Taye Diggs Biography

The eldest of five siblings, Taye Diggs and his family grew up in Rochester, New York. He was often called upon to help out his young siblings, changing diapers and making sure they stayed on the straight and narrow. The children were all encouraged to express themselves and the environment at home must have been open to the arts—besides having an actor in the family, there are also two musicians and a dancer. Taye, whose unique first name came about because friends would pronounce his first name, Scott, as Scottaye, which eventually was shortened to Taye, attended a Fine Arts high school and later earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theater.

After his senior year, Taye performed in a Broadway production of Carousel. His talent was certainly showcased well as he was promptly signed by an agent. Diggs spent some time performing as a Carribean singer at Disney's Tokyo theme park before coming back to New York to perform in the Tony Award-winning Broadway production of Rent as Benny, the evil landlord.

In 1997, Taye made his way to daytime television with a recurring role on the soap opera Guiding Light as Adrian "Sugar" Hill. He appeared on the show for just over a year before moving onto bigger projects. First came a prominent role in the big screen adaptation of Terry McMillan's How Stella Got Her Groove Back as a young hunk trying to woo an older woman played by Angela Bassett. The steamy story made Diggs the object of many a woman's fantasies. Following a stint as a regular on the sitcom Ally McBeal in 2001, Taye continued making movies.

After joining the cast of the Oscar-winning film Chicago (2002) and the action feature film Basic (2003) with John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson, he was cast in the title role of the UPN TV drama series Kevin Hill, about a single man whose life changes when he inherits a baby. The show debuted in September 2004 to high ratings but ran for only one season.

Next, he was cast in the starring role on the TV series Day Break (2006-2007),as a detective who goes on the run when he's accused of shooting a state attorney. In 2007 he joined the cast of the Grey's Anatomy spinoff Private Practice, playing the role of Dr. Sam Bennett for all six seasons. Roles in The Good Wife, Rosewood, First Murder and Empire, all broadcast between 2014 and 2017, followed.

Taye also found time between his TV commitments to play a starring role in the ensemble comedy, The Best Man Holiday (2013).

His filmography was then enhanced due to participation in the animated adventure My Little Pony: The Movie (2017) and Netflix's romantic comedy Set It Up (2018). Currently, he plays Billy Baker on the CW sports series All American (2018-2020).

Taye met Broadway star Idina Menzel when they appeared together in the musicals Rent and Wicked. They married January 11, 2009 and on September 3, 2009 their only child was born, a boy named Walker Nathaniel. They were divorced December 3, 2014.

Filmography:

My Little Pony: The Movie (2017)
The Best Man Holiday (2013)
Rent (2005)
Cake (2005)
Cross the Line (2005)
Slow Burn (2004)
Drum (2004)
Malibu's Most Wanted (2003)
Basic (2003)
Chicago (2002)
A Midsummer Night's Rave (2002)
Brown Sugar (2002)
Cross the Line (2002)
Just a Kiss (2002)
Media Whore (2002)
New Best Friend (2002)
Equilibrium (2001)
The Way of the Gun (2000)
House on Haunted Hill (1999)
The Best Man (1999/I)
Go (1999)
The Wood (1999)
How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)