Born in Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts, is the youngest of nine sisters. His siblings are Arthur, Jim, Paul, Robert, Tracey, Michelle, Debbie (died in 2003 at age 44) and Donnie, sons of Alma Elaine (née Donnelly) and Donald E. Wahlberg.
His paternal grandfather was Swedish and his paternal grandmother was Irish, and his mother is of English, French Canadian and Irish descent. He made high school in Copley Square High School in Newbury Street in Boston.
As a teenager, Mark blew out his knee while skating and injured four months. After various acts of crime, wounded a citizen of Vietnamese origin and was in jail where he was a couple of months. Wahlberg denied that the offense had been caused by racism.
During his sentence reflected on his lifestyle and after leaving prison, he decided to leave behind his troubled past.
