Most people first noticed Michael Ealy as Ricky Nash in Barbershop, yet his name now turns up mostly beside questions about dating and money. This piece separates his career record, including the 2002 breakout that IMDb (film database) lists, from the personal-life claims that search results blend in beside it.
Birth date: August 3, 1973 · Birthplace: Silver Spring, Maryland, United States · Best-known role: Darwyn Al-Sayeed in Sleeper Cell (2005–2006) · Estimated net worth: $3 million (unaudited estimate from a search result)
Quick snapshot
- Born Michael David Brown on August 3, 1973, in Silver Spring, Maryland (Wikipedia (encyclopedia entry))
- Starred as Darwyn Al-Sayeed in Showtime’s Sleeper Cell (Apple TV (streaming platform profile))
- A 2004–2005 relationship with Halle Berry, reported only by Yen.com.gh (celebrity news site)
- A $3 million net worth with no stated method (TheRichest (celebrity wealth aggregator))
- A Golden Globe nomination for Sleeper Cell, a single claim dated 2006-12-14 (elcinema (film database profile))
- A directing credit on The Perfect Guy (Media.ie (entertainment profile site))
- A 2001 feature debut in Kissing Jessica Stein and a 2002 breakout as Ricky Nash in Barbershop (IMDb (film database))
- The Sleeper Cell run, 2005–2006 (Apple TV (streaming platform profile))
- Film credit years still need checks against primary records before new titles are added (Wikipedia (encyclopedia entry))
- Check any net worth figure against an audited or official source before quoting it
- Confirm the Golden Globe claim against the Golden Globe database
- Verify each title and streaming window before it appears in a list
Most rows rest on the encyclopedia and database entries cited above, so the family rows carry the most caution.
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Michael David Brown |
| Date of birth | August 3, 1973 |
| Birthplace | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States |
| Occupation | Actor (producer credit not yet verified) |
| Best-known role | Darwyn Al-Sayeed in Sleeper Cell (2005–2006) |
| Spouse | Khatira Rafiqzada, married October 2012 |
| Children | Two, per an IMDb biography |
What was Michael Ealy in?
The filmography below follows the table on Wikipedia (encyclopedia entry), and each title is listed with its year. StoryShift (biography blog) counts 62 credits across features, TV, shorts, and music videos, but no primary database check appears in the research.
Career timeline
- 2002: Ricky Nash in Barbershop
- 2003: Slap Jack in 2 Fast 2 Furious
- 2004: Ricky Nash in Barbershop 2: Back in Business
- 2008: Ben Thomas in Seven Pounds
- 2010: Jake Attica in Takers and Beau Willie in For Colored Girls
- 2012: Dominic in Think Like a Man and Detective Sebastian in Underworld: Awakening
- 2014: Dominic again in Think Like a Man Too
- 2020: Derrick Tyler in Fatale
- 2022: Detective Joe McDonald in The Devil You Know
- 2024: Lawrence Cooke in It Takes a Village, a short film
Who did Michael Ealy play in Sleeper Cell?
- Darwyn Al-Sayeed, a role he played in Showtime’s drama from 2005 to 2006 (Apple TV (streaming platform profile))
- The Golden Globe claim tied to the show rests on one database entry, so it appears in the unclear list below
Michael Ealy Underworld
- Underworld: Awakening (2012), where Ealy plays Detective Sebastian
- No other Underworld title appears in the research
Michael Ealy movies on Netflix
- No Netflix title is confirmed in the research
- Streaming availability shifts by region and date, so this article makes no platform claim
The implication: the film record is the strongest part of his public profile, and the streaming question is the weakest because it changes faster than any article can track.
Ealy’s credits hold up best where a Tier 2 record lists a title and year. Readers can trust the filmography without treating every streaming claim as settled.
Who all has Michael Ealy dated?
Marriage and dating get separate treatment here. The research confirms one spouse, Khatira Rafiqzada, in the Wikipedia entry cited under the ethnicity section, and it confirms no other partner. Legit.ng (celebrity news site) says the pair began dating in 2008, a start date the Tier 2 sources in the research do not confirm.
Did Michael Ealy ever date Halle Berry?
- Reported: a relationship from 2004 to 2005, according to Yen.com.gh (celebrity news site)
- Status: no Tier 1 or Tier 2 source in the research confirms it
- Scope: this answer covers dating only; marriage facts appear in the spouse section
The catch: a Tier 3 site repeats the claim, and repetition on search pages can look like confirmation, so the bar stays at a primary or Tier 2 source.
Search results give a named partner the same visual weight as a spouse listed in encyclopedias, which makes an unconfirmed relationship read like a record.
What this means: a named partner earns a place in the article only when a Tier 2 source confirms it, so the Halle Berry claim stays in the unconfirmed column.
What is Michael Ealy’s wife’s ethnicity?
