For most of his life, Donnie Wahlberg has endured the glare of the public spotlight, and every little step he takes adds to the legacy of his storied career. Any kid growing up in the 1980s or 1990s knew Wahlberg’s name by middle school — New Kids on the Block’s resident bad boy wore his Boston roots proudly, and fans were all for it. His posters adorned walls; his music blasted through boomboxes. Crowds of screaming preteen girls declared their steadfast love of and loyalty, then watched as Wahlberg transformed from boy band megastar to serious character actor and fast food restaurateur. The bad boy became a family man — and a familiar presence on our living room television screens.
Since 2010, Donnie Wahlberg has portrayed Detective Danny Reagan on the hit CBS drama “Blue Bloods.” Wahlberg makes Reagan a guy to root for, even when the detective’s hotheaded nature is frustrating. The eldest son of Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck), Danny is loyal to his family and dedicated to his job. He’s come a long way since his formative years in Boston — and with that in mind, here’s a look at the transformation of Donnie Wahlberg from childhood to “Blue Bloods.”
Born in Dorchester, Boston
Donald “Donnie” Edmond Wahlberg, Jr. entered the world on August 17, 1969. Born the eighth of nine children to Alma Elaine Donnelly Wahlberg, a nurse’s aide, and Donald Edmond Wahlberg, Sr., a Teamster and delivery driver, Donnie is the older brother of former rapper turned movie star Mark Wahlberg. Donnie was the fourth boy in the working-class clan, but his parents chose to bestow him with his father’s name — this kid would grow into something special.
Many people mistakenly believe that the Wahlbergs hail from South Boston, or “Southie,” Boston’s predominantly Irish neighborhood and the setting of a plethora of cinematic crime dramas. Donnie and his siblings actually grew up in Dorchester, a Boston area with its own distinctive charm and personality. In a November 28, 2017 tweet, Wahlberg called out the Mercury News for calling people “Southies” and for claiming the Wahlbergs grew up there. He proclaimed his love for South Boston, but confirmed he is most decidedly not native to “Southie.”
In a Boston Globe follow-up article to the Mercury News gaffe, writer Jeremy C. Fox likened calling someone a Southie to calling someone “a Bronx” or “a Queens.” No one in Boston refers to South Boston inhabitants as “Southies.” The neighborhoods border each other, but Dorchester is Boston’s largest neighborhood, and represents a more diverse population than its southern neighbor.
Childhood dreams and boyhood trouble
As Donnie Wahlberg reached adolescence, fractures in his home life grew. Wahlberg’s parents struggled to make ends meet and argued constantly. With seven older siblings at home, Wahlberg became known as the family peacemaker and interceded in normal teenage bickering. (Donnie didn’t remain the youngest for long; his brother Mark came along in 1971.)
When it came time for elementary school, Donnie Wahlberg was bussed to Roxbury — another Boston neighborhood a half-hour ride away from Dorchester. On the bus ride to school, he fell in love with rap music. After his parents divorced when he was 12, he fell into rebellious petty crime — shoplifting and fights — and in “Our Story,” the 1990 New Kids on the Block autobiography, he talks about living dangerously. But he also found a passion for performing and acted in school plays through high school; this passion would prove to transform his life.
At a young age, Wahlberg developed a love for music and obsessed over Michael Jackson videos. He would soak in Jackson’s choreography and teach himself the King of Pop’s dance moves. During his freshman year of high school, Wahlberg and fellow future New Kid on the Block Danny Wood formed a rap group called the Kool-Aid Bunch. It helped them meet girls, but neither dreamed of rising to stardom … although that would quickly change.
