LeVar Burton is one of the popular African American actors who has graced our TV screens for over two decades now and counting. His popular roles include that in the sitcom Star Trek: The Next Generation as Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge, as the host of the children’s series Raeading Rainbow and also as young Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries The Roots. .
Burton is a multi-talented man when it comes to the entertainment industry and as such he had also ventured into directing over the years which also proved to be a successful path for him. Let’s take a look at his biography, family life and net worth.
Biography of LeVar Burton
Burton was given the name Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. at birth on February 16, 1957. He was born to parents Erma Gene, a social worker, and Levardis Robert Martyn Burton photographer. Both of his parents worked for the U.S. Army while serving in Landstuhl, Germany, where Burton was born. However, his family later returned to the United States and settled in Sacramento, California, where he was raised alongside his two sisters by their Roman Catholic mother.
When he turned 13, he was admitted to St. Pius X Minor Seminary located in Galt, California with the goal of becoming a priest, however, this did not materialize for young Burton who, after having reading works by philosophers like Laozi, Friedrich Nietzsche and Søren Kierkegaard, made him skeptical of his Catholic dogma.. He then joined the University of Southern California on a theater scholarship in 1974 where he graduated from their School of Theatre.
Film career
LeVar Burton is an exceptional actor who since his debut in the African-American miniseries The Roots as Kunta Kinte based on the novel by Alex Haley of the same title started gaining recognition for his acting as he was instantly nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series in 1977. Due to his outstanding performance, he also landed the role of Kunta Kinte 10 years later in The Roots 1988: The Gifts.
Burton’s other major work is his role as host and executive producer of the children’s series Reading Rainbow which ran for 23 seasons on the PBS network. The sitcom landed more than 200 awards during its run, including a Peabody Award and 26 Emmy Awards. Burton was also nominated for and won 12 Emmy Awards as a sitcom producer and host.
When the show ended in 2006, Burton teamed up with Mark Wolfe to start a media company named RRKIDZ for kids and the app was launched for iPad in 2012 and after 36 hours of launch, the RRKIDZ app became the first educational application. The success of this app prompted him in 2014 to launch a campaign to make the program online and accessible to schools across the United States.
On the Star Trek: The Next Generation series , LeVar Burton is also known for his role as Lieutenant Junior Grade Geordi La Forge who was initially a blind character but later granted some kind of sight using an aid called VISOR which he wears on his eyes to enable him to see. His character started with a small role as the helmsman of the USS Enterprise and as the series moved into the second season, he became its chief engineer. Burton continued to appear on the show until 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis and even directed several episodes of the show.
Other works
Burton has also directed episodes of the series Charmed, Las Vegas, NCIS, JAG, Soul Food, and the mini-sitcom Miracle’s Boys. In 2003, he even received the best festival award in the film Snowstorm from the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival.
The actor and presenter married in 1992 to a talented makeup artist named Stephanie Cozart-Burton with whom he has a daughter named Michaela Jean Estelle Burton who is affectionately known as “Mica”. Burton also has a son named Ian Burton, born in 1980 by his former partner.
His daughter Mica, who would be very attached to her father, also took him to build a career as an artist. Mica, who loved going to Cosplay as a child in which people dress up as their favorite video game or comic book character has over the years become one of the popular cosplay models in the United States She is also known for her sexuality as she openly identifies as bisexual and floods her social media pages with photos of her girlfriend.
Is the movie star dead or alive?
Death pranks are commonplace among celebrities, but The Roots actor has yet to fall victim to any of it. There is no news of the actor’s disappearance yet, so it means that he is still alive and actively pursuing his career.
How much is Star Trek Star worth?
The popular Star Trek actor who is also a presenter, director and writer has garnered a net worth of $6 million for himself.
