Reggie Brown (impersonator) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Reggie Brown
Birth name	Reginald Dennis Odell II
Born	1980 (age 44–45) Maywood, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Medium	Impersonation, comedy
Genres	Impersonations
Subject(s)	Politics, popular culture

Reginald Dennis Odell II (born 1980) is an American actor and writer. He is well-known for being a comedic impersonator and look-alike of former U.S. President Barack Obama.

Brown first became widely known because of a performance at a big political meeting in 2011. He also appeared on television shows and created popular videos on YouTube.

Early Life and Education

Reggie Brown grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He was born in Maywood, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. His mother is white and his father is black. When he was five, his parents separated. His mother raised him and his older brother, Lawrence.

Later, when Reggie was nine, his mother married his stepfather, Lawrence Brown. Sadly, his stepfather became sick and passed away three years later. Reggie and his siblings were then raised by their single mother.

Brown went to the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. However, he left college to start a career in modeling. After joining a modeling agency, he took voice and acting classes to improve his skills.

Reggie Brown's Career

Working as a Reporter

From 2006 to 2008, Reggie Brown worked as a blogger for a TV station called WMAQ-TV. He reported on local events happening in Chicago. In 2008, he won an Emmy Award for his work. This award was for his contributions to covering a live event as part of the "Street Team."

Becoming an Obama Impersonator

Reggie Brown says he first noticed he looked like Barack Obama when he was 21. At that time, Obama was an Illinois state legislator. Brown's career as a professional impersonator began with appearances on Fox Business Network.

He first appeared on a show called Stossel. On this show, he took part in pretend debates. He debated against politicians like Ron Paul, Gary Johnson, and Herman Cain while acting as Obama.

2011 Republican Leadership Conference

Brown's 2011 Republican Leadership Conference performance.

In June 2011, Reggie Brown was part of a discussion at the Republican Leadership Conference. This event was shown on national television. During his performance, the Conference Chairman, Charlie Davis, stopped him.

Davis later told CNN that he ended the performance because the conference did not allow jokes that some people might find inappropriate. Brown first said his performance was stopped because he went over his time limit. Later, he explained that he felt comfortable with his jokes. He said he wouldn't say anything he thought President Obama would not like.

After this event, comedian Bill Maher invited Brown to finish his act on his show, Real Time with Bill Maher, on HBO.

YouTube Videos

Reggie Brown has appeared in many popular videos on YouTube. He was in a funny video that made fun of Psy's song Gangnam Style. This video was called Obama Gangnam Style! It received over 100 million views around the world. Some people in China even thought the real President Obama made the video!

He also pretended to be Obama for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. In 2016, he created a new character for the 2016 U.S. presidential election. This character was a mix of Obama and Donald Trump, saying popular Trump quotes. He performed this character on CollegeHumor. He did a similar performance in 2017 on Real Time with Bill Maher.

Film and TV Appearances

Reggie Brown has appeared in many movies and TV shows, often playing Barack Obama.

Personal Life

Reggie Brown lives in Los Angeles, California. When asked about his political views, Brown prefers not to say if he is a Democrat or a Republican. He states that he is simply an "entertainer."