Meet Malaak Compton-Rock, Chris Rock’s Ex-wife

Malaak Compton-Rock is the ex-wife of Chris Rock, the famous comedian and actor whom she was married to for 19 years before their divorce in 2016. Chris Rock’s ex-wife is also an American publicist, public relations executive, and TV personality who was born on June 13th, 1969 and is currently 54 years old.

Malaak Compton-Rock caught media attention for being the wife of Chris Rock and subsequently his ex-wife. Their divorce came as a shock to many of his fans but did not deter either party. The publicist has since moved on and is currently in a loving relationship while raising her daughters with Chris Rock.

Malaak Compton-Rock was Born in Oakland, California

Malaak Compton was born to parents on June 13th, 1969 in Oakland, California, United States. There is not much detail available online on her family as she has been very discreet with information about her private life. The names of her parents, occupation, and religious belief are not known but according to sources, she is an American national and is of African-American ethnicity.

Compton-Rock was raised in Brooklyn, New York but would later relocate to New Jersey with her parents. It is unknown if she is an only child of her parents or has siblings she grew up alongside.

She attended Howard University and graduated with a degree in Arts and Production Management. She went further to get an M.A. in Global Development and Social Justice from St. John’s University. She received honorary doctorate degrees from Utica College of Syracuse University, Fairleigh Dickenson University, and Salve Regina University for her outstanding work.

Malaak Compton-Rock and Chris Rock Met at an Essence Magazine Awards

The love story of Malaak Compton-Rock and her ex, Chris, started way back in 1993, long before the comedian became a huge success. Chris Rock met Malaak Compton at an Essence Magazine Award event he was not invited to. Malaak was working for the party at the time as a Hollywood publicist.

Chris Rock met Malaak met her at the event in which he crashed, and the two started dating. Theirs was a very well-publicized relationship that saw Malaak do her best to promote Chris who at the time was still trying to get his foot in the door of fame. Even though they were very well into each other, Malaak Compton who was already well established in her career efforts was often travelling.

Her schedule notwithstanding, she spent a lot of time with Chris Rock and his family, especially his brothers. They dated for close to three years and built a long relationship that eventually led to their marriage.

Malaak Compton Became Chris Rock’s Wife On November 23rd, 1996

After three years of building their relationship despite their individual busy schedules, Chris Rock and Malaak Compton got married on the 23rd of November 1996. At the time they got married, Chris Rock was still relatively unknown as a comedian and has starred in only a handful of movies.

Soon after they got married, Chris Rock’s career would take off for real and there is no denying the fact that Malaak played a part in getting him to the limelight. He would comment on his marriage at the 2007 premier of I Think I Love My Wife saying that marriage to Malaak changed him, calmed him done, and centered his life.

The Couple Have Two Kids Together

For the first five years after they got married, Malaak Compton-Rock and Chris Rock worked hard at building their careers and finding success in their individual endeavors, hence, they stayed well away from the concept of having children. However, all of that changed after the 9/11 attack when according to Chris, he had an epiphany after hearing of the event.

The couple had their first child; a daughter who they named Lola Simon on June 28, 2002. Two years later on May 22, 2004, Malaak birthed the couple’s second child, another daughter who they named Zahra Savannah. After the birth of their daughters, Malaak would slow down on public appearances and did her best to raise her daughters away from the prying eyes of the media that is constantly shadowing her husband.

Malaak Compton-Rock and Chris Rock Divorced After 19 Years Together

Like every other couple, Chris and Malaak had their issues. They got separated in 2014, but this did not receive much attention because many expected that they would still get back together considering how long they have been together. It came as a shock to many when it emerged that Malaak Compton and Chris Rock were divorced after 19 years of marriage.

From the information gathered, the couple got divorced due to an affair that Chris Rock would later disclose in his 2018 Netflix special Chris Rock: Tambourine. He confessed that he was not a good husband because he had cheated on his wife with three different women and was battling a pornography addiction which contributed to the end of his marriage. Their divorce was finalized in 2016.

Their divorce proceeding was contentious because, at the time, they were in the process of adopting a third daughter who was already living with them. The issues stemmed from Chris Rock refusing to pay child support for a third child since the adoption process had not been completed. In the end, Malaak Compton-Rock completed the adoption of the third daughter on her own.

The humanitarian has long moved on and is currently in a relationship. However, unlike her relationship with Chris which was well-publicized, she has chosen to keep the details of her new man to herself.

Malaak Compton is a Publicist Turned Humanitarian

Besides being known as Chris Rock’s ex-wife, Malaak Compton-Rock wears many hats professionally. She is an author, philanthropist, publicist, and television personality. She worked as a Hollywood publicist for a few years but soon changed her career line when she started working as a humanitarian with non-profit organizations.

She has worked with several non-profit organizations like The Children’s Defense Fund, The Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation, Safe Horizon, Champions for Children Campaign, HOPE Worldwide, and UNICEF. The philanthropist is also the creator and executive director of StyleWorks which is a non-profit full-service salon that offers free services to women. In 2001 she won an award from Redbook Magazine (the Mothers & Shakers Award).

As a Television personality, Malaak has been featured in various reality shows like The Oprah Winfrey Show 2008 – 2009, Chris Rock: Never Scared 1996, Chris Rock: Bring the Pain 1994,  HBO Comedy Half-Hour 2007-2010, The Big Give (2007), Entertainment Tonight 2008, Inside the Actors Studio and others.

She currently works as a volunteer supporting local grassroots organizations established in South Africa under the Angelrock Project which she founded in 2018. The Project promotes social responsibility and sustainable growth.