Early Life

On February 9, 1954, Gardner was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Thomas Turner and Bettye Jean Gardner. He was Bettye Jean's only son and the second of her two children. Ophelia, his older half-sister, is from a previous marriage whereas, Sharon and Kimberly, his younger sisters, result from his mother's marriage to Freddie Triplett.

Gardner grew up without any solid male role models because his father was away at his birth in Louisiana, and his stepfather was physically violent to both his mother and sisters. Gardner and his sisters were continually scared of Triplett's outbursts. Bettye Jean was imprisoned in one incident after Triplett fraudulently reported her for welfare fraud; the children were placed in foster care. Gardner and his sisters were placed in foster care for the second time when their mother was convicted of attempting to kill Triplett by setting fire to the house while he was inside when Gardner was eight years old.

Gardner first met his three maternal uncles, Archibald, Willie, and Henry, in foster care. Henry had the most significant impact on Gardner of the three, entering his life when he needed a supportive father figure. When Chris was nine years old, Henry drowned in the Mississippi River. When their mother arrived at Henry's burial escorted by a correctional officer, the children learned that she had been imprisoned.

Bettye Jean was a good source of inspiration and strength to her son Chris, despite her miserable marriage and extended absences. She instilled self-confidence in Gardner by encouraging him to believe in himself. Gardner quotes her as saying, "Only you can rely on yourself. The cavalry isn't on its way." Gardner also determined that drunkenness, spousal abuse, child abuse, illiteracy, fear, and powerlessness were all things he desired to avoid in the future based on his early experiences.

The Pursuit of Happyness

After an extraordinary national response to an interview he gave with 20/20 in January 2002, Gardner recognized his story had Hollywood potential. He released his autobiography on May 23, 2006, before becoming an associate producer on Gabriele Muccino's big motion picture, The Pursuit of Happyness, released on December 15, 2006, by Columbia Pictures. Gardner got the unique spelling of the film's title from a sign he saw while homeless. Outside the childcare center where Gardner's son attends, "happiness" is misspelled (as "happyness").

Gardner's nearly one-year experience with homelessness was the film's subject, which starred Will Smith, Thandie Newton, and Jaden Smith. The film grossed $163 million in the United States and more than $300 million globally, making it one of Will Smith's three $100 million blockbusters in a row. As a result, Will Smith was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Gardner's genuine life narrative was embellished in the film. Specific details and events that occurred over several years were compressed into a relatively short period, and while eight-year-old Jaden played Chris Jr. as a five-year-old, Gardner's son was just an infant at the time. Chris Gardner allegedly thought Smith, most known for his action movie roles, was miscast for the part. "If Smith can play Muhammad Ali, he can play you!" his daughter Jacintha, he claims, "put him straight." Gardner appears in the film as a cameo, strolling past Will and Jaden in the last scene. Gardner and Will exchange a smile before Will returns the smile and walks away while his son tells him knock-knock jokes.

The mayor of Chattanooga organized a screening of the film for the city's homeless in the hopes that Gardner's narrative would inspire the city's downtrodden people to achieve financial independence and take greater responsibility for the welfare of their families.

Gardner himself felt compelled to tell his experience because of the widespread social difficulties it raised. "When I talk about family drunkenness, domestic violence, child abuse, illiteracy, and all of those difficulties," he continued, "those are universal issues; they are not just confined to ZIP codes."

Gardner was significantly absent from the film's December 15, 2006 premiere. Instead, he chose to be the inspirational guest speaker at JHT Holdings, Inc.'s Christmas celebration in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Awards

Gardner received the NFI's Father of the Year Award in 2002. He also earned the Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women's (LACAAW) 25th Annual Humanitarian Award and the Continental Africa Chamber of Commerce's 2006 Friends of Africa Award. He gave a speech at his daughter's Hampton University graduation in 2008.