Biography

Actor and retired basketball player Rick Fox was born Ulrich Alexander Fox in 1969 in Toronto, Canada. Fox spent his formative years growing up in his father’s native Bahamas, where he learned to play basketball and quickly showed talent for the sport at an early age. Rick returned to the United States, settling in Indiana for his high school years and moving on to play basketball for the University of North Carolina, where he majored in Radio, Television, and Film.

After UNC, Rick Fox was drafted by the Boston Celtics in 1991. Within a year, he had made the 1992 NBA All-Rookie Second Team, and by 1996 Fox had distinguished himself as the team’s starting small forward. In 1997, Rick Fox left the Celtics to join the Los Angeles Lakers, where he spent the remainder of his years up to retirement. After retiring from the sport, Fox returned to his first love, acting and producing, although throughout his years in basketball he had also made appearances in a variety of films, including Blue Chips (1994) and Eddie (1996.)

In 1997, Rick Fox’s acting career received a big boost after he was cast in the award-winning HBO drama Oz, in the role of Jackson Vahue. Additional television and film roles since that time include: One Tree Hill, Ugly Betty, The Game, Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns, Party Down, Melrose Place, They Big Bang Theory, and Head Case. In 2010, Rick Fox also competed on Dancing With the Stars, pairing with Cheryl Burke, and he appeared as a contestant on Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?

Currently, Fox has recurring roles on Tyler Perry’s House of Payne. He also recently appeared on the CBS comedy Mom, and he is scheduled for additional roles in both film and television in the near future.