Eddie Murphy says his teenage girlfriend once predicted his future stardom — and she was right.
In a recent chat on Complex’s 360 With Speedy, The Pickup star recalled knowing he’d be famous as early as 13, but it wasn’t just his own belief. His then-girlfriend, Sherry Bell, whom he described as “clairvoyant,” told him so.
“She could really, like, read stuff. She could put her hands on something and see things with her hands,” Murphy told Speedy Morman. “She could put her hand in the newspaper and tell you what was in it. You could put money in her hands and she’d know the bill. She could even touch a photo album and tell you who was in the picture.”
Murphy said Bell made her prediction when he was about 13 or 14, telling him, “You’re going to be famous.” He admitted, “I was like, ‘Yeah, I knew it, I knew it.’” She became the first person to truly confirm his belief that he’d make it big in Hollywood.
Bell, who suffered from a neurological condition that left her bedridden through her 20s, passed away while Murphy was filming The Nutty Professor in 1996. “I took care of her from high school all the way through those bedridden years,” he said.
Murphy recalled a chilling moment on set that seemed connected to her passing: “We’re shooting this big scene and suddenly all the lights go out — the whole set went dark. We head back to the trailer, and someone comes over and says, ‘Hey, Sherry Bell passed away.’ Lights out.”
This interview marks the first time Murphy has publicly spoken about Bell. To date, his films have raked in $6.5 billion worldwide.
