Lawrence was born in Frankfurt, Germany, where his father, John Lawrence, served in the US military. When Lawrence was six, his father left. His mother relocated the family to the projects in Landover, Maryland; when he was eight years old. After his father and mother split, he rarely saw his father.

His mother, Chlora, worked two jobs to try to support her family. She oftened worked as a cashier at various department stores to support Martin and his five siblings.

During his teen years, Martin excelled at boxing. While living in Maryland, he attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School and became a Mid-Atlantic Golden Gloves boxing contender. Although he was reputedly a good boxer, comedy is where Martin found his greatest success, even early in life.

In school, Martin would poke fun at others during breaks and recess, and teachers would routinely let Lawrence have a few minutes of class time to tell jokes and make classmates laugh.

It was a teacher who suggested that Lawrence give his comedic talents a shot on stage, at a local comedy club during open mike night. He took on the challenge and was successful.