Courtney B. Vance

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

93

Gender

Male

Birthday

1960-03-12 (65 years old)

Place of Birth

Detroit, Michigan, USA

Courtney B. Vance

Biography

Courtney Bernard Vance (born March 12, 1960) is an American actor. Vance started his career on the Broadway stage in the original productions of August Wilson's Fences in 1985, John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation in 1990 and Nora Ephron's Lucky Guy in 2013 for which he won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. He is known for his roles in films such as Hamburger Hill (1987), The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Preacher's Wife (1996), Cookie's Fortune (1999), Terminator Genisys (2015), and Isle of Dogs (2018). Vance is also known for work on television on shows such as Law & Order: Criminal Intent, where he portrayed Assistant District Attorney Ron Carver. He also guest-starred on Law & Order, Picket Fences, The Closer, Revenge, Scandal, and Masters of Sex. He won acclaim for his portrayal of Johnnie Cochran in the FX limited series The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016) for which he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. He recently appeared in the HBO television film, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017), National Geographic's limited series Genius: Aretha (2020), and the HBO drama series Lovecraft Country (2020) the latter of which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. He has been married to actress Angela Bassett since 1997. Vance is on the Board of Directors for The Actors Center in New York City, and is an active supporter of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. In 2019, Vance was appointed as the President of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation.

Known For

  • Law & Order

    Law & Order

  • Law & Order

    Law & Order

  • Lilo & Stitch

    Lilo & Stitch

  • Law & Order: Criminal Intent

    Law & Order: Criminal Intent

  • Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

    Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

  • The Closer

    The Closer

  • The Closer

    The Closer

  • The Jennifer Hudson Show

    The Jennifer Hudson Show

  • NOVA

    NOVA

  • Sherri

    Sherri

  • Scandal

    Scandal

  • Golden Globe Awards

    Golden Globe Awards

  • ER

    ER

  • American Experience

    American Experience

  • The View

    The View

  • The View

    The View

  • Variety Studio: Actors on Actors

    Variety Studio: Actors on Actors

  • Tamron Hall

    Tamron Hall

  • Revenge

    Revenge

  • Masters of Sex

    Masters of Sex

  • The Wild Thornberrys

    The Wild Thornberrys

  • thirtysomething

    thirtysomething

  • Boston Public

    Boston Public

  • American Crime Story

    American Crime Story

  • Genius

    Genius

  • Terminator Genisys

    Terminator Genisys

  • Finding Your Roots

    Finding Your Roots

  • FlashForward

    FlashForward

  • Grotesquerie

    Grotesquerie

  • Isle of Dogs

    Isle of Dogs

  • Final Destination 5

    Final Destination 5

  • Graceland

    Graceland

  • Any Day Now

    Any Day Now

  • The Hunt for Red October

    The Hunt for Red October

  • The Mummy

    The Mummy

  • Lovecraft Country

    Lovecraft Country

  • The Last Supper

    The Last Supper

  • Hamburger Hill

    Hamburger Hill

  • Let It Shine

    Let It Shine

  • 12 Angry Men

    12 Angry Men

  • The Divide

    The Divide

  • Joyful Noise

    Joyful Noise

  • Nothing But the Truth

    Nothing But the Truth

  • The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

    The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

  • Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives

    Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives

  • Amend: The Fight for America

    Amend: The Fight for America

  • Dangerous Minds

    Dangerous Minds

  • Project Power

    Project Power

  • The Tuskegee Airmen

    The Tuskegee Airmen

  • Between the World and Me

    Between the World and Me

  • Space Cowboys

    Space Cowboys

  • Naked City: Justice with a Bullet

    Naked City: Justice with a Bullet

  • Cookie's Fortune

    Cookie's Fortune

  • Race to Freedom: The Underground Railroad

    Race to Freedom: The Underground Railroad

  • Ben Is Back

    Ben Is Back

  • 61st Street

    61st Street

  • The Adventures of Huck Finn

    The Adventures of Huck Finn

  • Uncorked

    Uncorked

  • D-Tox

    D-Tox

  • Hurricane Season

    Hurricane Season

  • Memorial: Letters from American Soldiers

    Memorial: Letters from American Soldiers

  • Extraordinary Measures

    Extraordinary Measures

  • First Affair

    First Affair

  • Office Christmas Party

    Office Christmas Party

  • Hallmark Hall of Fame

    Hallmark Hall of Fame

  • Blind Faith

    Blind Faith

  • Panther

    Panther

  • The Piano Lesson

    The Piano Lesson

  • Whitewash: The Clarence Brandley Story

    Whitewash: The Clarence Brandley Story

  • Naked City: A Killer Christmas

    Naked City: A Killer Christmas

  • Percy & Thunder

    Percy & Thunder

  • The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays

    The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays

  • Love and Action in Chicago

    Love and Action in Chicago

  • Nonsense and Lullabyes: Nursery Rhymes

    Nonsense and Lullabyes: Nursery Rhymes

  • Ambushed

    Ambushed

  • The Photograph

    The Photograph

  • The Boys Next Door

    The Boys Next Door

  • The Affair

    The Affair

  • Heist 88

    Heist 88

  • The Groveland Four

    The Groveland Four

  • Beyond the Law

    Beyond the Law

  • The Fight

    The Fight

  • The Preacher's Wife

    The Preacher's Wife

  • Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson

    Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson

  • Holy Matrimony

    Holy Matrimony

  • In the Line of Duty: Street War

    In the Line of Duty: Street War

  • Nonsense and Lullabyes: Poems

    Nonsense and Lullabyes: Poems

  • Henry Louis Gates Jr.: Uncovering America

    Henry Louis Gates Jr.: Uncovering America

  • On Broadway

    On Broadway

  • Hollywood's Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story

    Hollywood's Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story

  • Partners of the Heart

    Partners of the Heart

  • The Acting Class

    The Acting Class

  • The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story

    The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story