Chris Rock's 7 Siblings: Everything to Know
Chris Rock may take center stage hosting the Oscars or Saturday Night Live, but growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he shared the spotlight with his six brothers and one sister: Charles, Andre, Tony, Brian, Kenny, Andi and Jordan.
The comedian was born to Rosalie “Rose” Rock and Julius Rock, who died of complications from diabetes in 1988. In addition to raising her own children, Rose also fostered 17 kids. “When you have that many siblings, it’s great for your development because you have a bunch of people to bounce ideas off of,” Chris' younger brother Tony told PEOPLE in June 2018. “We weren’t rich by any means, but we had each other, so we were rich in family.”
Chris set a high bar for his siblings, particularly for aspiring comics Tony and Jordan. “People will say, ‘He’s funny, but he’s not as funny as Chris,’ ” Jordan told C-Ville in November 2022. “They already have this bar that I have to be at.”
Family matriarch Rose told Today in April 2008 that her goal was always to raise children who would “be great.” She added, “Great doesn’t mean to be movie stars or artists. Great means to be wonderful people.”
In March 2022, Chris’ family rallied around him after Will Smith slapped him at the Oscars in response to a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. (Pinkett Smith has alopecia, a disease that causes hair loss.).
“When Will slapped Chris, he slapped all of us. But he really slapped me,” Rose later told WIS News. “Because when you hurt my child, you hurt me.”
Chris' brother Kenny also spoke about the incident, telling the Los Angeles Times, "It eats at me watching it over and over again because you’ve seen a loved one being attacked and there’s nothing you can do about it."
Tony was also mentioned by name in Smith's video apology and later tweeted that there had been "a genuine friendship” with the Fresh Prince alum before the incident.
So who are Chris Rock’s siblings? Here’s everything to know about Charles, Andre, Tony, Brian, Kenny, Andi and Jordan Rock.
Charles “Shabazz” Ledell Rock
The oldest Rock sibling, Charles “Shabazz” Ledell Rock, was born on Oct. 5, 1953.
Charles made a particularly strong impact on his younger brother Tony. “He always included me. ... He was a big part of my life,” Tony told Studio Q in January 2017, noting that he would often cut school to hang out with Charles at work.
He added, “On the weekend, he would work out a lot, I would work out with him. ... I wanted to play basketball because he played basketball. He taught me how to box, I boxed for a few years because he boxed. ... He included me in his life.”
Charles died in Harlem, New York, on Feb. 4, 2006, at the age of 52.
Andre Rock
Born on April 16, 1967, to Rose and Julius, Andre is two years younger than his brother Chris. He was raised in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant. In December 2016, Rose told The Sun News that Andre loved her cooking — specifically her sweet potato pies.
Andre runs the freight-hauling business Julius Rock Trucking, named after his father, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He has otherwise largely lived his life out of the public eye.
Anthony “Tony” Rock
Anthony “Tony” Rock, born on June 30, 1974, is the fourth-born son of the Rock clan. He started his career early on, following first in his dad’s footsteps delivering papers and later in his brother’s doing comedy.
“I had a job with my father at 14 working at the New York Daily News,” Tony told BlackDoctor.org in June 2016.
He pivoted his focus to comedy, treating Chris’ accomplishments as a to-do list. “Chris was always, ‘Get out of here,’ ” Tony told Studio Q. “I was the nuisance little brother. So it made me say, ‘Everything he does, I’m gonna master. Just to show him that I can do it.’ ”
He got his big break in 2006 with a stint on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam. However, he's said that being Chris’ younger brother has been “the gift and the curse” of his career. "I'm not afforded the luxury of just taking a set casual, taking the night off. Because if I bomb, it's, 'Oh, he's not funny — he's just doing it because of his brother,' ” Tony told The Washington Post in August 2008.
In December 2012, NBC News reported that Tony founded the MyRock Foundation, a charity that aims to raise awareness about diabetes among Black Americans, in honor of his late father.
“One of the most difficult times in my life was when I lost my father, Julius Rock, due to health complications caused by diabetes,” he told BlackDoctor.org. “He instilled a hard work ethic for me and my brothers and always told us about responsibility to others. MyRock is an example of my responsibility to educate people about diabetes.”
In addition to his comedy and charity work, Tony has also had recurring roles on several TV series, including on his brother’s show Everybody Hates Chris as Uncle Ryan. He created his own sketch show, The Tony Rock Project, which ran for one season in 2008. Apart from acting, he hosted several shows, including Can You Tell? (2003) and All Def Comedy (2016), and has been a guest judge on competitions like Is It Cake? (2022).
Brian Rock
Born around 1976, Brian Rock is the fifth Rock sibling. In 2016, Rose told The Sun News that he was a minister. Little else is known of his personal life, but he has supported Chris at public events. Brian was photographed with his mom and siblings at a New York City afterparty for Chris’ film Good Hair in October 2009.
Kenneth “Kenny” Rock
On April 16, 1979 — exactly 12 years after Andre was born — Rose and Julius welcomed their son Kenneth “Kenny” Rock. Like Chris and Tony, Kenny is an actor with film roles in Vesuvius (2018), Coincidental Killer (2016) and Hope a Brooklyn Story (2014). In 2016, The Sun News reported that he worked for Scholastic. According to his Instagram page, he is “the rebellious one of the Rock family.”
In June 2022, Kenny said in an interview that he boxed in his youth. He later won a celebrity boxing match against The Real World: D.C.’s Josh Colon.
Andi Rock
Andi Rock is the only girl in the Rock brood and was born on March 18, 1985. Andi relocated from New York to South Carolina with her family and studied at Winthrop University. In 2016, Andi was working as a therapist for children with autism and lived in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Andi told The Sun News that she was greatly influenced by her mother growing up. “One of the greatest things she has taught me is to treat everyone the same, whether it’s a judge or a janitor,’’ she said. “Everyone deserves respect, which is why to this day I say ‘Hello’ to everyone I encounter.”
While she largely stays out of the spotlight, Andi tied the knot with husband Brett Nelson on Nov. 14, 2020, in what she described as a “micro wedding” on Instagram. She is also close with her famous brother, calling Chris one of her “favorite people” in a May 2017 Instagram post.
Jordan Rock
The youngest of the family, Jordan Rock, was born on Feb. 10, 1991. Unlike his older siblings, Jordan grew up in Georgetown, South Carolina, after Rose moved the family there, according to The New York Times.
He later dropped out of high school and moved to Brooklyn at 18 to pursue his own dreams of comedy. “I grew up around comedy, watching my brothers. They are inspirations," Jordan told KSDK in May 2019.
Still, being Chris’ brother also came with challenges. “Sometimes I do wish my name was just Ronaldo or whatever,” he said to C-Ville. Jordan has also likened his relationship with his brothers to Beyoncé and her family, calling himself “the Solange” of the Rocks in a 2018 interview with From the OH.
In 2015, Jordan joined his big brother Tony on the road. One year later, he had his breakout role on the Netflix series Love. “I didn’t have [a big break] until that happened. I went to work and didn’t know what I was getting into,” he told KSDK. "It felt like a ride and I am amazed that it happened.”
This gig was followed by a part in Big Time Adolescence (2019), also starring Pete Davidson. Jordan also starred in Davidson’s Netflix special Pete Davidson Presents: The Best Friends.
Away from the cameras, he's connected more with his big brother Chris. “As I get older, I get closer and closer to him,” Jordan told C-Ville. “I’m trying to go places that he’s been before. He’s the person I can call and talk to and get reassurance that the game works a certain way.”
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