Daughter)
On September 21, 2016, Ealy and his wife welcomed their second child, this time a beautiful daughter. They named her Harlem Ealy.
Michael Ealy Cancer Rumors
The American actor, Michael Ealy, is healthy. However, he has been rumored to have had cancer. This is simply not true. In fact, his mother-in-law was the one who had cancer.
Michael lost her in 2011 due to pancreatic cancer. After losing his mother-in-law to such a deadly disease, he started awareness campaigns to help the rest of the world know more about the disease.
In 2014, the actor lost a lot of weight. Since it hadn’t been long since he lost his mother-in-law due to cancer, everyone thought maybe he had cancer too.
But he actually lost that weight willingly. Moreover, he lost 25 pounds for his role in the movie About Last Night (2014). It has nothing to do with him being sick.
The actor revealed that he was on a strict diet with no sugar, no carbs, and even had to eat lots of chicken breasts with no seasoning.
Michael Ealy Career
After graduating from college, he worked as a waiter in New York. However, in the late 1990s, the actor began his acting career. To do so, he started with Broadway.
He starred in Bad Company’s film alongside actors Anthony Hopkins, Chris Rock, and Gabriel Macht. Moreover, Ealy was also in the 2001 romantic movie Kissing Jessica Stein.
His major break came when he did a movie called Barbershop in 2002. After two years, the film even had a sequel, Barbershop 2: Back in Business. His performance was well-received.
Due to this, he was offered to be in the Fast and the Furious film series 2 Fast 2 Furious, which starred actors like Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. The actor also did several hit movies like Seven Pounds, Underworld: Awakening, About Last Night, The Intruder, etc.

Later, the actor began appearing in music videos for singers like Mariah Carey, Beyonce, and John Legend.
He also did a couple of TV series like Sleeper Cell, Common Law, Almost Human, The Following, Secrets and Lies, and Stumptown, where he played the main cast.
Ealy has also done guest appearances in some TV series like Law and Order, ER, Westworld, Hawthorne, Madigan Men, Soul Food, The Good Wife, etc.
Film:
Year | Film | Role |
---|---|---|
2001 | Kissing Jessica Stein | Greg |
2002 | Bad Company | G-Mo |
2002 | Barbershop | Ricky Nash |
2003 | 2 Fast 2 Furious | Slap Jack |
2004 | November | Jesse |
2004 | Barbershop 2: Back in Business | Ricky Nash |
2004 | Never Die Alone | Mike |
2005 | Jellysmoke | Jacob |
2008 | Miracle at St. Anna | Sgt Cummings |
2008 | Seven Pounds | Ben Thomas |
2009 | The People Speak | Himself |
2010 | Takers | Jake Attica |
2010 | For Colored Girls | Beau Willie |
2011 | Margaret | Dave, the Lawyer |
2012 | Underworld: Awakening | Detective Sebastian |
2012 | Think Like a Man | Dominic |
2012 | Unconditional | “Papa Joe” Bradford |
2013 | Last Vegas | Ezra |
2014 | About Last Night | Danny |
2014 | Think Like a Man Too | Dominic |
2015 | The Perfect Guy | Carter Duncan |
2019 | The Intruder | Scott Russell |
2019 | Jacob’s Ladder | Jacob Singer |
2020 | Fatale | Derrick Tyler |
Michael Ealy Television:
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
2000 | Metropolis | Calvin McDade |
2000 | Law & Order | Private Nelson |
2000 | Madigan Man | Runner |
2001 | Soul Food | Steve |
2002 | ER | Rick Kendrick |
2005 | Their Eyes Were Watching God | Virgible’ Tea Cake’ Woods |
2005–2006 | Sleeper Cell | Darwyn al-Sayeed |
2007 | Suspect | Det. Marcus Tillman |
2009–2010 | FlashForward | Marshall Vogel |
2010 | The Good Wife | Derrick Bond |
2011 | Californication | Ben |
2012 | Common Law | Travis Marks |
2012 | WWE Raw | Himself |
2013–2014 | Almost Human | Dorian |
2015 | The Following | Theo |
2016 | Secrets and Lies | Eric Warner |
2017-2019 | Being Mary Jane | Justin Talbot |
2019 | Stumptown | Det. Miles Hoffman |
2020 | Westworld | Jake |
Michael Ealy Music videos:
Year | Music video | Artist | Role |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | “Get Your Number” | Mariah Carey | Love interest of Mariah Carey |
2009 | “Halo” | Beyoncé Knowles | Love interest of Beyoncé |
2012 | “Tonight” | John Legend ft. Ludacris | Love interest of woman |
Awards and nominations:
Year | Nominated work | Award | Category | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | Sleeper Cell | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated |
2005 | Their Eyes Were Watching God | Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series | Won |
2010 | For Colored Girls | African-American Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Actor | Won |
2011 | For Colored Girls | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture | Nominated |
2012 | Think Like a Man | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie Actor Romance | Nominated |
Net Worth
As of 2022, Michael Ealy’s net worth is $3 million. He earned this net worth due to his decades-long acting career.
Social Media
Ealy is active on many social media platforms. Moreover, he has 2 million followers on Facebook, over a million on Instagram, and almost 300k on Twitter.
The actor used social media for many practical reasons as well. In addition, he talks to people about pancreatic cancer, racism that the black, mixed race, Asian have had to endure, and many more causes.