Rick Fox life and biography

Ulrich Alexander "Rick" Fox is a Canadian television actor and retired professional basketball player.

Early life

Fox was born in Toronto, the son of Diane Gerace, who was an Olympic high jumper and women's pentathlete, and Ulrich Fox. His father is Bahamian (he was the first person to manufacture ice in the Caribbean) and his mother is Italian Canadian. Fox's family moved to his father's native Bahamas when Fox was three. He attended Kingsway Academy in Nassau, where he was a member of the high school's basketball team, the "Saints." Fox also played high school basketball in Warsaw, Indiana. After two seasons (1984–1986) at Warsaw, Fox was projected to have a monster senior season. Just prior to his senior season, the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) ruled that he had no more high school eligibility left (due to completing eight semesters in the Bahamas) and not allowed to participate in any IHSAA games. Despite not playing his senior season, Fox was voted onto the Indiana All-Star team in 1987.

He then went on to star collegiately at the University of North Carolina where his highlights included leading the Tar Heels to the 1991 NCAA Final Four.

Basketball career

Fox began his pro basketball career when he was selected by the Boston Celtics in the first round (24th pick overall) of the 1991 NBA Draft. Fox played for thirteen seasons in the NBA (from 1991–1997 with Boston and from 1997–2004 with the Los Angeles Lakers).

Fox played internationally for Canada once, at the 1994 FIBA Basketball World Championship held in Toronto. His team was eliminated on the final possession of a game against Greece as Fox, on an isolation play for him to drive the hoop, failed to score.

Acting career

One of Fox's early acting performances came in the form of an instructional basketball video developed by the Canadian production company, Rocco's Jobbers, in 1994. In it, Fox taught how to perform the backdoor as well as other finesse moves. It came as a promise he made to the Toronto community while spending time there during the 1994 FIBA tournament. Part of the proceeds were donated to local charities that supported the research of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), with which Fox himself had been recently diagnosed.

Fox's acting credits include playing prison inmate Jackson Vahue on the HBO prison drama Oz. He has also appeared in a number of basketball themed films, namely Eddie, He Got Game, and Blue Chips. Fox was a producer of The 1 Second Film, the largest collaborative nonprofit film ever created.

Fox has guest starred in One Tree Hill, Missing, and Shark, with James Woods. He appeared in the movie Holes.

In 2007, Fox signed on with the show Dirt to play a recurring role in a multi-episode storyline. He also had a lead role in Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns as Harry, Angela Bassett's love interest. He played Wilhelmina Slater's bodyguard and lover in the second season of Ugly Betty, opposite his former wife.

In 2008 and 2009, he had a recurring role (as a fictionalized version of himself) on the CW comedy-drama television series The Game.

Fox appeared on the U.S. game show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? on November 14 and 21, 2008. He won $25,000 for his charity after flunking out on the $50,000 question.

In 2009, Fox played himself in an episode of Party Down on Starz.

Fox is currently competing on the eleventh season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars.

Personal life

Fox has a son named Kyle from his union to college girlfriend Kari Hillsman. Fox married actress/singer Vanessa L. Williams in a quiet ceremony in the Bahamas; they then followed with an elaborate ceremony in New York in September 1999. Fox and Williams have a daughter, Sasha, born on May 1, 2000. After The National Enquirer published pictures of Fox kissing another woman in mid-2004, Fox's representative announced that the couple had been "headed toward divorce" for over a year. In August 2004, Fox filed for divorce. During some press interviews, Williams cast some doubt on the divorce status. While visiting the Howard Stern radio show in March 2005, however, she said that while she and Fox were intimate with each other briefly during the 2004 holidays, a reconciliation was unlikely. Fox and Williams remain friendly. Fox is the brother to international actress Jeanene Fox, famous in Italy for her role as "La Filippona" on the satirical Italian Television Show called "Striscia la Notizia".

As of mid-2009, his girlfriend is actress Eliza Dushku.

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