Born in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, he is the youngest of nine children, with siblings Arthur, Jim, Paul, Robert, Tracey, Michelle, Debbie, and Donnie Wahlberg. His mother, Alma Elaine (née McPeck), was a bank clerk and nurse's aid, and his father, Donald Edward Wahlberg, was a Teamster who worked as a delivery driver; the two divorced in 1982. Wahlberg had a Catholic upbringing and attended Copley Square High School (but never graduated) on Newbury Street in Copley Square in Boston. The campus now houses Muriel Snowden International School.As a teenager, Wahlberg participated in several acts of violence and vandalism. He later claimed to have been in trouble 20-25 times with the Boston Police Department as a youth. By the age of thirteen Wahlberg had developed a serious addiction to cocaine and other substances. At fifteen he harassed a group of African American school children on a field trip by throwing rocks (causing injuries) and shouting epithets. When he was sixteen (again using racist language) after robbing a pharmacy under the influence of PCP, Wahlberg knocked a middle aged Vietnamese man unconscious, left another Vietnamese man permanently blinded in one eye, and attacked a security guard. For these crimes, Wahlberg was charged for attempted murder, pled guilty to assault, and was sentenced to two years in jail at Boston's Deer Island House of Correction, of which he served 45 days. In yet another incident, the 21-year-old Wahlberg fractured the jaw of a neighbor in an unprovoked attack.
Wahlberg is a practicing Roman Catholic and credits his Catholic faith and a priest from his childhood for helping him turn his life around and recognize the seriousness of his faith. He dated actress Jordana Brewster and his co-star in the film The Big Hit, China Chow. Mark and model Rhea Durham have been together since 2001. He has two children with Durham—Ella Rae born September 2, 2003 and Michael born March 22, 2006. They are expecting their third child, a boy, in September 2008. Though no formal announcement has been made, Mark does plan on marrying Rhea sometime in the summer of 2009. He has been heard in interviews and at The Happening premier calling her is future wife and fiance. It was revealed on his E! True Hollywood Story that he dated actress Reese Witherspoon during and after the making of their 1996 film Fear. He has also been spotted with Rebecca Scheffer on double dates with his brother Arthur and Patty Allred.
Wahlberg is actively involved in charity. He established the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation in May 2001 for the purpose of raising and distributing funds to youth service and enrichment programs.
Wahlberg has five tattoos done by various artists including Paul Timman. The tattoos include Sylvester the cat with Tweety in his mouth on his ankle, a tattoo of his initials MW with Wahlberg through them on his upper right arm, and a Bob Marley tattoo with "One Love" on his upper left arm. The final tattoo, which Wahlberg holds as his most meaningful, is the Holy Rosary, tattoed around his neck, with the crucifix of Christ on the cross resting over his heart.
His father, Donald E. Wahlberg, a US Army veteran of the Korean War, died on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2008
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