Blair Underwood facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Blair Underwood
Underwood in May 2019
Born	Blair Erwin Underwood (1964-08-25) August 25, 1964 (age 60) Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Education	Carnegie Mellon University (BFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1985–present
Spouse(s)	Desiree DaCosta ​ ​ (m. 1994; div. 2021)​ Josie Hart ​ (m. 2023)​
Children	3

Blair Erwin Underwood (born August 25, 1964) is a famous American actor. He started his acting career in 1985 in the musical movie Krush Groove. From 1987 to 1994, he became well-known for playing Jonathan Rollins, a lawyer, in the TV show L.A. Law on NBC.

Underwood has acted in many movies throughout his career. Some of these include Just Cause (1995), Set It Off (1996), Deep Impact (1998), and Rules of Engagement (2000). More recently, he appeared in Juanita (2019) and Longlegs (2024).

He has won several awards for his acting. These include five NAACP Image Awards, one Daytime Emmy Award, and one Grammy Award. He has also been nominated twice for a Golden Globe Award.

Early Life and Education

Blair Underwood was born in Tacoma, Washington. His mother, Marilyn Ann Scales, was an interior decorator. His father, Frank Eugene Underwood Sr., was a U.S. Army colonel. Because his father was in the military, Blair lived in different places. He grew up on Army bases in the United States and even in Stuttgart, Germany.

He went to Petersburg High School in Petersburg, Virginia. After high school, he studied acting at the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is also an honorary member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.

Acting Career Highlights

Underwood at the 41st Emmy Awards in September 1989

After his first movie, Krush Groove, Blair Underwood appeared on The Cosby Show in 1985. This led to a role on the TV soap opera One Life to Live for three months. He also acted in the crime drama Downtown and had guest roles on shows like Scarecrow and Mrs. King and 21 Jump Street.

In 1987, when he was 23, Underwood got a big role as lawyer Jonathan Rollins in the TV series L.A. Law. This role made him very famous. He was even nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1991 for his work on the show. L.A. Law finished in 1994.

In 1990, he played James Chaney in the TV movie Murder in Mississippi. After L.A. Law, he continued to act in many films. He was in the legal thriller Just Cause in 1995. The next year, he played a love interest in the movie Set It Off. He also had roles in the science fiction film Gattaca (1997) and the disaster movie Deep Impact (1998).

In 1996, Underwood returned to TV in the police drama High Incident. He also starred with Cicely Tyson in the 1998 TV miniseries Mama Flora's Family. In 2000, he played the main role in the medical drama City of Angels.

People magazine named him one of the "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2000. TV Guide magazine also called him one of the "Most Influential Faces of the 90s." In 2003, he appeared in four episodes of the HBO series Sex and the City. He also acted in Tyler Perry's movie Madea's Family Reunion in 2006.

Underwood at the premiere for Earth in April 2009

In 2007, he was a guest star in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He also voiced Jesus Christ in Inspired By... The Bible Experience, which is an audio Bible. In 2007, he helped write a novel called Casanegra: A Tennyson Hardwick Novel.

In 2008, Underwood starred in the first season of the HBO show In Treatment. For this role, he was nominated for another Golden Globe Award.

From 2010 to 2011, Underwood played the role of United States President Elias Martinez in the NBC drama series The Event. In 2012, he played the lead role of Stanley in the Broadway play A Streetcar Named Desire.

In 2013, Underwood played Robert Ironside in a new version of the 1960s TV series Ironside. The show was cancelled after only three episodes. The next year, he appeared in The Trip to Bountiful again with Cicely Tyson.

From 2015 to 2016, he had a recurring role in the ABC series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. In 2016, Underwood joined the cast of the ABC thriller series Quantico as CIA Deputy Director Owen Hall. The show ended in 2018.

In 2019, Underwood played attorney Bobby Burns in the Netflix miniseries When They See Us. The next year, he co-starred with Octavia Spencer in the Netflix miniseries Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker. He has also been a frequent guest narrator at Disney's Candlelight Processional several times.

In 2020, Underwood performed on stage as Captain Richard Davenport in the Broadway play A Soldier's Play.

Personal Life and Charity Work

Blair Underwood is involved with many charity organizations. In 1993, he won a Humanitarian Award for his work with the Muscular Dystrophy Association in Los Angeles. In 2003, he worked with Ashley Judd as a spokesperson for YouthAIDS. He also supports the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Blair Underwood Clinic in Washington, D.C.

On June 24, 2023, he married his longtime friend, Josie Hart.

Underwood is a Trustee for the Robey Theatre Company in Los Angeles. This is a non-profit theater group that focuses on plays about the Black experience. It was founded by actor Danny Glover.

He supported President Barack Obama when he was running for office and spoke at his campaign events. Underwood met Obama when he was doing research for his L.A. Law role at Harvard Law School. At that time, Obama was the president of the Harvard Law Review.

Filmography

Movies

Television Shows

Voice Roles in Video Games

Awards and Nominations

Images for kids

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  Underwood in May 2019

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  Underwood at the 41st Emmy Awards, September 1989

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  Underwood at the premiere for Earth in April 2009

See also

In Spanish: Blair Underwood para niños