• African-American actor and rapper, best known for voicing Franklin Clinton in the popular Rockstar video game “Grand Theft Auto” from 2013
• Grew up in Los Angeles neighborhood known as Watts
• Acting debut in 1993 film “Dead Homiez”
• Gained prominence with his role in Grand Theft Auto V alongside his cousin Young Maylay
• Also an accomplished musician, performing under the pseudonym Solo

Who is Shawn Fonteno?

Shawn Fonteno is an African-American actor and rapper, probably best known to the world for lending his voice, face, and motions to Franklin Clinton from the popular Rockstar video game “Grand Theft Auto” from 2013.

Age, Early Life, Parents, and Education

Shawn Darnell Fonteno was born on 8 April 1968 under the Aries zodiac sign, in Los Angeles, California USA. He is the son of Thomas Fonteno, but there’s no information about his mother.

Shawn is an older cousin of the famous rapper and actor Young Maylay, currently signed to Lench Mob Records. Shawn grew up in the Los Angeles neighborhood known as Watts, home to a majority African-American black population, with a notorious reputation, evidenced by Shawn becoming involved in a lot of illegal things, including selling drugs and stealing cars, but successfully avoiding jail time.

Career Beginnings

Shawn made his acting debut in the 1993 film “Dead Homiez”.

He waited for another acting opportunity four years, before being selected for the part of Big Mo in the comedy film “3 Strikes”, starring Brian Hooks, N’Bushe Wright, and Faizon Love. His next appearance was in the DJ Pooh directed comedy film “The Wash” (2001), starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Anthony Albano.

In 2004, Shawn secured a place for himself in the game “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” with the help of his younger cousin Young Maylay, who was selected for the lead protagonist Carl ‘CJ’ Johnson.

Rise to Prominence

His good friend and colleague DJ Pooh invited him to help the Rockstar Games on their next game “Grand Theft Auto V”. At first, he was hired to help other actors get into the role of Franklin Clinton, one of the main protagonists of the video game. However, after thorough research, Shawn was selected for the role, providing the motion captures and voice to the title character, which launched him to stardom. Since then, in 2014 he lent his voice to Lee Harvey, a character from the video game “Watch Dogs”, and in 2017 played Bam in the comedy film “Grow House”.

Most recently, he and his colleague from “Grand Theft Auto V”, Slink Johnson, re-enacted the scene from the game in which Franklin and Johnson’s character Lamar, berates Franklin for his haircut. The short video they made and uploaded onto YouTube became viral, so increasing their popularity further. Moreover, the video has often been edited, and Lamar’s character replaced with various popular culture icons, including Darth Vader, Snow White, and Vegeta, among many others.

Music Career

In addition to acting, Shawn is also an accomplished musician. He’s performed under the pseudonym Solo, and has released a few songs including “Where I’m Comin From”, as half of the rap duo Solo & Kam, which also increased his wealth and popularity.

Personal Life, Dating, Marriage, Children

When it comes to his personal life, Shawn is a married man. His wife is Bridget Johnson, they married on 9 May 1997, and since then have welcomed a child together, daughter Bria Fonteno.

Net Worth

As of mid- 2021, Shawn Fonteno’s net worth has been estimated to be around $1 million, earned largely through his successful career as an actor, during which he’s made seven appearances in films and video games. His career as a musician also contributed to his wealth.

Appearance and Vital Statistics

This popular actor and rapper has black hair and dark brown eyes. He stands at a height of 6ft (1.83m), while he weighs approximately 176lbs (80kgs). His vital statistics are unknown, but he has an athletic figure.

Hobbies, Interests, Trivia

Shawn has several interests and hobbies – he is a huge fan of Harley Davidson motorcycles, and can often be seen riding one. He also enjoys customizing them, and restoring old models.

He is a huge animal lover and has a pet dog; he hasn’t revealed its name, but calls him his buddy.

Shawn is also a basketball lover and plays with his friends whenever he can.

He maintains a social media presence, as he has an active Instagram account, on which he mostly shares content to “Grand Theft Auto V” and the part that celebrated him as an actor.

Growing up, Shawn had a rather troublesome childhood, in which his parents didn’t help him a lot. As a result, he lists his grandparents and uncles as his role models.

Shawn has his own online store, through which he sells merchandise with his character and his own slogans from “Grand Theft Auto V”.

Author

Robbie is currently a reporter for TheBiography based in Santa Monica, CA. Prior to joining TheBiography in December 2020, he was an entertainment reporter in People.

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