Don Cheadle was born on November 29, 1964, in Kansas City, Missouri. The son of Bettye Cheadle, a teacher, and Donald Cheadle Sr., a psychologist, Don was raised in a family that valued education, discipline, and hard work. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Denver, Colorado, where he grew up. The diverse experiences of moving and adjusting to different environments influenced Cheadle’s outlook on life and perhaps helped shape the multi-dimensional characters he would later portray in his career.