Here is What We Know About Elaine Chappelle: Dave Chappelle’s wife Noone Talks About

Praised by one of the comedy maestros, Kevin Hart as “The GOAT”, Dave Chappelle is no slouch. The three-time Grammy award winners can make you feel good even if you are having a bad day. His life is filled with all sorts of laughter and one of the reasons being his wife, “Elaine Chappelle.”

This beautiful couple that even defied the odds of interracial marriage has been together for almost 2 decades. And, after three kids together they look inseparable & even stronger than ever. So how did the love birds meet? And, what does Dave think about his gorgeous wife Elaine? Let’s get into it.

FAQ about Elaine Chappelle

Elaine’s Parents Moved to USA to Give Her a Better Life

Elaine Chappelle was born Elaine Mendoza Erfe in Brooklyn, New York on 31 August 1974. A few months before her birth, her parents shifted to the USA from the Philippines. They took the decision with the hope to have a better life for themselves and the baby on the way.

Prior to marrying a renowned comedian, information about her early life and her family is still under the bridge where no light can fall.

Starting a New Chapter in Life after Marrying to Dave

Elaine Chappelle officially hired the name of Dave Chappelle when she walked down the aisle with him back in 2001. As per reports, it wasn’t love at first sight for the couple. According to a self-confirmation in a Howard Stern Show, Dave revealed that he met Elaine in Brooklyn.

Elaine hesitated to date Mr. Chappelle because she personally didn’t like the person with loud personalities. Later when she recognized the real Dave disguising himself as the man with a loud personality to mask his shyness, she quickly fell for him.

Elaine then accepted his proposal and tied the knot after a quick courtship. The duo is extremely closed-mouth when it comes to talking about their private life. The story behind their first meeting is still a mystery that nobody knows.

Elaine made an appearance in Dave’s show ” The Age of Spin: Dave Chappelle Live at the Hollywood Palladium 2017″. That day, Dave dedicated the entire show to his lovely wife Elaine. Elaine’s been a backbone for Dave. She sticks to him through every thick and thin and loves him to the moon and back.

Elaine Chappelle Had Dreams of Becoming a Professional Chef

In the initial days of her life, Chappelle wanted to become a professional chef. But, later on, she changed her interest and sacrificed her dream to focus on her family with Dave.

As of now, she feels proud of calling herself a housewife and a homemaker. Nevertheless, she practices her culinary skills at home. In an interview, Dave told:

“She doesn’t work as a professional chef, they regularly eat like Kings at home, thanks to her excellent culinary skills.”

Elaine is Mother to Three Kids: Sulayman, Ibrahim, and Sonal

From their 18 years of courtship, they are blessed with three children. They have two adorable sons named Sulayman Chappelle and Ibrahim Chappelle and a lovely daughter named Sonal Chappelle. Dave follows Islam and Elaine’s religious belief is Christian. Their three kids are being raised in a multicultural environment. In his signature humor, Dave explained his multicultural family and stated:

‘My wife is Asian, and my kids have somehow turned out to be Puerto Rican. My mother is half white. If I grew my hair out, you would think it was a Katt William concert.’

The family of five currently lives in Yellow Springs Ohio near Antioch College, where Dave’s dad, William David Chappelle III used to teach music.

Dave has been pretty much vocal about his children’s impact on his life. While talking to Gayle King of CBS Mornings, he revealed how everything changed after the birth of his children.

‘I took my professional life very seriously,’ said the comedian. However, recently he mentioned how he has somewhat of a hot and cold relationship with the kids as they have gotten older.

“I see my age in my children. I came home from the road not long ago, I was gone for weeks and weeks, and when I came back, nobody was home. Not one person in my family thought maybe I’d like to see them when I got back,” Chappelle claims. “That s*** was a wake-up call. When my kids were little and the tour bus would pull up to the house, they’d spill out. ‘Dad is home, hooray!’ Then as the years went on, they’d get less interested.”

