Donnie Wahlberg
Wahlberg in 2010
Born
Donald Edmond Wahlberg Jr.

(1969-08-17) August 17, 1969
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • actor
  • record producer
  • film producer
Years active1984–present
Spouses
Kim Fey
​
​
(m. 1999; div. 2008)​
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2014)​
    Children2
    RelativesMark Wahlberg (brother)
    Rhea Durham (sister-in-law)
    Robert Wahlberg (brother)
    Jim Wahlberg (brother)
    Paul Wahlberg (brother)
    Musical career
    Genres
    Instrument(s)Vocals
    Labels
    Member ofNew Kids on the Block
    Formerly of

    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

    Wahlberg in 1990

    As a recording artist, Wahlberg is known as an original member of the boy band New Kids on the Block.

    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.

    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.[7]

    As of 2011, 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[8] 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".[9]

    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.[10]

    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.[11] 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.[12] They announced their engagement on The View on April 16, 2014,[13] and wed on August 31, 2014, at the Hotel Baker in St. Charles, Illinois.[14][15][16]

    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,[17] 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.[18] He co-owns a line of restaurants, Wahlburgers, located in Boston, MA and St. Charles, IL with brothers Paul and Mark.

    Political views

    In February 2016, Wahlberg endorsed Republican candidate Marco Rubio for president of the United States,[19] 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."[20]

    Discography

    with New Kids on the Block

    Solo

    Filmography

    Film

    Year Title Role Notes
    1996 Bullet Big Balls
    Ransom Cubby Barnes
    1997 Black Circle Boys Greggo
    1998 The Taking of Pelham One Two Three Mr. Grey TV movie
    Butter Rick Damon
    Body Count Booker
    Southie Danny Quinn
    1999 Purgatory Deputy Glen/Billy 'The Kid' TV movie
    The Sixth Sense Vincent Grey
    2000 Bullfighter Chollo
    Diamond Men Bobby Walker
    2002 Triggermen Terry Mulloy, Hitman
    2003 Dreamcatcher Douglas 'Duddits' Cavell
    2005 Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School Randall Ipswitch
    Saw II Detective Eric Matthews
    2006 Annapolis Commander Burton
    Saw III Detective Eric Matthews
    2007 Kings of South Beach Detective Andy TV movie
    Dead Silence Detective Jim Lipton
    Saw IV Detective Eric Matthews
    2008 Righteous Kill Detective Teddy Riley
    What Doesn't Kill You Detective Moran
    2011 Zookeeper Shane
    Cast of TV series Blue Bloods at the 2010 Summer Session of the Television Critics Association.

    Television

    Year Title Role Notes
    1989 House of Style Himself Episode: "Fall '89"
    2000 Where Are They Now? Himself Episode: "Bad Boys of Rock"
    The Practice Patrick Rooney Episode: "Settling"
    2001 Big Apple Chris Scott Main Cast
    Band of Brothers Carwood Lipton Main Cast
    UC: Undercover Bobby Episode: "City on Fire"
    2002-03 Boomtown Detective Joel Stevens Main Cast
    2006 The Path to 9/11 Detective Kirk Episode: "Part I & II"
    Runaway Paul Rader Main Cast
    2007 HypaSpace Himself Episode: "Episode #6.54"
    The Kill Point Detective Horst Cali Main Cast
    2008 Intervention Himself/Narrator (voice) Episode: "Intervention In-Depth: Heroin Hits Home"
    2010 In Plain Sight Jimmy McCabe/Jimmy Porter Episode: "Father Goes West"
    Rizzoli & Isles Lieutenant Joey Grant Recurring Cast: Season 1
    2010-2024 Blue Bloods Daniel Fitzgerald "Danny" Reagan Main Cast
    2013 Boston's Finest Himself/Narrator (voice) Main Narrator: Season 1
    Massholes Himself Episode: "Boston's Finest"
    2014 The View Himself/Guest Co-Host Episode: "Guest Co-Hosts Donnie Wahlberg & Rick Fox/Noah Wyle"
    2014-19 Wahlburgers Himself Recurring Cast
    2015-16 Donnie Loves Jenny Himself Main Cast
    Rock This Boat: New Kids On The Block Himself Main Cast
    2016 Fuller House Himself Episode: "New Kids in the House"
    2017 30 for 30 Himself/Narrator (voice) Episode: "Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies, Part 1-3"
    Return of the Mac Himself Main Cast
    2019 Entertainment Tonight Himself/Guest Co-Host Episode: "Blue Bloods Exclusive!"
    2019-23 Very Scary People Himself/Host Main Host
    2021 The Masked Singer Himself/Cluedle-Doo Contestant: Season 5

    Music Videos

    Year Title Role
    1991 MC Hammer "2 Legit 2 Quit"

    Video games

    Year Title Role Notes
    2008 Turok Shepherd (voice) [21]

    Award nominations

    Year Award Category Work Result Refs
    2017 People's Choice Award Favorite TV Crime Drama Actor Blue Bloods Nominated [22]

    References

    1. ↑ "Donnie Wahlberg". TV Guide. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
    2. ↑ "Horoscope". TV Guide. December 20, 2021. p. 70.
    3. ↑ Brophy, Ed (November 27, 2012). "First Look: Donnie Wahlberg's New TNT Reality Show 'Boston's Finest'". tvfishbowl.com. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
    4. ↑ "Donnie Wahlberg Biography (1969–)". Film Reference. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
    5. ↑ "Donnie Wahlberg Biography – Yahoo! Movies". Movies.yahoo.com. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
    6. ↑ "Ancestry of Mark Wahlberg". Wargs.com. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
    7. ↑ "'Blue Bloods' Star Donnie Wahlberg Engaged To Jenny McCarthy". CBS News. Associated Press. April 16, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
    8. ↑ "DDUB'S R&B Back Rub on Cherrytree Radio". Cherrytree Records. October 8, 2009. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
    9. ↑ Rachel Yang (May 19, 2021). "The Masked Singer recap: Cluedle-Doo and Yeti unmasked, leaving panel stunned". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
    10. ↑ "Arson Charges Dismissed Against Donnie Wahlberg". Orlando Sentinel. October 22, 1991. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
    11. ↑ Lee, Ken (August 18, 2008). "Donnie Wahlberg and His Wife File for Divorce – Breakups, Donnie Wahlberg". People. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
    12. ↑ "New Couple Alert! Jenny McCarthy, Donnie Wahlberg Are Dating". July 12, 2013.
    13. ↑ "Donnie Wahlberg and Jenny McCarthy announce engagement - Boston.com".
    14. ↑ Corriston, Michele (September 3, 2014). "Jenny McCarthy and Donnie Wahlberg Share Their First Newlywed Selfie". People. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
    15. ↑ Rothman, Michael (September 4, 2014). "Exclusive: Donnie Wahlberg Talks Love of Photography, 'Exciting' Wedding to Jenny McCarthy". ABC News. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
    16. ↑ Webber, Stephanie (September 5, 2014). "Jenny McCarthy, Donnie Wahlberg Wedding: Exclusive Pictures, More Details". Us Weekly. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
    17. ↑ "Donnie Wahlberg to narrate TV series on Boston Celtics". ESPN. December 1, 2010. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
    18. ↑ Finn, Chad (June 14, 2017). "Donnie Wahlberg talks new Celtics-Lakers documentary and toughness of the '80s NBA". www.boston.com. Boston Globe. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
    19. ↑ Watkins, Eli (February 21, 2016). "Donnie Wahlberg thinks Marco Rubio has the right stuff". CNN. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
    20. ↑ Heigl, Alex (March 17, 2016). "Watch Donnie Wahlberg Issue a Warning About Donald Trump". People. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
    21. ↑ McElroy, Justin (October 2, 2007). "Turok adds some big name voice talent". Engadget. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
    22. ↑ "People's Choice Awards 2017: Full List Of Winners". People's Choice. January 19, 2017. Archived from the original on January 20, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
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