Freeman was born on June 1, 1937, in Memphis, Tenn., but grew up primarily in Greenwood, Miss. Although he won a statewide acting competition in junior high school, he dreamed of becoming a fighter pilot and enrolled in the Air Force after high school. Despite good scores on military exams, he was assigned to duties as a radar technician, an assignment that the African American airman attributed to racism. Upon his discharge in 1959, he took acting and dancing classes in California while trying to break into show business.

In 1964, Freeman found work as a dancer at the World's Fair in New York. In 1967, he appeared in an off-Broadway production and also made his Broadway debut in an all-black production of ‘Hello, Dolly!'. Although Freeman continued to find some theatrical roles during the early 1970s, his best-remembered role during this time was the hip character Easy Reader on the public television children's show The Electric Company.

For his role as a drunk in Broadway's ‘The Mighty Gents' (1978), Freeman received a Drama Desk Award, a Clarence Derwent Award for most promising newcomer, and a Tony award nomination. The Village Voice weekly newspaper honored him with his first Obie award for the title role in ‘Coriolanus' (1979). Freeman's other notable stage work included roles in ‘Mother Courage and Her Children' (1980), ‘The Gospel at Colonus' (1983), and ‘The Taming of the Shrew' (1990).

Although he appeared in a handful of earlier films, Freeman did not receive substantial critical attention in Hollywood until performing in the crime thriller ‘Street Smart' (1987). The National Society of Film Critics, the New York Film Critics Circle, and other groups presented him with awards for his powerful supporting performance, and he earned an Academy award nomination.

Freeman originated the character of Hoke in the 1987 stage version of ‘Driving Miss Daisy', and he reprised his role for the 1989 screen adaptation. The film, which explores the friendship between an elderly Jewish widow and her African American chauffeur, won an Oscar as the year's best picture. Freeman won the Golden Globe Award for best actor in a comedy or musical and received an Academy award nomination.

Freeman's third Oscar nomination came for his role as a seasoned inmate who befriends a new prisoner in ‘The Shawshank Redemption' (1994). His other films included ‘Lean on Me' (1989), ‘Glory' (1989), ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves' (1991), ‘Unforgiven' (1992), ‘Outbreak' (1995), ‘Seven' (1995), ‘Kiss the Girls' (1997), and ‘Amistad' (1997). He made his directorial debut with ‘Bopha!' in 1993.