15/12/2024
Devale Ellis, born on April 2, 1984, in Brooklyn, New York, is an actor and former American football player. He attended Hofstra University, where he played football alongside Marques Colston, a current player for the New Orleans Saints. After graduating, Ellis joined the Detroit Lions in 2006 as an undrafted free agent in the NFL Draft. However, his football career was interrupted by injuries, leading him to leave the NFL in 2010 to pursue acting.
In the entertainment industry, Ellis started with guest roles in TV series such as Power, The Mysteries of Laura, Gotham, The Blacklist, and NCIS. In 2019, he was cast as the main character Zac Taylor in BET's comedy-drama series Sistas. He also had a recurring role in the series Bigger from 2019 to 2021 and appeared in The Equalizer. In 2022, Ellis starred in the Lifetime TV movie Single Black Female and A Christmas Fumble on the Oprah Winfrey Network. That same year, he joined the spin-off series Zatima of Sistas, airing on BET+.
On a personal note, Ellis married Khadeen Joseph, a college friend, in 2010. The couple has four sons: Jackson Carter (born in 2011), Kairo Shakur (born in 2016), Kaz Hendrix (born in 2017), and Dakota Marley (born in 2021). They run a YouTube channel, The Ellises, where they share family vlogs and comedic skits. In 2019, they launched the podcast Dead Ass to discuss love, marriage, and business.
With a diverse career and a happy family life, Devale Ellis exemplifies a successful transition from sports to the arts while maintaining a stable presence in the entertainment industry.
