Shemar Moore

Oakland, California, U.S.

**Shemar Franklin Moore** (born April 20, 1970) is an American actor and former fashion model. His notable roles are that of Malcolm Winters on *The Young and the Restless* from 1994 to 2005, Derek Morgan on CBS's *Criminal Minds* from 2005 to 2017, and as the third permanent host of *Soul Train* from 1999 to 2003.

From 2002–2003 he was the lead in the television series *Birds of Prey*. In 2017 he became the lead in the television series *S.W.A.T.* For his roles Moore won eight Image Awards for his roles on *The Young and the Restless* and *Criminal Minds*, and the 2000 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his role on *The Young and the Restless*. He was also nominated for a People's Choice Award for his role on *Criminal Minds*.

## Early life and education

Moore was born in Oakland, California, the son of Marilyn Wilson, a business consultant, and Sherrod Moore. Moore's father is African American and his mother, who was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, is of Irish and French-Canadian descent. His mother, who has a degree in Mathematics, worked as a teacher in Bahrain and Denmark. Moore moved with her to Denmark as an infant, and then to Bahrain when he was four, where he attended a British private school until the age of seven. His grandmother is from Quebec City, Canada.

Moore cites civil unrest, interracial relationships being taboo, and racism in the U.S. in the 1970s as part of the reason his mother moved abroad with him. Returning to the U.S. in 1977, the family moved to Chico, California, where his mother worked at a clinic, before later moving to Palo Alto. Moore graduated from Gunn High School in Palo Alto. He attended Santa Clara University, majoring in Communication, minoring in Theatre Arts, and modeled to pay his bills. His mother now lives in Redondo Beach, California, where he occasionally visits.

## Career

Moore played the role of Malcolm Winters on *The Young and the Restless* for eight years. In November 2004, he returned to *The Young and the Restless* after originally planning to leave the show, but after a few months he dropped back to recurring status and left in September 2005. In 2007, he said, "My time is done on *Y&R*. I did eight solid years as Malcolm."  When Susan Lucci won her long-awaited Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a drama series at the 1999 Daytime Emmy Awards, Moore announced it by exclaiming, "The streak is over...Susan Lucci!"

He was the host of the syndicated version of the series *Soul Train* from 2000 until 2003, and appeared in the 2001 feature film *The Brothers*. He portrayed Detective Jesse Reese on the television series *Birds of Prey* from 2002 to 2003. Moore played the role of Emery Simms in the 2004 film *Motives* alongside Vivica Fox and Golden Brooks, and had a supporting role in the film *Diary of a Mad Black Woman*. He also appeared in the romantic comedy *The Seat Filler* with Kelly Rowland and Duane Martin.

In 2005, Moore began playing Derek Morgan in *Criminal Minds*. It was the seventh pilot in which he was cast. He is signed to DNA Model Management in New York City. Moore appeared on the March 2009 issue of *Men's Fitness* magazine. Moore exited *Criminal Minds* after 11 seasons and 251 episodes in episode 18 of season 11, "A Beautiful Disaster" on March 23, 2016.

In February 2017, it was announced that Moore would star in CBS's new series entitled *S.W.A.T.*, based on the 2003 film *S.W.A.T.*

## Personal life

Moore came out as gay in 2012, and announced that him and American comedian and television host Tyler Sherman were in a relationship. They've been in that relationship since 2011. Their relationship has been under high demand and has been called the "model of gay relationships".

## External links

* Biography at CBS – Criminal Minds
* Shemar Moore on IMDb
* Shemar Moore on TVGuide.com