Boris Kodjoe, 31, was born in Vienna, Austria to a German mother and Ghanaian father. After becoming one of the best tennis players in the country, he accepted a tennis scholarship to Virginia Commonwealth University in 1992. He earned a degree in marketing in 1996.
Kodjoe’s career skyrocketed after he became a model for Ralph Lauren, where he booked 12 campaigns in his first seven months as a model.
Kodjoe began his film career in the Spike Lee film, Love and Basketball. He also was featured in Brown Sugar with Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan.
Kodjoe began his film career in the Spike Lee film, Love and Basketball. He also was featured in Brown Sugar with Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan.
With a breakout role in Showtime’s Soul Food, Kodjoe received an NAACP Award in 2002.
Boris and Nicole Ari Parker turned their fictional relationship on Soul Food into a real-life romance, marrying three months after the birth of their daughter, Sophie, and breaking more than a few hearts in the process.
“He’s the kind of person who walks into a room, and women and men gasp," says Brown Sugar costar Sanaa Lathan. "I’ve seen it happen!” Ah, but if the swooners only knew: “He’s kind of goofy!”
Will Kodjoe’s star turn in the Holy Spirit-filled drama, The Gospel—playing the prodigal son who returns home to see his dying father, a minister—be the one? “It’s definitely a role that will let me show people what I can do,” he says. “I feel as if I have a long way to go, honestly. But I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished so far.”
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