Evan Ross

Evan Ross
Ross attending the second issue release of the Girls Gone Wild magazine party at Les Deux, Hollywood, in June 2008.
Born	Evan Olav Næss (1988-08-26) August 26, 1988 Greenwich, Connecticut, United States
Other names	Evan Olav Ross
Occupation	Actor, musician
Years active	2005–present

Evan Olav Næss (born August 26, 1988), professionally known as Evan Ross, is an American actor and musician. He is the son of entertainer Diana Ross. He is the half-brother of actresses Rhonda Ross Kendrick and Tracee Ellis Ross, and of singer Leona Naess. He began acting in the mid 2000s, appearing in the films ATL and Pride. Evan released his first single in February 2011, called "Yes Me".

Early life

Ross was born Evan Olav Næss on August 26, 1988, in Greenwich, Connecticut, to entertainer Diana Ross and Norwegian businessman and mountaineer, Arne Næss, Jr., who was of German and Norwegian descent.^[1][2] He has three maternal half-sisters (Tracee Ellis Ross, Rhonda Ross Kendrick and Chudney Ross), three paternal half-brothers and two paternal half-sisters (Christoffer, Nicklas, Louis, Leona Næss and Katinka) and only one brother from both (Ross Næss). In 2004, Ross's father was killed in a climbing accident while in South Africa.

Acting career

Ross began his career as an actor while a student at Greenwich High School. His first major role was in the film, ATL, released in March 2006, in which he co-starred with rappers T.I. and Big Boi. Ross received rave reviews for his role as a troubled teenager in Life Support, along with Queen Latifah and Tracee Ellis Ross, who portrayed Evan's elder sister in the movie and is his real life sister. Ross later co-starred in the biography, Pride, in which he portrayed a good natured teen with a speech impediment. He also appeared (uncredited on-screen) in episode 171 of Girlfriends. The episode, titled "What's Black-A-Lackin'?", also had Chrisette Michele as a guest star, and was directed by Tracee Ellis Ross.^[3] Ross is involved in several other movies, including Linewatch with Cuba Gooding, Jr. in 2008, and he finished a role in the indie film Life Is Hot in Cracktown. He starred as the love interest of Hilary Duff's character in the 2009 comedy drama According to Greta. He also appeared in the Notorious B.I.G. 2005 video Nasty Girl and the Lionel Richie video Just Go.

In 2010, Ross joined the cast of the CW series 90210 in its third season, where he plays Liam Court's (Matt Lanter) half brother and love interest to Annie Wilson played by Shenae Grimes.^[4] His next high profile 2011 film is the critically acclaimed film festival winner, "Mooz-lum" that also stars Danny Glover and Nia Long. According to IMDB, he has 21 film projects in various stages of production. He will be starring alongside Brittany Snow in the thriller 96 Minutes. Which was released April 28, 2012 in select cities. Evan won the "Breakout Acting" award at SXSW.

Ross has been cast to portray music producer Dallas Austin in the upcoming VH1 biopic, "TLC", about the 1990s girl group.

Ross was cast as Messalla in the upcoming The Hunger Games: Mockingjay (Part 1 and Part 2), scheduled for release in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Music career

In 2007, Ross began recording his debut album, which will encompass R&B and pop.^[5] After four years in the studio, Evan released his single "Yes Me" in February 25, 2011 which was produced by Tony DeNiro & written by them together.^[6]

Personal life

In July 2013, it was reported that Ross had begun dating singer Ashlee Simpson.^[7] They became engaged in January 2014.^[8]

Filmography

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Evan Ross.

• Evan Ross at the Internet Movie Database
• Official Website