Honorary Girlfriend

Background:

Chicago-born actor Reggie Hayes honed his craft in local theater before breaking into films and television, most notably as William Jerrome Dent, the "honorary girlfriend" and the closest male friend of Tracee Ellis Ross' Joan, in the UPN/WB long-running sitcom "Girlfriends" (2000-Present). He also has guest starred in such popular TV shows as ''The Twilight Zone,'' ''Will & Grace,'' ''Party of Five,'' and ''Roswell.''

As for his big screen works, Hayes was credited in the films "A Family Thing" (1996), ''Being John Malkovich'' (1999), and "Charlie's Angels" (2000).

Classic Car Buff

Childhood and Family:

On July 15, 1969, Reggie Hayes was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Acting and Honors in Performance. He also attended Northwestern Military Naval Academy.

Reggie considers himself a shopaholic and a classic car buff. Among his collections, he owns a 1963 Cadillac DeVille convertible.

Sitcom Star

Career:

Initially planning to follow in his father's footsteps as a musician, Reggie Hayes eventually changed his mind and turned to acting. He honed his craft in the Chicago theater and has performed in the stage productions of ''Five Times Noh,'' ''Bang the Drum Slowly,'' ''Othello,'' ''Less Than Equal,'' ''Richard II,'' ''Chicago Conspiracy Trial,'' ''Hellcab Does Christmas,'' ''Any Place But Here,'' ''Native Speech,'' ''No One Goes Mad'' and ''Inspecting Carol.'' He also has performed in numerous Shakespearian stage productions as a member of the Illinois Shakespeare Festival.

In 1996, at age 27, Hayes landed his first film role, as the friend of Michael Beach's character, in the drama film starring Robert Duvall, James Earl Jones and Irma P. Hall, "A Family Thing," which was co-written by Billy Bob Thornton and directed by Richard Pearce. Afterwards, he began appearing on television, playing guest roles in an episode of Fox military sci-fi drama series "Space: Above and Beyond," the WB sitcom "Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher," NBC/ABC relatively short-lived sitcom "Something So Right," NBC drama "The Pretender," and Fox sitcom "Getting Personal."

Hayes returned to the big screen as an architect in Mary Cybulski and John Tintori's film version of Will Kern's play, "Chicago Cab" (1998; starring Paul Dillon, John Cusack, Julianne Moore, and John C. Reilly), and as Don in Spike Jonze-directed and Charlie Kaufman-written critically-acclaimed film "Being John Malkovich" (1999; starring John Malkovich, John Cusack, and Cameron Diaz). He then was spotted as a guest in an episode of Fox dramatic series "Party of Five," UPN sitcom "Grown Ups," and the WB/UPN sci-fi teen drama series "Roswell."

Entering the new millennium, Hayes snagged a TV series regular role, as William Jerrome Dent, the "honorary girlfriend," the former colleague and closest male friend of Tracee Ellis Ross' Joan, in the long-running sitcom "Girlfriends." First appeared in the show in its pilot in 2000 on UPN, Hayes continues to return in the show when it's aired on UPN's successor network, The CW, where it's currently running its 8th season, premiered in October 2007. Meanwhile, Hayes' work in the program has won him three Image awards in 2005, 2006 and 2007, all for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series category. He also received nominations at the BET Comedy Awards twice in 2004 and 2005, both for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

During his lengthy stint in "Girlfriends," Hayes continued to add to his resume with roles in McG's action/comedy feature film based on the 1970s television series, "Charlie's Angels" (2000; starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu), and a short comedy film called "Stop Thief!" (2004). He also appeared as a guest in an episode of NBC Emmy-winning sitcom "Will & Grace," ABC comedy series "Then Came You," UPN short-lived anthology series "The Twilight Zone," and Disney Channel's Emmy-winning cartoon series "Kim Possible" (voice).

Awards:

• Image: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, "Girlfriends," 2007

• Image: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, "Girlfriends," 2006

• Image: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, "Girlfriends," 2005