Harvey released the book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man in 2009.
In 2008, Harvey hosted the Disney Dreamers Academy, a teen-focused personal and professional enrichment event that took place January 17–20, 2008, at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The special was filmed at MegaFest with Harvey not using profanity during the show. He Ain't Through with Me Yet directed by Leslie Small. In 2006, Harvey released the stand-up special Steve Harvey: Don't Trip.
In 2004 he had roles in the films Johnson Family Vacation and You Got Served and, in 2005, he co-starred in the movie Racing Stripes as the voice of Buzz. The same year he played the role of Clarence Johnson in the film Love Don't Cost a Thing. He had appeared in the 2003 movie The Fighting Temptations alongside Cuba Gooding Jr. As of 2019, the show is syndicated through the United States. It was originally syndicated through Radio One Inc. Harvey is the host of The Steve Harvey Morning Show, a weekday morning radio program he has hosted since 2000. That title was also used as the name of his comedy and variety television show (later renamed Steve Harvey's Big Time Challenge), which aired on The WB network from 2003 until 2005. The comedy act would later be put together into a film by Spike Lee called The Original Kings of Comedy. The tour became the highest grossing comedy tour in history, grossing $18 million its first year and $19 million its second. In 1997, Harvey continued his work in stand-up comedy, performing on the Kings of Comedy tour along with Cedric the Entertainer, D.L.
While popular, the show never achieved critical acclaim outside of the African-American community. He would later star on the WB network show The Steve Harvey Show, which ran from 1996 to 2002. His success as a stand-up comedian led to a starring role on the short-lived ABC show Me and the Boys in 1994. Harvey was a finalist in the Second Annual Johnnie Walker National Comedy Search performing on April 16, 1990, eventually leading to a long stint as host of It's Showtime at the Apollo, succeeding Mark Curry in that role. Rich and Becky Liss helped Harvey during this time with a contract for carpet cleaning and credit at a travel agency. He slept in his 1976 Ford when not performing gigs that provided a hotel, and he showered at gas stations or swimming pool showers. In the late 1980s, Harvey was homeless for three years. He first performed stand-up comedy on October 8, 1985, at the Hilarities Comedy Club in Cleveland, Ohio. Harvey has been a boxer, an autoworker, an insurance salesman, a carpet cleaner, and a mail carrier. Shortly after high school, he attended Kent State University and West Virginia University and is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He graduated from Glenville High School in 1974. Harvey's family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, living on East 112th Street, which was renamed Steve Harvey Way in 2015. Harvey had a severe stuttering problem as a child, which he eventually overcame.
His first name is Broderick, named after actor Broderick Crawford of the TV series Highway Patrol.
Harvey was born on January 17, 1957, in Welch, West Virginia, and is the son of Jesse Harvey, a coal miner, and Eloise Vera.