Elaine is Dave’s Support System

Dave has always credited his wife Elaine for his success. In an interview with the notorious Howard Stern, he remembered how her wife was there when he had nothing. ‘She was with me when I was poor,’ Dave told the radio host.

She is definitely a treasure to Dave supporting him and protecting him from a media attack. Most notably was when Dave walked away from his career following his father’s death and shifted to South Africa in 1998.

The rumors began to spin in the media, blaming him for leaving his wife and changing his life to a drug addict, and having on self-medication. Elaine Chappelle was all in anger and shock when she heard the news. She helped him to stay in South Africa as long as he needed to work things as she did not believe him to be strong enough to deal with the media’s allegations.

However, in 2006, Chappelle humorously admitted to Conan O’Brien that his wife doesn’t skip a chance to remind him about what he gave up.

“My wife’s still a little salty… She’s not mad at me, but don’t think you’re going to walk away from $50 million and your wife’s just gonna be cool with it.”

Nevertheless, Dave is back in normal life and is doing more than a comedy. It’s all because of the continuous support of Elaine who was with him in his mental breakdown.

Elaine and Dave’s Comeback on the Screen

Dave Chappelle is an ace American comedian. He had introduced a new genre of comedy to the public. The viewers of his hit TV show ‘The Chappelle Show’ have witnessed controversial comedy acts like racism, human sexuality, morality, gender discrimination, politics, pop cultures, and many more and enjoyed a good laugh. Dave’s show lasted for three seasons, and he experienced fame from the show. He gained a massive fan following from all over the world.

Day by day, viewers waited to see what Dave would share with them next. His show even was transferred to the audiences in the form of DVDs.  He was living his dream. But, unfortunately, one day he made a decision to walk away from fame. As per some reports, the reason was that the show was controlling his life and he even couldn’t mourn his father’s death.

After some gap, the world of comedy burnt bright again. The comedy king Dave Chappelle made a grand comeback. He made the comeback in the Netflix in stand-up specials in 2017. Dave’s shared the news of his stand-up on Instagram. The couple is climbing a new height in their success journey.

Dave couldn’t stay away from the comedy for long as he considers it as his love after Elaine. Once when Elaine asked him, what other than comedy he remained tongue-tied.  He shared this in an interview and told;

‘This is the only job I have since I was 14. My wife asked me once if I weren’t a comedian what I would do. I couldn’t answer the question. I never imagined doing anything else.”

Living a beautiful life in their Mansion in Ohio

While Dave hit the stage for earning, Elaine stayed at home taking care of the family and kids. She dropped her desire of becoming a chef after bumping into Dave’s life. So she isn’t making anything for earning.

However, being the wife of a star, she shares the fortune with her husband. Dave’s net worth is estimated to be between $60 million to $75 million which he shares with his wife. Most of their wealth is accumulated from The Chappelle Show and from the few movies in which Dave has acted.

Elaine with her family resides in the Yellow Springs mansion in Ohio which is spread on a 65- acre farm. The assets’ estimated value is $2.5 million. The house has three bedrooms and three bathrooms perfect for their family.

Elaine likes to remain private

With a famous husband like Dave Chappelle, it is very likely that Elaine too would’ve been swept up by the wind of constantly being in front of the public eye. However, Elaine has done a commendable job of keeping herself and her children out of the limelight. 

That being said, Elaine is not completely out of touch with the world. Just like every other person on this planet, she too uses social media especially Instagram to connect with her friends and family. Despite keeping her account private, she boasts a total followers of almost 700 and has posted content more than 5000 times. She also keeps her profile bio interesting with different quotes from famous people ranging from Bob Marley to Eleanor Roosevelt.

Despite being the wife of a public figure, Elaine Chappelle keeps herself away from the spotlight and rarely makes public appearances. Dave Chappelle’s wife is a perfect partner every man wants and she is the lady behind Dave’s success who acted like a rock in his difficult time.