Scott "Taye" Diggs was born on January 2nd, 1972, in New Jersey. The eldest of five siblings, Diggs was raised in Rochester, New York.
Since his youth, Diggs was affectionately called "Scottaye" by his friends, which was eventually shortened to "Taye"; the nickname stuck. After attending high school at Rochester's School of the Arts, Diggs enrolled in Syracuse University, majoring in musical theater.
During his time there, he honed his skills singing in a band called Zoo Trip. He received his BFA in 1993, then spent a year playing bit parts on Broadway, including an appearance in the Tony Award-winning revival of Carousel.
Later, Diggs went abroad for eight months, singing in the Caribbean cabaret at Tokyo Disneyland. When Diggs returned to the United States, he auditioned for a few more Broadway roles before landing the part that would launch him to stardom.
Diggs was cast as Benny, the landlord, in the original production of the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning musical Rent (1996-'97).
Rent proved to reap personal, as well as professional, dividends for Diggs. He began to date castmate Idina Menzel, who played Maureen, and despite their characters' onstage antagonism, Diggs and Menzel fell in love.
Amid budding romance, Diggs made his first foray into film. In 1998, he made his debut co-starring with Angela Bassett in the film adaptation of Terry McMillan's novel How Stella Got Her Groove Back.
With this auspicious start behind him, Diggs landed roles in a number of ensemble films in 1999, including Go, The Wood, House on Haunted Hill, and The Best Man, which he considers one of his personal bests.
In 2001, Diggs began to portray the recurring character of Jackson Duper, a "rainmaker" lawyer, on TV's Ally McBeal.
The following year saw Diggs take roles in Brown Sugar, Equilibrium, and the Oscar-winning Chicago, which he followed up with an appearance in Basic and Malibu's Most Wanted (2003).
In January 2003, Diggs married Idina Menzel in a private ceremony at the Round Hill resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica. They have a Yorkshire Terrier named Sammy Davis, Jr. and two cats named Ella and Coltrane, who they call their "jazz cats."
Diggs, also portrayed the title character on the short-lived UPN television series Kevin Hill, and is playing the character of Dr. Sam Bennett on the show Private Practice.
(read less)Scott "Taye" Diggs was born on January 2nd, 1972, in New Jersey. The eldest of five siblings, Diggs was raised in Rochester, New York.
Since his youth, Diggs was affectionately called "Scottaye" by his friends, which was eventually shortened to "Taye"; the nickname stuck. After attending high school at Rochester's School of the Arts, Diggs enrolled in Syracuse University, majoring in musical theater.
During his time there, he honed his skills singing in a band called Zoo Trip. He received...
(read more)
