Hill Harper Bio

Hill Harper Biography

American actor Hill Harper had a successful stage career before making himself known through projects such as Get on the Bus and He Got Game. He is perhaps best known, however, for his long-running role on the hit television series CSI: NY.

Francis Hill Harper was born May 17, 1966 in Iowa City, Iowa. His parents are Henry Harper and Marilyn Hill, a psychiatrist and anesthesiologist respectively.

 

Displaying a deep intelligence and diligence from an early age, Harper attended Brown University, where he secured the honor of graduating magna cum laude. After his undergraduate work, Harper also attended Harvard Law School and the Kennedy School of Government.

 

Interested and involved in acting from seven years old and on, Harper first really began pursuing the craft in college. To that end, he was a part of the prestigious Boston’s Black Theater Company.

 

Making the jump from stage to camera, Harper made his onscreen debut in 1993 with Confessions of a Dog. In the same year, he also landed a recurring role on the comedy Married with Children. In the latter, Harper shared the screen with series regulars Ed O Neill, David Faustino, Katey Sagal, and Christina Applegate.

 

Bouncing around roles for several years, he finally caught the attention of noted director Spike Lee, who cast him as Xavier in his 1996 historical drama Get on the Bus. He shared the screen with Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, Albert Hall, and others.

 

Harper reunited with Lee in 1998 for his extremely popular sports drama He Got Game. This time around, he appeared with Denzel Washington, Ray Allen, Milla Jovovich, and Rosario Dawson.

 

Harper also increased his visibility in this year by landing a role in the adaptation of Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved. Stars included Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, and Thandie Newton.

 

He crossed into the blockbuster commercial realm with The Skulls in 2000. Revolving around an utterly top secret society in a prestigious college, Harper played Will Beckford with costars Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker, and Leslie Bibb. Lesser roles were taken by Christopher McDonald and Craig T Nelson.

 

From 2003 to 2004, he kept busy on the primetime television series The Handler with Joe Pantoliano, and when that came to an end due to poor ratings, Harper rebounded with the newest installation in the CSI franchise.

 

Cast as Dr. Sheldon Hawkes on CSI: NY, Harper plays lead along with Gary Sinise, Melina Kanakaredes, Carmine Giovinazzo, Eddie Cahill, and others.

 

Outside of acting, Harper has penned two books, Letters to a Young Brother and Letters to a Young Sister: DeFINE Your Destiny.

 

In his personal life, Harper has been romantically linked to Rozonda Chilli of TLC fame. He was subsequently linked to Taraji Henson.

 

He is also noted for his friendship with Gabrielle Union and Barack Obama. Showing his support for Obama, Harper participated in the “Yes We Can” video, which was produced by noted musician Will I Am.




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