Freeman was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to Morgan Porterfield Freeman (a barber who died in 1961 from liver cirrhosis) and Mayme Edna, a cleaner; he has three older siblings. Freeman's family moved frequently during his childhood, and had lived in Greenwood, Mississippi, Gary, Indiana, and finally Chicago, Illinois. Freeman made his acting debut at the age of eight, playing the lead role in a school play. At the age of twelve, he won a state-wide drama competition, and performed in a radio show based in Nashville, Tennessee, while in high school. In 1955, he turned down a partial drama scholarship from Jackson State University, choosing instead to work as a mechanic in the U.S. Air Force.

Freeman moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s, and worked as a transcript clerk at Los Angeles Community College. During this time, he also lived in New York City, working as a dancer at the 1964 World's Fair, and in San Francisco, where he was a member of the Opera Ring music group. Freeman made his acting debut in a touring company version of The Royal Hunt of the Sun, and also appeared as an extra in the 1965 film, The Pawnbroker. He made his off-Broadway debut in 1967, opposite Viveca Lindfors in The Niggerlovers, before debuting on Broadway in 1968's all-black version of Hello, Dolly!, which also starred Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway.

Although his first credited film appearance was in 1971's Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow?, Freeman first became known in the American media through roles on the PBS kids' show The Electric Company and on the soap opera Another World. Beginning in the mid-1980s, he began playing prominent supporting roles in a number of feature films, earning him a reputation for depicting wise and fatherly characters. His notable early roles include Hoke, the chauffeur in Driving Miss Daisy, and Red, the redeemed convict in The Shawshank Redemption. The latter is often considered as his greatest achievement, as the movie is considered to be one of the best ever made.

Freeman is recognized for his distinctive voice, making him a frequent choice for narration. In 2005 alone, he provided narration for two of the most successful films of the year, War of the Worlds and the Academy Award-winning documentary, March of the Penguins. After three previous nominations (a supporting actor nomination for Street Smart, 1987, and leading actor nominations for Driving Miss Daisy, 1989, and The Shawshank Redemption, 1994), he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Million Dollar Baby at the 77th Academy Awards.

In 1997, Freeman, together with Lori McCreary, founded the movie production company Revelations Entertainment.

Freeman was married to Jeanette Adair Bradshaw from October 22, 1967, to 1979. He has been married to Myrna Colley-Lee since June 16, 1984. He has two sons, Alphonso and Saifoulaye, from previous relationships. He adopted his first wife's daughter, Deena, and the couple also had a fourth child, Morgana.

Freeman currently lives in Charleston, Mississippi. He has a private pilot's license, and co-owns and operates Madidi, a fine dining restaurant and Ground Zero Blues Club both located in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Freeman has come out publicly against the celebration of Black History Month and does not participate in any related events, saying that "I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history." He says the only way to end racism is to stop talking about it, and he notes that there is no "white history month." Freeman says "I am going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man." [1]

Freeman received an honorary degree of Doctor of Arts and Letters from Delta State University during the school's commencement exercises on May 13, 2006.