Boris Kodjoe

Boris Kodjoe
Born	Boris Frederic Cecil Tay-Natey Ofuatey-Kodjoe
Spouse	Nicole Ari Parker (2005-present)

Boris Frederic Cecil Tay-Natey Ofuatey-Kodjoe (born 8 March 1973) is an Austrian-American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as courier-turned-sports agent Damon Carter on the Showtime television drama series Soul Food.

Biography

Early life

Kodjoe was born in Vienna, Austria, the son of Ursula, a German psychologist, and Eric Kodjoe, a Ghanaian physician. He was born Jewish through his maternal grandmother's mother who died in the Holocaust and although his grandmother was spared by being only part Jewsish and married to German and hide her origins during Nazi rule. He and his wife are members of Cascade United Methodist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents divorced when he was six years old. Kodjoe is fluent in German, French, English and Spanish. He has a brother named Patrick and a sister named Nadja. Kodjoe aspired to be a professional tennis player and attended Virginia Commonwealth University, in Richmond, VA, where he played tennis for the Rams. His brother Patrick played for VCU's basketball team. A back injury ended his tennis aspirations, but he was quickly signed as a model and soon after entered acting.

Career

Named one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" by People Magazine in 2002, Kodjoe is perhaps best known as one of the seven regular cast members from the Showtime drama Soul Food, which aired from 2000 to 2004. He starred in the short-lived sitcom Second Time Around with his Soul Food co-star Nicole Ari Parker, who he eventually married. He played the role of David Taylor, the wayward son of Pastor Fred Taylor in the October 2005 film The Gospel. He was in a play called Whatever She Wants starring Vivica A. Fox. He will make an appearance on the 5th season of Nip/Tuck.

Personal life

Boris married his Soul Food: The Series co-star Nicole Ari Parker on 21 May 2005 in Gundelfingen, Germany. She gave birth to their first child, a girl, Sophie Tei-Naaki Lee Kodjoe, on 5 March 2005. Sophie has spinal bifida, which was diagnosed at birth. She gave birth to the couple's second child, Nicolas Neruda Kodjoe, a boy, on 31 October 2006. Nicole and Boris reside in Atlanta, Georgia after moving from Los Angeles.

Kodjoe's height is 6 ft 2+1⁄2 in (1.89 m). In audience screenings for the movie Brown Sugar, people rated his character higher than they rated any other in the film.

Filmography

• Chosen Ones 1999-2006
• Love and Basketball 2000
• Soul Food - TV series 2000
• Brown Sugar 2002
• Second Time Around - TV series 2004
• Doing Hard Time 2004
• The Gospel 2005
• America's Next Top Model, Cycle 4 2005
• Madea's Family Reunion 2006
• All About Us 2007
• Starship Troopers 3: Marauder 2008
• Surrogates 2009

Guest appearances on TV shows

• "Nip/Tuck" 2007
• "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" 2009

Music videos

• "Red Light Special" - TLC
• "Never Let You Go" - Faith Evans

External links

• Boris Kodjoe at IMDb
• Boris Kodjoe Official Web Site[1]