Eddie Murphy admitted that he "almost teared up" while taking in the moment among friends and family as he received a tribute from the American Film Institute
Credit: Michael Kovac/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Eddie Murphy shouted out his wife Paige Butcher and his 10 children while accepting a lifetime achievement award in Hollywood
- Murphy and Australian model Butcher began dating in 2012 and married in 2024; they share two children
- “I just turned 65 and it just feel like it’s raining blessings on me this month,” Murphy said
Eddie Murphy got emotional as he shouted out his wife Paige Butcher and his 10 children while accepting a lifetime achievement award at the American Film Institute.
"Just looking out and seeing all my family, all my kids, my beautiful wife, seeing all my different people that I worked with, it's just really filled up," Murphy, 65, said onstage at the Sunday, April 19 ceremony in Los Angeles, after Spike Lee presented him with the award.
A number of Murphy's 10 children, including daughter Bella, 24, attended the ceremony, along with wife Butcher, the Australian model whom Murphy wed in 2024. In his speech, Murphy also thanked Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos for organizing the event.
"This is a special moment," he said. "I wish y'all could feel what I'm feeling and see what I'm seeing. . . I'd like to thank everybody for giving me this night that I will remember forever and ever and ever. And thank you everybody. Stevie [Wonder] came. I saw Stevie, and Jennifer [Hudson] turned it out. Everybody said such nice things about me. I'm just really, really, really filled. I almost teared up. I'm going to get backstage and cry, but this has been wonderful. Thank you so much, I love you."
Credit: Michael Kovac/Getty
Murphy and Butcher began dating in 2012. They share two children: Izzy Oona Murphy, 9, and Max Charles Murphy, 7. The couple married just weeks after the premiere of Murphy's 2024 Netflix comedy Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. (Murphy's marriage to Butcher is his second; he was previously married to Nicole Murphy, with whom he shares five children, between 1993 and 2005. He also shares three children with former partners Paulette McNeely, Tamara Hood and Mel B.)
A number of prominent performers and friends of Murphy — including Kevin Hart, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, Mike Myers, and Kenan Thompson — appeared onstage at AFI's event honoring the Coming To America star. Murphy's Saturday Night Live costar Joe Piscopo and Beverly Hills Cop costar Judge Reinhold were also in attendance. "It couldn't have come at a better time. It's like this last month or two months, it's been just so much has been happening in my life," Murphy added in his speech. "I just had my first grandson and my third granddaughter. I just turned 65 and it just feel like it's raining blessings on me this month."
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Credit: Savion Washington/Getty
Murphy most recently appeared in a movie with last year's Prime Video release The Pickup. He also made a rare appearance on SNLfor the show's 50th anniversary special, and has a number of projects in development, including a long-awaited fifth Shrek entry and a reimagining of The Pink Panther.
Murphy's AFI tribute will premiere as a special on Netflix on May 31.
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