He became one of the best tennis players in the country and accepted a tennis scholarship to Virginia Commonwealth University in the fall of 1992.It had once seemed likely that Boris Kodjoe would become a professional tennis player. However, after graduating in 1996 from Virginia Commonwealth University on a tennis scholarship, Boris found that chronic back problems would force him to find another dream. Destiny intervened, by a chance encounter with a scout from the prestigious Ford Modeling agency in New York. Before long, Boris had joined the Ford agency and was soon propelled into the upper stratosphere of the male Supermodel.
Within the first seven months of his modeling career, Boris landed twelve campaigns, including Versace, Ralph Lauren, Yves Saint Laurent, and Gap, and worked with some of the top names in photographers, including Bruce Weber, Matthew Rolston, Herb Ritts, and Marco Glaviano. He also appeared on major publications, such as: Vogue, GQ, and Esquire. Boris can currently be seen in magazine ads and on billboards worldwide for Chaps Ralph Lauren.
Modeling was not to be the final frontier for Boris. While studying with acting coach Janet Alhanti, Hollywood soon took notice and Boris made his acting debut in the Spike Lee produced feature film "Love & Basketball". Since that time, he's also guest starred on such sitcoms as "Steve Harvey" and "For Your Love". Currently, Boris can be seen in Showtime's original series "Soul Food", which shoots on location in Toronto. He plays the part of Damon; a role that was originally scheduled for three episodes, but soon became a full-time part after producers saw what he brought to the show. Soul Food is one of this season's hits, raking in record-breaking ratings. So what else will Boris take on? He writes, speaks to students about cultural diversity and tolerance, and speaks four languages fluently - so the possibilities are endless. But for now, he'll work on growing as an actor.
His main personal interest is to encourage young people to value their education and strive for their own individual goals. He feels blessed and fortunate, and believes he has a certain responsibility to share his views and experiences with others, such as motivate them to reach for their stars. He is part of ERACE, an organization that provides insight on how to overcome obstacles, how to fight ignorance, and how to promote not judge - ethnic variety, to stop racism and to benefit from cultural diversity amongst today's youth. |
