Courtney B. Vance facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Courtney B. Vance
Vance in 2013
Born	Courtney Bernard Vance (1960-03-12) March 12, 1960 (age 65) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Education	Harvard University (BA) Yale University (MFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1983–present
Spouse(s)	Angela Bassett ​ (m. 1997)​
Children	2

Courtney Bernard Vance (born March 12, 1960) is an American actor. He is known for his work in movies and TV shows. Vance started acting on stage before moving to film and television. He has won many awards, including a Tony Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards. He has also been nominated for a Grammy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award.

Vance studied acting at the Yale School of Drama. He made his first big appearance on Broadway in the play Fences (1985). This role earned him his first Tony Award nomination. He continued acting in plays like Six Degrees of Separation (1990) and Lucky Guy (2013). For Lucky Guy, he won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.

He is also famous for his roles in movies such as Hamburger Hill (1987) and The Hunt for Red October (1990). Other notable films include The Tuskegee Airmen (1995), The Preacher's Wife (1996), and Isle of Dogs (2018).

From 2001 to 2006, Vance played Assistant District Attorney Ron Carver in the TV series Law & Order: Criminal Intent. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for playing Johnnie Cochran in The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016). He also won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor for his role as George Freeman in Lovecraft Country (2020).

Courtney Vance has been married to actress Angela Bassett since 1997. He helps lead The Actors Center in New York City. He also supports the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. In 2019, he became the president of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation.

Early Life and Education

Courtney Vance was born in Detroit, Michigan. His mother, Leslie Anita, was a librarian, and his father, Conroy Vance, managed a grocery store. Vance went to Detroit Country Day School. He then studied at Harvard University and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. While at Harvard, he was already acting with the Boston Shakespeare Company.

Later, he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Drama. It was at Yale that he met his future wife, Angela Bassett, who was also a student there.

Acting Career Highlights

Starting Out: Broadway and Early Movies (1985–1999)

Courtney Vance began his acting journey on stage in 1985. He played Cory in the play Fences at the Yale Repertory Theatre. This play later won a Pulitzer Prize. From 1987 to 1988, he continued his role in Fences on Broadway. He acted alongside famous actor James Earl Jones. For this role, Vance won a Clarence Derwent Award and a Theatre World Award. He also received his first Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play.

Vance made his first movie appearance in 1987 in the war film Hamburger Hill. This movie was about a battle during the Vietnam War. During this time, he also had small parts in TV shows like Thirtysomething (1989) and Law & Order (1990).

In 1991, Vance returned to Broadway in the play Six Degrees of Separation. He played the character Paul and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.

Throughout the 1990s, Vance acted in many movies. These included The Hunt for Red October (1990) and The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993). In 1995, he played Black Panther leader Bobby Seale in the movie Panther. He also appeared in Dangerous Minds and the HBO film The Tuskegee Airmen that same year.

Vance worked with well-known directors like Penny Marshall in The Preacher's Wife (1996) and Robert Altman in Cookie's Fortune (1999). He also guest-starred in TV shows like Picket Fences. In 1997, he starred in the TV movie 12 Angry Men, playing the Foreman. Critics praised his performance in the 1998 TV film Blind Faith.

TV Roles and Broadway Return (2000–2015)

From 2001 to 2006, Courtney Vance starred in Law & Order: Criminal Intent as A.D.A. Ron Carver. He was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for this role. In 2008 and 2009, he appeared in the final season of ER with his wife, Angela Bassett.

In 2008, Vance was cast in the ABC show FlashForward, which was based on a novel. In 2011, he appeared in the horror movie Final Destination 5. He also starred in the German-American thriller The Divide.

Vance played Pastor Jacob DeBarge, the main character's father, in the Disney Channel Original Movie Let It Shine. This was the third time he played a pastor in a movie. He has also done voiceovers for the National Football League's TV commercials.

He played Chief Tommy Delk on the TNT series The Closer from 2010 to 2011. Vance also had a role as Attorney Benjamin Brooks in four episodes of ABC's Revenge.

Vance returned to Broadway in 2013 for the play Lucky Guy. He acted alongside Tom Hanks. Critics praised his performance as Hap Hairston. He won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for this role. In 2015, he played Miles Dyson in the movie Terminator Genisys.

Expanding His Career (2016–Present)

In 2016, Vance took on the role of famous civil rights lawyer Johnnie Cochran in the FX series The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story. His performance was highly praised. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie and a Critics' Choice Television Award. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

In 2017, he starred in the HBO TV film The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks with Oprah Winfrey. In 2018, Vance narrated Wes Anderson's animated movie Isle of Dogs. He also appeared in the film Ben Is Back with Julia Roberts.

In 2019, Vance became the President of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. In 2020, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role as George Freeman in the HBO drama series Lovecraft Country. He also appeared in the Netflix movie Uncorked. In 2021, he played C. L. Franklin in National Geographic's Genius: Aretha.

In 2023, Vance was cast as Cobra Bubbles in Disney's live-action movie Lilo & Stitch. In November 2024, it was announced that Vance would play Zeus in the second season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. He took over the role after the death of actor Lance Reddick.

Personal Life

Family and Marriage

Vance with Angela Bassett in 2007

Courtney Vance first met actress Angela Bassett in 1980. They got married in 1997. They have twins, a son and a daughter, who were born in 2006. Vance and Bassett wrote a book together called Friends: A Love Story. They also take part in the annual Christmas celebration, Candlelight Processional, at Epcot. The family lives in Los Angeles.

On the PBS show Finding Your Roots, Vance learned that his father was born to his 17-year-old grandmother. In October 2024, he voiced a commercial for Kamala Harris about Detroit.

Interests and Support

Vance is on the Board of Directors for The Actors Center in New York City. He is a strong supporter of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. He was a member of the Detroit Boys & Girls Club when he was young. He was recently added to the Alumni Hall of Fame for Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Acting Credits

Theatre

Film

Television

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Courtney B. Vance para niños