Comedian Erica Clark Says ‘No One Believed’ She Was Mr. T’s Daughter Growing Up

Comedian Erica Clark doesn’t hold her tongue for much, but offstage, she rarely speaks about her dad, only because no one seems to believe her when she reveals he is Mr. T. 

“Most people think I’m lying when I say that, but I’m like, why would I pick him?” she joked in a recent comedy routine about her upbringing. 

Clark, 46, is one of The A-Team actor’s three children. Growing up, “either everybody” believed her when she spoke of her father, or “no one” believed her; there was “no in between.”

“I grew up in a very wealthy neighborhood, so everybody believed me there,” she said during an act on the pop-up comedy series “Don’t Tell Comedy.”

“But, when I was a kid, we lived on the South Side of Chicago, and like, I get it,” she continued. “Like, I’m a Black kid in an all-Black school, and I’m trying to explain to my friends that the reason why they’ve never seen my dad before is ’cause he’s doing WrestleMania with Hulk Hogan.”

In 1985, Mr. T, born Laurence Tureaud, teamed up with the late Hogan to wrestle Paul Orndorff and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.

Clark joked that even her teachers didn’t believe her, so she simply stopped sharing information about her family.

“I got this complex — and this is for real, my friends will tell you,” she said. “If I’m on stage, I’ll talk about my dad, but I never tell people who my dad is or stuff I’ve seen because no one ever believes me. They really don’t. When I was in kindergarten, first grade, kids kind of like ostracized me and wouldn’t talk to me because I was, like, little lying ass Erica. They didn’t believe me.”

Along with Clark, the former professional wrestler also shares two other children with his ex-wife, Phillys Clark. However, his other two kids, Lesa Tureaud and Laurence Tureaud Jr., lead private lives.

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Growing up, Erica was well aware that her upbringing contrasted with those of her friends. 

“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,” she told NBC News in 2015.

Before dipping her toe into the entertainment world, she worked as a special education teacher, working with children with autism and Down syndrome. 

“I admired [my students],” Erica told NBC. “They didn’t care what anyone else thought. It was so refreshing; there was no sugar coating with them.”

However, she eventually decided to follow in her father’s footsteps — despite him wishing she wouldn’t.

“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,” she told the outlet at the time.

While she admitted her father’s fame helped launch her comedy career, she noted that 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.”