Ethnicity is self-identified, and the research contains no statement from Khatira Rafiqzada about her own background. The only description comes from an encyclopedia entry, which is a third-party summary rather than her own words.
Who is Michael Ealy’s wife?
- Wikipedia (encyclopedia entry) lists Khatira Rafiqzada as his spouse and records a marriage in October 2012 in Los Angeles
- The same entry describes her as an Afghan-American entrepreneur, a label the research does not show her using herself
- Do not infer ethnicity from her name or appearance
The implication: an ethnicity answer that goes beyond the encyclopedia’s description is an inference, and it should be labeled that way.
What is Michael Ealy’s net worth?
Four sources put a number on Ealy’s wealth, and none of them publishes a method.
| Source | Figure | Date stated |
|---|---|---|
| TheRichest (celebrity wealth aggregator) | $3 million | None stated |
| CineNetWorth (net worth aggregator) | About $3 million | 2025 |
| Sundayreport.uk (biography site) | $5 million | None stated |
| Anglejournal.uk (biography site) | $3 million to $5 million range; no audited disclosure found | None stated |
How is Michael Ealy’s net worth estimated?
- No published methodology accompanies any figure in the table
- The research found no audited records, tax filings, or official statements behind the numbers
- The $5 million figure conflicts with the $3 million figure that most aggregators use
The pattern: four sites disagree and none shows its working, so the defensible number is the one labeled as an estimate with its date.
Related reading: Donnie Wahlberg: His Biography, Net Worth, Wife, and Movies
The $3 million figure appears most often, but repetition across aggregators is not verification. Quote it as a placeholder, never as a verdict on Ealy’s finances.
The implication: until an audited or official figure surfaces, any article quoting Ealy’s wealth should attach the aggregator name and date to the number.
Who are Michael Ealy’s parents and kids?
The research supplied no parent names, so the parents question stays open. The children question has a clearer answer in a database biography, covered below.
Does Michael Ealy have children?
- IMDb (film database) biography lists two children with Khatira Rafiqzada
- A son was born in February 2014, and a daughter in November 2016
- One source in the research gives 2017 for the daughter’s birth year, a conflict the research does not resolve. Her name is omitted because she is a minor.
Who are Michael Ealy’s parents?
- No parent names appear in the research
- Leave the parent names blank until a primary or Tier 2 source names them
The pattern: family questions draw the most search interest and have the thinnest sourcing, so the honest answer is shorter than the question.
Confirmed facts
- Birth date: August 3, 1973, per the Wikipedia citation in the snapshot
- Sleeper Cell role: Darwyn Al-Sayeed, 2005–2006, per the Apple TV profile above
- Spouse: Khatira Rafiqzada, married October 2012, per the Wikipedia entry above
- Film credits: the titles in the career timeline, each taken from the Wikipedia table
What’s unclear
- Halle Berry: a 2004–2005 relationship reported only by Yen.com.gh
- Net worth: $3 million or $5 million, with no methodology or audited record
- Golden Globe nomination for Sleeper Cell: a single elcinema entry dated 2006-12-14
- The Perfect Guy directing credit: one Media.ie profile, with no primary credit record
- Birthplace: a planning brief gave Washington, D.C., while Wikipedia gives Silver Spring, Maryland
- Parent names and the daughter’s birth year
The career record holds up against the sources, and the personal-life record is thinner than search results suggest. For any editor quoting Ealy’s money or love life, the choice is clear: name the source and date for every figure, or leave the claim out.
Related reading: Donnie Wahlberg: His Biography, Net Worth, Wife, and Movies · Max Beesley: Career, Roles and Verified Personal Facts
Frequently asked questions
Where was Michael Ealy born?
Silver Spring, Maryland, according to the Wikipedia entry cited in the snapshot. A planning brief gave Washington, D.C., which the encyclopedia entry does not support.
How old is Michael Ealy?
He was born on August 3, 1973, so his age follows from that date on the day you read this.
Is Michael Ealy an actor and producer?
The research describes him as an actor. The producer credit comes from the planning brief and has no primary credit record behind it.
What is Michael Ealy best known for?
Ricky Nash in Barbershop, his 2002 breakout, and Darwyn Al-Sayeed in Sleeper Cell, which ran from 2005 to 2006.
Is Michael Ealy’s net worth officially confirmed?
No. The figures come from aggregators and blog-style sites, and the research found no audited or official disclosure.
Is Michael Ealy’s marriage confirmed?
Yes. The Wikipedia entry and the IMDb biography cited in this article both name Khatira Rafiqzada as his spouse.
Henry William Bennett Murray is a staff writer for CivicInsight.uk, covering UK public affairs, policy and civic life. He works under Editor-in-Chief Rebecca Langford, following the newsroom standards for sourcing, verification and fact-checking set out in our editorial policies.