- Dave Chappelle and his wife Elaine have been married since 2001.
- They live in Ohio with their three kids.
- Dave Chappelle is going to host ‘Saturday Night Live’ on November 12.
Dave Chappelle is instantly recognizable to any comedy fan. He’s been a household name since his Comedy Central series Chappelle’s Show debuted back in 2003. Prior to getting his own show, he starred in a handful of movies like The Nutty Professor, Robin Hood: Men In Tights, and many more. After stepping down from Chappelle’s Show, Dave, 49, took some time out of the spotlight, occasionally performing standup shows. He made a major comeback in 2017, releasing two specials on Netflix, and he’s been regularly putting out material since. Despite many fans welcoming his return, he’s also received much backlash for his material, including many jokes he’s made about transgender people.
Throughout the many phases of his career, there’s been one woman by his side: Elaine, 48. While she’s a very private person, the comic’s wife has found her way into much of his standup material. She’s also occasionally accompanied her husband to different red carpet-events over the years. Despite many different highs and lows over the years, Elaine has been by his side. Before he hosts Saturday Night Live, find out everything you need to know about her here!
Dave & Elaine have been married for over 20 years.
Elaine has been by Dave’s side for the good and bad, and that’s part of why he thinks she’s the perfect partner. He reflected on their history together during an interview on The Howard Stern Show. He revealed that she’s able to be upfront with him, even about the harder topics, because they’ve gone through so much. “She was with me when I was poor,” he said, via Parade. “My wife, if it gets real bad, she’ll let me know, like, ‘Oh, you should look into this.’ But for the most part, I try not to pay attention to it because you don’t want to be careful as a comedian.”
The couple have three children.
Dave and Elaine are both loving parents to their three kids. Their first son Sulayman was born around the time that they got married in 2001. Their second son Ibrahim was born in 2003, and their daughter Sanaa in 2009. The Equanimity comedian admitted that his kids helped him put his life into perspective. “Everything changed after I had children,” he said in a 2017 interview with CBS News. “I took my professional life more seriously. And I think, as a dude, I had more depth after I had kids.”
Elaine is a stay-at-home mom.
While Dave travels the world as a comedian, it seems that Elaine mostly focuses on taking care of their family. Early on in their marriage, Dave admitted that sometimes she would travel with him when he had extended stays in different places in a 2001 interview with Howard Stern. “Sometimes, when I’m gigging, I’ll just be in a place for one night. Because we’ve got the baby, forget it man. She’s going to stay home, but if I’m in a place for a chunk of time, she’ll come meet me,” he said at the time.
While both of their sons are young men, it’s not clear if more than 20 years later Elaine still follows the same idea. Their daughter is still a pre-teen. Dave has spoken about how glad his kids used to be to see him after a tour in one of his 2017 Netflix specials. “When my kids were little and the tour bus would pull up to the house, [they’d] spill out. ‘Dad is home, hooray!’ Then as the years went on, they’d get less interested. ‘Hey everybody, look: It’s Mr. Promises back from the road,'” he said.
She used to want to be a professional chef.
Before they welcomed their first child, Elaine had her own creative pursuits: the culinary arts. While she may not have pursued a career in the service industry or as a celebrity chef, Dave has explained that his wife is still a master in the kitchen. “She doesn’t work as a professional chef, [but the kids] regularly eat like kings at home, thanks to her excellent culinary skills,” he said in a past interview, per Netline.
The pair moved to Ohio to raise their family.
While the two biggest comedy cities are often considered New York and Los Angeles, Dave chose to settle down somewhere a little different: Yellow Spring, Ohio. During COVID-19 pandemic, Dave turned his town to a bit of a comedy oasis, hosting outdoor shows for locals. He also filmed his thought-provoking special 8:46, where he spoke about the death of George Floyd.
The Age of Spin comedian has said that he likes the small town, because it lets him detach from feeling like a major celebrity. “I’ll be reminded that I’m a celebrity here, but I don’t think about it at all until somebody asks me for a selfie or something,” he said in a CBS News interview.