1983-present
Latest News: Donald Glover Cancels Childish Gambino Tour
Donald Glover has canceled the remainder of his Childish Gambino tour dates in North America and the United Kingdom due to health concerns. The singer issued a statement on October 4, revealing that he is dealing with an unspecified health issue that requires surgery.
“After my show in New Orleans, I went to the hospital in Houston to make sure of an ailment that had become apparent. After being assessed, it became clear I would not perform that night, and after more tests, I could not perform the rest of the U.S. tour in the time asked,” he wrote on Twitter. “As of now I have surgery scheduled and need time out to heal. My path to recovery is something I need to confront seriously.”
The 41-year-old had previously postponed the remaining dates for The New World Tour, which is said to be his last project under his stage name along with his latest album Bando Stone & the New World, released in July 2024. Tickets for the 30-plus affected concert dates will be refunded in full.
Who Is Donald Glover?
Donald Glover is an Emmy-winning actor and Grammy-winning musician, who performs under the name Childish Gambino. After getting his start in television as a writer on 30 Rock, Glover moved onto acting in the show Community as well as movies like 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story. However, his best known work is as the star and creator of the TV comedy Atlanta, which earned him two Emmy Awards. In 2017, he became the first African American to win an Emmy for comedy directing. As Childish Gambino, an alter ego he is set to retire, he has released six albums and the hit songs “This Is America” and “Redbone,” as well as earned five Grammys. The double threat’s most recent projects include the 2024 Emmy-nominated show Mr. and Mrs. Smith and the album Bando Stone and the New World.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Donald McKinley Glover Jr.
BORN: September 25, 1983
BIRTHPLACE: Edwards Air Force Base, California
SPOUSE: Michelle White (circa 2023-present)
CHILDREN: Legend, Drake, and Donald
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Libra
Early Life
Donald McKinley Glover Jr., better known as Donald Glover or his rap stage name Childish Gambino, was born on September 25, 1983, at Edwards Air Force Base in California. His family moved to Georgia when Glover was still very young, and he was raised principally in the community of Stone Mountain, about 20 miles northeast of Atlanta. According to Glover, Stone Mountain at that time was primarily a white suburb and his family was one of the only Black families in the area.
Glover’s father worked in a post office, and his mother was a day care manager. Glover has a brother, a sister, and two adopted siblings. His parents, both Jehovah’s Witnesses, took in foster children for many years, and Glover describes a household that was at times chaotic.
In high school, Glover became involved in musicals and plays. After graduating, he attended New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and graduated in 2006 with a degree in dramatic writing. Post-college, he produced comedy videos with former classmates who formed a troupe called Derrick Comedy.
Movies and TV Shows: Atlanta and More
Glover’s first major role in entertainment was as a television writer. In 2006, comedian Tina Fey handpicked then-23-year-old Glover to join the writing staff on her NBC series 30 Rock. “He was literally still living in the NYU dorms,” Fey said. “And that was a great resource for us. We would turn to him and ask, ‘What would a young person say here?’”
Glover left 30 Rock after three seasons and pivoted to working as a TV actor, joining the cast of Community, another beloved NBC comedy, as ex-high school jock Troy Barnes. Glover’s role has maintained internet fame through a popular meme in which Troy carries pizza boxes into a burning room from the third-season episode “Remedial Chaos Theory.”
After more than four seasons with Community, Glover decided to get the best of both worlds by developing and starring in his own show.
Emmy Winner for Atlanta
Beginning in 2016, Glover began starring in Atlanta, a comedy show he created about an Ivy League dropout who manages the up-and-coming rap career of a cousin. A hit with fans, Atlanta was nominated for six Emmy Awards following its first season. Four of the nominations recognized Glover, and he won two: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series. The latter trophy made Glover the first African American to win an Emmy for comedy directing.
Atlanta also won two Golden Globes and a Peabody award. The show was so well-received that FX signed Glover to a development and production deal in January 2017. Along with launching the second and then the third seasons of Atlanta, Glover also worked on an animated Deadpool series, featuring the titular Marvel Comics superhero, for FXX, a sister network of FX.
In March 2018, it was announced that Glover and his younger brother and collaborator, Stephen, were leaving Deadpool over “creative differences.” Addressing the rumors that he had too much on his plate, Glover tweeted, “For the record: I wasn’t too busy to work on Deadpool.” He also shared a spoof script in which the superhero reflects on the reasons the project might have fallen through, at one point asking, “Do you think they canceled the show because of racism?!”
“Underestimate Donald Glover at your own peril,” FX President John Landgraf said. “He’s remarkably multi-faceted. I look at Donald first and foremost as a creator but also as an entrepreneur—someone who is almost boundaryless who can do almost anything [he sets his] mind to.”
Glover would prove that with his most recent project.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Glover partnered with Amazon Prime Video for the 2024 spy drama series Mr. and Mrs. Smith, inspired by the 2005 movie of the same name starring Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Glover played secret agent John Smith, who works undercover as one half of a married couple with another spy, played by Maya Erskine. In addition to his onscreen role, Glover is one of the show’s creators, writers, and executive producers.
Praised for its action pieces and the chemistry between the two leads, Mr. and Mrs. Smith earned 16 Emmy nominations including, Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor for Glover, and Outstanding Lead Actress for Erskine. Glover was also nominated for the show’s writing.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith has been renewed for Season 2, though Glover and Erskine aren’t likely to star.
Movies: Solo: A Star Wars Story and More
Glover has also appeared in a variety of movies, starting with Magic Mike XXL (2015), The Martian (2015), and the Tom Holland–led Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017).
In 2018, Glover enjoyed a more prominent role in Solo: A Star Wars Story. The movie traces the early life of intergalactic pilot and warrior Han Solo, the character first made famous by Harrison Ford. In Solo, Glover played the young Lando Calrissian, the role originally held by Billy Dee Williams in The Empire Strikes Back in 1980.
Following Solo, Glover co-starred in the Amazon short film Guava Island (2019), alongside Rihanna. That summer, he headlined a CGI-animated remake of the 1994 animated classic The Lion King as the voice of Simba. His castmates included Beyoncé as Simba’s love interest, Nala; Seth Rogen as the dim but endearing warthog, Pumbaa; and James Earl Jones as Simba’s father, Mufasa.
Most recently, Glover had a voice role in another Spider-Man film, 2023’s animated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Childish Gambino
Along with his acclaimed TV and movie work, Glover is a successful rapper and hip-hop artist performing under the name Childish Gambino. The name was produced at random by the Wu-Tang Clan’s Name Generator.
His first album, Camp, arrived in 2011 and was followed by 2013’s Because the Internet and 2014’s Kauai. Because the Internet and its track “3005” earned the artist his first two Grammy Award nominations.
Childish Gambino’s next album, “Awaken My Love!” (2016), received even louder acclaim. It earned five Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for the song “Redbone.” This time, Childish Gambino was named a winner as he earned Best Traditional R&B Performance for “Redbone.” Also at the 2018 awards ceremony, the musician delivered a soulful performance of “Terrified,” another Awaken My Love! track.
In May 2018, he released “This Is America,” a hip-hop and gospel track that Rolling Stone described as “a united front brought together by the constant threat of racially motivated violence.” The music video shows Glover dancing frivolously with school children and then turning on a dime to commit random acts of violence. Receiving lots of media buzz, “This Is America” was Glover’s darkest societal critique yet among his songs, expressing his view that the United States has become too distracted to realize the serious problems facing it.
“This is America” went on to make history in February 2019 as the first hip-hop track to win Song of the Year and Record of the Year at the Grammys. It also collected the trophies for Best Music Video and Best Rap/Sung Performance.
Final Albums and Tour
Reportedly seeking to spread some good vibes during the initial outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the artist released the surprise album Donald Glover Presents on his website in March 2020. Notable for its presentation minus his usual Childish Gambino alter ego, the 12-track LP featured some previously released material and collaborations with top talents like Ariana Grande.
The album was abruptly pulled from his site after streaming in a continual loop for 12 hours, but it reappeared the following week on streaming services under the Childish Gambino name and with a new title, 3.15.20.
In April 2024, Glover announced he would release his last two albums as Childish Gambino—an updated version of 3.15.20 and a new compilation called Bando Stone and the New World—before retiring the persona. Retitled as Atavista, the 3.15.20 reissue arrived in May, and Bando Stone debuted later that July. “It really was just like, ‘Oh, it’s done.’ [The persona is] not fulfilling. And I just felt like I didn’t need to build in this way anymore,” he told The New York Times.
Glover then began an accompanying The New World Tour in August 2024, but announced in early September, he was postponing the remaining North American dates to focus on his physical health. The next month, he canceled the tour outright, including concerts scheduled in the United Kingdom, citing a further health problem that required surgery.
Wife and Children
In a February 2024 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Glover revealed he had married his longtime partner, Michelle White, during the filming of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The exact date of their wedding is unknown, though it was likely sometime in 2023. (The show released in early February 2024.)
“There was a day where I don’t think we had to be on set until noon or 1, so, I was like, ‘Can we get married today?’” Glover said, recalling the question he asked his now-wife. “I got married in the morning. We had a real wedding afterwards, too. [That night, though,] we went to our favorite restaurant and then her parents and my mom were waiting for us at the house.”
Years earlier, Glover publicly shared he didn’t believe in marriage. “It doesn’t serve the purpose that I would want it to serve,” he said in an interview. However, after talking with White and reflecting more, he changed his tune.
The couple were first spotted together in Hawaii in January 2016 and have maintained a relatively private relationship since.
Glover and White have three sons: Legend, born in 2016; Drake, born in 2018; and Donald III, born in 2020. Glover performed a duet with his eldest son for “Can You Feel Me,” a song off the 2024 Childish Gambino album Bando Stone and the New World.
Net Worth
Celebrity Net Worth estimates Glover’s fortune around $40 million as of August 2024.
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