Donald Glover
Donald McKinley Glover operates at the intersection of comedy, music, acting, writing, and directing with a creative restlessness that refuses to let any single medium contain him. As Childish Gambino, he won Grammy Awards for "This Is America," a song and music video that became a cultural earthquake — a searing commentary on gun violence and Black life in America that amassed over 800 million YouTube views. As the creator and star of Atlanta on FX, he produced one of the most acclaimed and avant-garde television series of the decade.
Born at Edwards Air Force Base, California, in 1983, and raised in Stone Mountain, Georgia, Glover attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and began his career as a writer for 30 Rock at 23. He appeared on Community, released mixtapes, and built a following that crossed every demographic boundary.
Atlanta, which premiered in 2016, defied every convention of television comedy — surreal, philosophical, and deeply rooted in Black Atlanta culture. It won multiple Emmy Awards and established Glover as one of the most innovative storytellers working in any medium. He has also starred in Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Lion King, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and his Childish Gambino farewell tour sold out stadiums worldwide. His refusal to be categorized is itself a statement about Black creative freedom.
I just wanted to make something that felt real.— Donald Glover
Key Milestones
A Life in Firsts
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