In 1997, he co-starred in the films The Fifth Element and Money Talks, and appeared in a supporting role in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown.

Tucker later achieved international fame in the 2000s for playing Detective James Carter in the Rush Hour film series.

[2] One of six children, Tucker learned early in life that humor had the power to draw attention to himself both at school and at home.

[7] Tucker grew up in Decatur, Georgia, and after graduating from Columbia High School, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his comedy career.

[10] He made his cinematic debut in House Party 3 in 1994[11] and gained greater film recognition alongside N.W.A rapper Ice Cube in Friday the following year.

[15] He starred in Michael Jackson's video "You Rock My World" and made a cameo appearance in Tupac Shakur's "California Love".

Other celebrities participating included rapper Master P, NBA Hall of Famers Clyde Drexler and Dominique Wilkins, wide receiver Terrell Owens, and four Harlem Globetrotters.

The next year, he returned to film in Silver Linings Playbook, co-starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert De Niro.

[21] During the 2022 Halloween Thriller Night hosted by the Heal Los Angeles Foundation, Tucker and Steve Harvey were honored and received the inaugural "Man in The Mirror" Award.

[25] Tucker's patrilineal ancestry was also traced back to the Ambundu ethnic group of Angola and one line of his mother's to the Bamileke of Cameroon.

In 2002, Tucker traveled in Epstein's airplane alongside Bill Clinton and Kevin Spacey for humanitarian purposes in combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa.