L.A Lakers Small Forward

Background:

A professional basketball player who played fourteen seasons in the NBA (1991–2005) and won three NBA championships (2000, 2001 and 2002) during his tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers, Rick Fox turned to acting and made his film debut in a successful basketball movie starring Whoopi Goldberg and Dennis Farina, "Eddie" (1996).

He continued to add to his resume roles in the films "He Got Game" (1998), "Resurrection" (1999), "Holes" (2003), "Mini's First Time" (2006) and "Meet the Browns" (2008).

Meanwhile, TV viewers could catch him in the HBO prison drama "Oz" (as inmate Jackson Vahue; 1997-2003), Lifetime’s drama/mystery show "1-800-Missing" (as Eric Renard; 2003), the short-lived sitcom "Love, Inc." (2005-2006), the CW teen drama "One Tree Hill" (as loan shark Daunte Jones; 2006) and in the ABC critically-acclaimed drama/comedy series "Ugly Betty" (2007). He now plays Prince Tyreese in the FX Network drama starring Courteney Cox Arquette, "Dirt."

On a more personal note, the 6' 7" retired basketball superstar, who once dated supermodel Tyra Banks, was married to former Miss America, singer and actress Vanessa Williams (born March 18, 1963) from 1999 to 2004. He is the proud father of two.

When asked if it's tough to start an acting career after being a ball player, Fox explained, “People get paralyzed because of the fear of beginning again. You’re a rookie, so you’re not as good as you want people to see you. You have to allow yourself to be a beginner and to grow. I had a 14-year career as a ball player, won 3 NBA championships, made a great living and retired at 36. Now it’s time to begin a new career. A lot of athletes struggle because they wonder if they have enough time to be great again and what happens if they fail? I had to ask myself if I was willing to face the criticism and go back at it again and again and again? Truthfully, what helped most was to examine why I wanted to act. My answer was I had a need to be expressive and create a message. So I have to accept the process as a marathon and not a sprint. When I looked at the other actors I respect like Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson and then looked at their ages, I said ‘if I’m 36 now, twenty years from now would I be unhappy to look back and reflect on having had to begin again?’ The answer was no.”

Bahamian-Italian Blend

Childhood and Family:

“My mom raised my two sisters as Black women (she’s a White Italian woman) and has lived in the Bahamas for the past 35 years. Growing up in the Bahamas, race was not an issue as it was a mixed country. As a result, I consider myself of mixed heritage. But here in the States, I saw how important it was for people to define themselves as part of a specific group. I felt like an outsider in that respect.” Rick Fox

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on July 24, 1969, to a Bahamian father and Italian mother, Ulrich Alexander Fox moved to the Bahamas when he was 3 years old. He attended Kingsway Academy in Nassau where he was a member of the high school's basketball team. He also played high school basketball in Warsaw, Indiana, as an exchange student. He was voted onto the Indiana All-Star team in 1987.

Fox subsequently studied radio, television, and motion picture sciences at the University of North Carolina University (UNC), where he continued playing college basketball. After graduation, Fox was selected 24th overall in the NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics and after several seasons with them, he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. While with the Lakers, he helped them win an NBA Championship.

Fox was introduced to former Miss America, singer and actress Vanessa Williams (born March 18, 1963) by then-girlfriend, supermodel Tyra Banks (born December 4, 1973). When his romance with Banks ended, Fox and Williams began dating.

In the summer of 1999, Fox and Williams eloped to the Caribbean but promised family and friends they would re-tie the knot that fall, which they did in a lavish ceremony at the Church of the Holy Trinity in New York followed by a gala reception at the St. Regis Hotel. The couple has one daughter, Sasha Gabriella Fox, born May 1, 2000. Fox also has one son, Kyle, by college sweetheart Kari Hillsman.

When pictures of Fox kissing another woman in mid-2004 surfaced in the media, Fox's representative announced that the couple had been "headed toward divorce" for over a year. A few months later in August 2004, Fox filed for divorce.

"Well, I'd have to say that I definitely have to credit being married to Vanessa with any growth I've had in the course of my life. We're still close friends, sharing and having conversations about our lives and raising our daughter together. She's been very influential in helping me grow as a friend and former husband. I appreciate and value that so much because, like I said, she's been a huge reason why I've made great strides." Rick Fox

Meet the Browns

Career:

Beginning his pro-basketball career when he was selected by the Boston Celtics in the 1991 NBA Draft, Rick Fox played for fourteen seasons in the NBA (1991–2005), six in Boston, seven in Los Angeles (Lakers), and one back in Boston. Wearing #17, Fox, who made $33.4 million during his basketball career, played small-forward and won three NBA championships (2000, 2001 and 2002) during his tenure with the Lakers. He also once played internationally for Canada at the 1994 FIBA Basketball World Championship held in Toronto.

"I went 14 years having one choice, which was the uniform they handed me. It's nice having some options." Rick Fox

In 1996, the basketball star made his film debut in the successful basketball movie starring Whoopi Goldberg and Dennis Farina, "Eddie."

The following year, Fox landed a recurring role as inmate Jackson Vahue in the HBO prison drama, "Oz," where he stayed until 2003.

Meanwhile, Fox made another basketball movie, "He Got Game" (1998), which was written and directed by Spike Lee and starred Denzel Washington and NBA guard Ray Allen. On how he got a role for the film, Fox said, "A few months later (after ‘Eddie’) I walked up to Spike Lee at a Knicks game and right before the game started during shoot around, I said to Spike, 'I did this movie and I think I want to pursue this. I don't know if you have an internship where I come watch you work, or just be a part of something' and he said he would think about it. Two weeks later, he called me to come audition for a movie he was doing called 'He Got Game.'"

Rick also co-starred with Christopher Lambert in Russell Mulcahy's thriller "Resurrection" (1999) and with Casper Van Dien and Catherine Oxenberg in the action/thriller made-for-television movie "The Collectors" (1999). Additionally, he appeared in a print ad for Skechers shoes (2002) and in a TV commercial for Radio Shack (2003; with Vanessa Williams).

When “Oz” ended in 2003, Fox received another recurring role, this time on Lifetime’s drama/mystery show "1-800-Missing," a Canadian TV series based on the "1-800-WHERE-R-YOU" series by Meg Cabot.

During this time, he was cast as baseball star Clyde "Sweet Feet" Livingston in Andrew Davis' film adaptation of Louis Sachar's Newbery Medal-winning novel of the same name, "Holes" (2003; with Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Patricia Arquette, and Sigourney Weaver). He was also spotted as a guest in an episode of a short-lived crime/drama starring Rob Morrow, "Street Time" and seen on Nickelodeon’s Emmy Award-winning animated television series "The Fairly OddParents."

When asked if he has an acting coach, Fox said, “I do. Being out here in LA, I started out with Sharon Chatten for two years and when I retired I went to the Howard Fine studio and I did that for two years and then I trained with guy named Jay at Aaron Spizer studio. I keep evolving as an actor and keep studying with my voice coach and learning how important that was and just working on me. So much of acting is knowing your own instrument; not just physically but psychologically and how the choices I've made in my life both good and negatively affect what I could bring to the character.”

Fox retired from the NBA in October 2004, the same year he filed for divorce from his wife, Vanessa Williams. Afterward, he became more focused on acting and played the recurring role of David in the short-lived sitcom, "Love, Inc.," (2005-2006), which was based on Elana Berkowitz's best-selling article in the “New York Times.” He also played loan shark Daunte Jones in multiple episodes of the CW teen drama "One Tree Hill" in 2006, and in 2007, he appeared in dual episodes of the ABC critically-acclaimed series starring his former wife Vanessa Williams, "Ugly Betty.” Additionally, he guest starred in an episode of UPN’s legal drama series starring Taye Diggs, "Kevin Hill," and played a supporting role in the comedy/drama film "Mini's First Time" (2006), with Alec Baldwin, Nikki Reed, Luke Wilson, Carrie Anne Moss, and Jeff Goldblum.

"I want to do this for the rest of my life. I know I'm not Laurence Fishburne or Denzel Washington, but if 30 years from now, I'm having a conversation about acting, I want to be able to add something to that conversation. I can't add it now. It took me 20 years to become an NBA player of stature. With acting, I'm willing to put in the time." Rick Fox

Since 2007, Fox has played Prince Tyreese in the FX Network serial drama starring Courteney Cox Arquette, "Dirt." Moviegoers could also catch him in "Meet the Browns" (2008), Tyler Perry's film adaptation of his own 2004 play of the same name

A producer of “The 1 Second Film,” the largest collaborative nonprofit film ever created, Fox is now producing an upcoming film horror/thriller film by Frank Lin called "Hysteria."

"My experience as a ball player was all or nothing, win or lose…that’s what everything came down to. So I try to share with my son and daughter that the colors in between are also beautiful – that there’s value when you come in second or land in the middle. When winning is the only focus, the real value of things gets lost." Rick Fox

Awards:
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