Mr. T is best known for his iconic catchphrase: "I pity the fool!" The 73-year-old wrestler, who was born Laurence Tureaud, is an actor, retired professional wrestler, and father to three children – Lesa Tureaud, 54, Erica Nicole Clark (Tureaud), 46, and Laurence Tureaud Jr., 39. Throughout his legendary career, Mr. T has acted in Rocky III, the television series The A-Team, and the reality television show, I Pity the Fool. Some of his children are following in his footsteps.
The wrestler had a prolific career. He was first a bouncer, but started wrestling in 1985, partnering up with the late Hulk Hogan. Mr. T retired in 1994, choosing to step away from the ring and instead make sporadic appearances at WWE events. During the height of his career, Mr. T was not only an actor and a professional wrestler, he was raising three young kids.
Erica Nicole Clark
Erica Nicole Clark, Mr. T's second daughter, is a stand-up comedian. Before she followed in her dad's footsteps and entered the entertainment industry, Erica was a special education teacher, working with children with autism and Down syndrome. In 2014, she stepped away from her career to pursue comedy.
"I admired [my students]," Erica told NBC News. "They didn't care what anyone else thought. It was so refreshing; there was no sugar coating with them." Erica knows her childhood wasn't typical. Her dad was once a bouncer for Muhammad Ali! She explained to NBC News: "I always thought it was funny. My dad had on gold chains and everyone else's dad had on a suit. Of course I know it wasn't normal."
In 2015, Erica won the Moth GrandSlam, which is an annual competition held by The Moth, a nonprofit dedicated to the art of storytelling. She told a story the time her mother, Phyllis Clark, tried to strangle her teacher for claiming Erica couldn't keep up with her classmates at her school in Lake Forest, Illinois.
As for her relationship with her dad, she said: "We're not super close." Erica continued: "He wants me to be a nice teacher and get married and have kids. [My dad] doesn't want me to do entertainment at all so he hasn't come to any of my shows before but he's aware that I do it." In the 11 years since Erica left her teaching career, she's become a successful comedian. She's amassed 35.9k followers on Instagram, recently had a video of her work gain 1.2 million views, and has a comedy special called Introducing Erica Nicole Clark on Amazon Prime.
One of her most popular bits is her explaining who her father is. "My dad is Mr. T," Erica tells the crowd in a post she shared to Instagram on September 1. "Most people think I'm lying when I say that, but I'm like, 'Why would I pick that?'" Erica recalled to NBC News: "People at first book me because they want to see what I look like or what I'll talk about on stage. A lot of my peers think it's an unfair advantage. But [Mr. T] being my dad can only get me in the door. You still have to be funny. They're not going to keep putting you on stage because of who you're related to."
Lesa Tureaud and Laurence Tureaud Jr.
Unlike Erica, Mr. T's oldest daughter, Lesa, and son, Laurence, both keep very private lives.