Handsome actor Blair Underwood was born into a military family and studied at Carnegie-Mellon University before moving to New York to pursue his career. Guest-starring work on The Cosby Show earned him a part on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, followed by a reoccurring role on the short-lived series Downtown. In 1985 he made his film debut as a record producer in the rap comedy Krush Groove. This was followed by the successful TV docudramas Heat Wave and Murder in Mississippi. His breakthrough finally came about on L.A. Law, playing attorney Jonathan Rollins from 1987 to 1994. Supporting roles followed, as an accused rapist in Just Cause, a well-to-do love interest in Set It Off, and baseball legend Jackie Robinson in the HBO original movie Soul of the Game. Also during the '90s, he tried his hand at screenwriting and producing with the short film Second Coming, a contemporary take on Christ's second coming starring himself as a dread-locked Jesus accused of insanity. In 2000, he starred in the CBS medical drama City of Angels, followed by supporting roles in the military courtroom drama Rules of Engagement, as well as Steven Soderbergh's Full Frontal, and the teen movie Malibu's Most Wanted. He and wife Desiree DaCosta (two-time executive assistant to Eddie Murphy) have three children.