All About Kevin Hart’s Parents, Nancy Hart and Henry Witherspoon

Kevin Hart may be one of the most prominent comedians, but he comes from humble beginnings.

He was the second son born to parents Nancy Hart and Henry Witherspoon and was raised in Philadelphia with his older brother, Robert. Kevin’s mom, Nancy, worked hard to support the family as a computer analyst at the University of Pennsylvania. His father, Henry, struggled with drug addiction and spent time in and out of jail during Kevin’s childhood.

As Henry got sober, Kevin forgave and reconnected with him, even inviting him to spend more time with Kevin’s wife Eniko Hart and their four kids, Heaven, Hendrix, Kenzo and Kaori, before Henry’s death in 2022. In 2018, the comedian opened up to PEOPLE about his journey to forgiving his father.

“No matter what, he’s my father,” Kevin said. “Regardless of my upbringing and the way I was raised and how often he was in my life, he’s my dad … I have a positive outlook on life regardless and I’m going to love you because you’re my father.”

Kevin also shared a close bond with his mother, who died from cancer in 2007. “My mom is … responsible for giving me the ability to understand the benefit of hard work, to understand what saying you’re going to do something and actually doing it truly means,” Kevin said in the 2023 Netflix documentary Kevin Hart & Chris Rock: Headliners Only. “You know, that work ethic is all attached to my mom.”

So, who are Kevin Hart’s parents? Here’s everything to know about Nancy Hart and Henry Witherspoon.

Nancy raised Kevin as a single parent in Philadelphia

Nancy primarily raised Kevin and his brother Robert as a single mom and worked as a computer analyst at the University of Pennsylvania.

“Grew up in Philadelphia, P.A. … North Philadelphia, 15th and Erie. You know, crime city,” Kevin said on WTF with Marc Maron in 2015. “It’s not the best place in the world, but I love it. It’s home.”

Kevin elaborated further on his childhood and all that Nancy did to provide for him and his brother in the 2019 Emmy-nominated Netflix docuseries Don’t F— this Up.

“We were raised in a one-bedroom apartment,” Kevin said. “My mom, she had laid strips of upside-down duct tape next to the sink to catch the roaches … As a single mother, I think we never knew how hard she was struggling.”

Henry spent most of Kevin’s childhood in and out of prison

Kevin has been open about his father’s struggles with drug addiction and how it affected his childhood. While speaking to Howard Stern on The Howard Stern Show in 2016, Kevin said Henry’s addiction led to time in jail, not being around for him as a child and even stealing $20 that was supposed to be a gift for Kevin at one of his birthdays.

Still, the comedian has managed to turn the negative parts of his upbringing into positive aspects of his life today.

“I wouldn’t change it one bit … I’m a happy guy,” Kevin said on The Howard Stern Show in 2016. “You can find a positive in every negative, or you can treat every negative with a negative response.”

Kevin continued, “If my dad hadn’t been around and didn’t do drugs, I may be handling my success differently. I may be on drugs, I may be searching for something.”

Nancy taught Kevin tough lessons

Kevin is candid about how Nancy influenced his work ethic and how close they were, but he also often jokes about how intimidating she was during his comedy sets.

“She had more strength and fight in her than any woman that I’ve ever met,” Kevin said in Don’t F— this Up. “She had this thing where she would look at you and she would let you see her smile fade. It would put the fear of God into anyone.”

The comedian also claimed that Nancy gave Kevin a stricter upbringing compared to his brother, who got into a lot of trouble as a child.

“The way that my mom saw it, she was too lenient on my brother,” Kevin said in Don’t F— this Up. “So, she figured if she could keep me off the streets, that I wouldn’t turn out like him. She set up a routine of structured, systematic and supervised movements that she imposed on my life. Her routine for me went like this: we woke up at 6 in the morning, I left to catch the school bus at 7. After school ended, I had to go to an extracurricular activity.”

Nancy helped Kevin pay his rent, but he didn’t know until listening to her advice

During a 2014 episode of Oprah Prime, Kevin shared a touching story with Oprah Winfrey about one of Nancy’s lessons she taught him during his first year of pursuing a career in comedy. At the time, he was close to getting evicted, and every time he asked Nancy for help, she told him he should read the Bible, and then they’d talk about rent.

“A month goes by. I get an eviction notice on my door and they’re about to kick me out. She said ‘Talk to me when you read your bible,’ ” Kevin said. “I go home and say ‘Man let me open this Bible up.’ [I] open the Bible up … six rent checks fall out. She put all my rent checks in the Bible … from that six months throughout the rest of the year they were all there.”

Kevin said he read two chapters of the Bible after this and called his mom to apologize. His mom told him she wanted him to read it so he stays faithful along his journey.

Nancy was Kevin’s biggest supporter

Kevin has been vocal about how much Nancy supported him, including in his book I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons, where he said that she kept every article about his success. Kevin and Robert even shared how Nancy made Robert keep her ovarian cancer diagnosis — which she died from in 2007 — secret from Kevin because she wanted him to remain focused on his career.

“[Kevin] was about to go to Australia to film Fool’s Gold and so things was just starting to bubble [in his career] and so my mom was like ‘Listen. Promise me. Do not tell him … When it’s close to the end, that’s when you let him know that I’m actually dying,’ ” Robert said in Kevin Hart & Chris Rock: Headliners Only.

“I, of course, was extremely close with my mom. So, I think that there was information that they were trying to keep away from me, but some things were obvious … it was becoming obvious that my mom’s condition was much worse than what was being presented,” Kevin added.

Robert proceeded to share that Fool’s Gold led to many big breaks in Kevin’s career. He said Nancy felt it was important for Kevin to be in Australia filming as his career was picking up steam instead of worrying about her.

Kevin forgave Henry and had him spend time with his grandkids

Henry’s absence from Kevin’s life made for a difficult childhood and put the burden on Nancy to support the family by herself. However, as time passed Kevin forgave his father, which he spoke about with PEOPLE in 2018.

“I understand that nobody’s perfect, people are flawed, people make mistakes,” Kevin said. “I shouldn’t hold a high level of judgment over your head about things I can’t change … You can’t go back in the past and fix this or fix that. I can only move forward, and I can only love you today.”

Henry eventually dealt with his addiction issues and got sober. This led to Kevin feeling more comfortable having Henry in his life and spending time with his grandchildren.

“I’m in a position where I’m blessed and I can provide,” Kevin said to PEOPLE. “I can say, ‘Here, dad, here’s a home, here’s a car, here’s some money. Go spend time with your grandkids. Be the best grandpop … the days that you missed with me are the days that we missed, it’s fine. I’m okay with that.’ ”

Nancy died in 2007 and Henry died in 2022

In 2007, Kevin’s mom Nancy died from cancer. When his father Henry died 15 years later, he paid tribute to both his parents on social media.

“RIP to one of the realest & rawest to ever do it… Love you dad,” Kevin wrote on Instagram on Oct. 12, 2022. “Gone but never forgotten… Give mom a hug for me… y’all did good man.”

The post was filled with photos of Henry with Kevin, Robert and Kevin’s wife and kids.

Kevin said Henry made him a better father in an unexpected way

Despite the ups and downs of their relationship, the actor has said he learned about fatherhood from Henry.

“I took the mistakes that I feel that my dad may have made and instead of complaining about them, I use them to my advantage,” Kevin told PEOPLE in 2018. “I know what I should do, and the things that I don’t want my kids to ever feel … And the most important thing that you can give your kids is time.”