Biography

Sterling K. Brown

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Overview

Born
April 5, 1976 · St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Birth name
Sterling Kelby Brown
Height
6′ (1.83 m)

Biography

The Emmy Award-winning actor stars in NBC's Emmy and Golden Globe nominated drama series This Is Us (2016). For his role as Randall Pearson, Brown won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, as well as a Golden Globe, becoming the first African-American actor to win his category in the award show's 75-year history. Additionally, Brown made history by becoming the first African-American actor to receive the SAG Award for Outstanding Male Actor in a Drama and also received a SAG award alongside his cast for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. He also has won an NAACP Image Award and Critics Choice Award, and has been nominated for a TCA Award and a Teen Choice Award. In 2016, Brown portrayed prosecutor Christopher Darden in FX's highly-rated award-winning television event series Inside Look: The People v. O.J. Simpson - American Crime Story (2016). He won an Emmy Award and Critics Choice Award for the role and was nominated for a Golden Globe, SAG Award, and NAACP Image Award.

Brown was born in St. Louis, Missouri to Aralean Banks and Sterling Brown. His father died when he was ten, after a heart attack. Brown graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Drama from Stanford University, before receiving his Master's Degree in Fine Arts from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two sons.

Brown can be seen in Marvel's Black Panther (2018). Later in the year, he co-starred in Fox's The Predator (2018) and Hotel Artemis (2018), with Jodie Foster and Brian Tyree Henry. In 2017, Brown co-starred in Open Road's Marshall (2017), for which he received an NAACP Image Award nomination for his role. In 2016, Brown co-starred with Tina Fey in Paramount's Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016).

A lover of theater, Brown has performed in a variety of staged shows, including NY and LA productions of Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2, & 3), for which he won an NAACP Theatre Award and was nominated for an Ovation Award. His additional stage credits include MacBeth, The Brother/Sister Plays and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui opposite Al Pacino.

For seven years, Brown portrayed Dr. Roland Burton in the critically acclaimed Lifetime series Army Wives (2007). Additional television credits include Supernatural (2005), Person of Interest (2011), Masters of Sex (2013), Castle (2009) and Criminal Minds (2005). His film credits include Our Idiot Brother (2011), The Suspect (2013), Righteous Kill (2008), Trust the Man (2005), and Spaceman (2016).
- IMDb mini biography by: JFPR

Family

Spouse
Children
Parents

Self-verified on IMDbPro

Gender / Gender identity
Male

Trivia

His Golden Globe Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for This Is Us (2016) made him the first black man to win this category in the ceremony's 75-year history.
First African-American to win the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) award for 'Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series' for This Is Us (2016). SAG began handing out awards in 1995.
In June 2007, he married fellow actress Ryan Michelle Bathe, his college sweetheart. They have two sons, Andrew and Amare. She appeared in his shows Army Wives (2007) as Charlie Mayfield and This Is Us (2016) as Yvette, a family friend in flashback scenes.
Cried when he was nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Awards in the same year. Also cried when he won two Screen Actors Guild Awards in one year. He made history as the first African-American man to win for Best Actor in a Drama Series.
Was on the Time 100, a list of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine, with homages penned by actresses Sarah Paulson and Kristen Bell (both 2018 and 2026).

Quotes

[on the standing ovation he received on being awarded an Emmy for "The People vs O.J. Simpson : American Crime Story"] It feels like a strange thing to say, but you try to reap what you sow, and I try to put good vibes out into the world - and I thought they all came flooding back to me at that one time.