‘Being Eddie Is a Great Thing’

GEARING UP TO CELEBRATE 50 YEARS AS AN ENTERTAINER, THE COMEDIAN AND ACTOR OPENS UP LIKE NEVER BEFORE ABOUT HIS FASCINATING LIFE AND STORIED CAREER

- JANINE RUBENSTEIN

1. A young Murphy gives his signature sly grin. 2. Murphy in 1983 with (from left) stepfather Vernon, mom Lillian and younger brother Vernon Jr. 3. His 1983 sketch with Stevie Wonder (left) is an SNL classic. 4. "If I could press a button and go back to that red suit onstage, that'd be great," he says of his iconic 1983 Delirious stand-up outfit. 5. Flanked by his heroes and Harlem Nights costars Richard Pryor (left) and Redd Foxx.

There’s pride and self-esteem, and then there’s whatever magical confidence Eddie Murphy has. “My most important blessing is that I love myself,” the legendary comedian and movie star, 64, tells People in a rare deep-dive interview. “I’ve always loved myself, always been my biggest fan. That’s at the core of all of the decisions that you make. Some people go through their whole lives and get to the end and say, ‘I finally love myself.’ I started out that way.”

Next year marks the somewhat reclusive icon’s 50th year in show business, and to celebrate, he’s peeling back the layers in the new Netflix documentary Being Eddie.

Eddie's Big, Happy Family Murphy and wife Paige posed with their mothers and his 10 kids in 2018. Top, from left: Myles, Bria, Christian and Shayne. Middle, from left: Bella, Izzy, Eddie, Max, Paige, Paige's mom, Helen Butcher, and Zola. Front, from left: Eric, Eddie's mom, Lillian Lynch, and Angel.

“In a business where people come and go, most people don’t get 50 years,” he says. Murphy first broke through in the ’80s as a young standout in stand-up and on Saturday Night Live before kicking off a slew of early box office successes like 48 HRS., Trading Places