Actors don’t come any more legendary than Morgan Freeman. From playing God Himself in Bruce Almighty to never turning down a narration job in his life, the Shawshank Redemption star ranks up there with the absolute finest performers working in Hollywood today.
Freeman’s so ubiquitous on our screens as we rewatch his many classic movies — the guy’s got a hefty 148 acting credits to his name — over and over that he’s one of those stars who is guaranteed immortality, because you know that film lovers will be listening to his unique, buttery tones for decades to come. Having said that, we’d really like the man himself to be with us for as long as possible, too.
With that being said, is Freeman still alive? It’s my pleasure to inform you that, yes, The Dark Knight alum remains on this mortal plane. But how old is he and how is his health holding up these days? Read on for the answers (and bonus points if you read them in his voice).
How old is Morgan Freeman?
Morgan Freeman was born on June 1, 1937, making him 86 at the time of writing. The Memphis, Tennessee native made his first appearance in a movie as an extra in 1965’s The Pawnbroker, from acclaimed director Sidney Lumet. So that means that 2025 marks the 60th anniversary of his film career, a mighty achievement indeed. Believe it or not, his first prominent gig in the industry was as the host of children’s show The Electric Company from 1971-75.
Across his nearly nine decades of life, Freeman has been married twice and sired four children. His first marriage to Jeanette Adair Bradshaw lasted from 1967-1979 and he was wed to his second wife, Myrna Colley-Lee, from 1984-2010. Freeman’s four biological children are Alfonso, Deena, Morgana, and Saifoulaye, with he and Colley-Lee also raising his step-daughter from his first marriage, E’dena Hines. Tragically, Hines was murdered in 2015 at the age of just 33.
As his ever-ballooning resume proves, Freeman has never slowed down with age. At 65, he landed himself a private pilot’s license and is believed to currently own three private planes. But what is Morgan Freeman’s favorite film, excluding the many he’s worked on himself? It’s 2001 musical Moulin Rouge! No, I didn’t expect that answer, either.
Did Morgan Freeman have a stroke?
Fears for Morgan Freeman’s life began thanks to a tweet from X (formerly Twitter) user @altadenic, who claimed that the actor had been “dead for two days” but nobody was reporting on it. The tweeter even provided apparent evidence from Google confirming the “news.”
There is absolutely no truth to the claims that Freeman has passed away, but this has nonetheless caused folks to worry that there is some fire behind the smoke here and that perhaps Freeman has had some kind of serious health scare, perhaps a stroke. Again, I am happy to say that, to the best of our knowledge, Freeman has not had a stroke.
The biggest health scare Freeman has had must be the serious car crash he survived in 2008. The incident, which occurred near Ruleville, Mississippi, left him requiring four hours of surgery to fix the nerve damage to his left shoulder, arm, and elbow. These days, Freeman will often been seen in public wearing a glove on his left hand — this is a compression glove in order to promote blood circulation, as Freeman has suffered from fibromyalgia, a kind of chronic pain disorder, since the crash.
Apart from that, Freeman appears to be in rude health for a person of his age, and long may that continue!
