Blair Underwood

Infobox actor


name = Blair Underwood
imagesize =
caption = Blair Underwood at the 41st Emmy Awards
birthname =
birthdate = birth date and age|1964|8|25
location = Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
deathdate =
deathplace =
othername =
yearsactive = 1985 - present
spouse = Desiree DaCosta (3 children)
website = http://www.blairunderwood.com/
academyawards =
emmyawards =
tonyawards =

Blair Underwood (born August 25, 1964) is an American television and film actor.

Biography

Early life

Underwood was born in Tacoma, Washington, the son of Marilyn, an interior decorator, and Frank Underwood, a United States Army colonel. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/3/Blair-Underwood.html Blair Underwood Biography (1964-) ] ] As a result of his father's military career, Underwood lived on bases in the United States and Germany during his childhood.cite web | title=NPR | work=A Conversation with Blair Underwood | url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1417849 | accessdate=7 January | accessyear=2007] Blair attended Petersburg High School in Petersburg, Virginia. He went on to attend the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is an honorary member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

Career

Underwood's 1985 appearance on "The Cosby Show" landed him a short stint on the ABC soap opera "One Life to Live", which eventually led to his Golden Globe-nominated performance on the TV series "L.A. Law". Underwood broke into film with roles in "Set It Off", "Krush Groove", "Just Cause", and "Deep Impact". He also had a supporting role as a geneticist in "Gattaca". In 2000, he played the lead role in the short-lived television series "City of Angels". In 2003, he guest starred in four episodescite web | title=NPR | work=A Conversation with Blair Underwood | url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1417849 | accessdate=7 January | accessyear=2007] on the popular HBO series "Sex and the City" playing Cynthia Nixon's love interest. In 2004, he played the role of Roger De Souza opposite Heather Locklear in NBC's "LAX".cite web | title=Yahoo Movies | work=Blair Underwood Biography | url=http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800086024/bio | accessdate=7 January | accessyear=2007] He also has appeared in a guest role as a grade-school teacher on the CBS sitcom "The New Adventures of Old Christine". In 2007, he guest starred in an episode of the NBC series "". His latest role is as the recurring character Alex in the HBO series "In Treatment".

Underwood has received four NAACP Image Awardscite web | title=MovieWeb | work=NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit January Guest Star Appearances | url=http://www.movieweb.com/tv/news/91/16591.php | accessdate=7 January | accessyear=2007] for such roles as in the docudramas Murder in Mississippi and Heat Wave.

Underwood was voted one of People's "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2000, and one of TV Guide's "Most Influential Faces of the 90s".cite web | title=imdb.com | work=Biography for Blair Underwood | url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005516/bio | accessdate=7 January | accessyear=2007]

In 2007, Underwood co-authored the fiction novel "Casanegra: A Tennyson Hardwick Novel" with husband-and-wife team Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due.

Personal life

In 1989, Underwood co-founded Artists for a New South Africa, a non-profit organization dedicated to democracy and equality in South Africa.

Underwood is a part of several charitable organizations. He won the 1993 Humanitarian Award for his work with the Los Angeles chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. In 2003, along with Ashley Judd, he served as the spokesperson for YouthAIDS. Underwood also appeared in a 2004 public service announcement for The Fulfillment Fund.cite web | title=blairunderwood.com | work=Difference | url=http://www.blairunderwood.com/main.html | accessdate=7 January | accessyear=2007] He is a Trustee for the Robey Theatre Company in Los Angeles, a non-profit theatre group founded by Danny Glover, focusing on plays about the Black experience.

He supports Senator Barack Obama's presidential candidacy and has recently spoken at campaign rallies for Obama.

Underwood had also taken a DNA test from African Ancestry.com and found out that he is a descendant of the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria. [http://www.africanancestry.com/testimonials/index.html "A welcome surprise that my people are from Nigeria & Ibo people"]

On September 17, 1994, he married Desiree DaCosta, with whom he has three children: sons Paris and Blake, and daughter Brielle.cite web | title=imdb.com | work=Biography for Blair Underwood | url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005516/bio | accessdate=7 January | accessyear=2007]

Filmography

Films

Television

References

Celtic FC

External links

*imdb name|id=0005516|name=Blair Underwood
* [http://www.blairunderwood.com/ Official Website]
* [http://www.ansafrica.org/ ANSA: Artists For A New South Africa]

Persondata
NAME=Underwood, Blair
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Actor
DATE OF BIRTH=August 25, 1964
PLACE OF BIRTH=Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=