Short Biography

Djimon Gaston Hounsou (born April 24, 1964) is a Beninese actor and model. As an actor, Hounsou has been nominated for two Academy Awards. Hounsou`s film debut was in the 1990 Sandra Bernhard film Without You I’m Nothing, and he has had television parts on Beverly Hills, 90210 and ER and a guest starring role on Alias, but received a larger role in the science fiction film Stargate. His first on-screen appearance was in the 1989 Janet Jackson video “Love Will Never Do (Without You)” from Rhythm Nation 1814, which co-starred Antonio Sabato, Jr. He also starred in a 2002 Gap commercial directed by Peter Lindbergh, dancing to a rendition of John Lee Hooker`s "Boom Boom" by Arrested Development`s Baba Oje. He received wide critical acclaim and a Golden Globe Award nomination for his role as Cinqué in the 1997 Steven Spielberg film Amistad. He gained further notice as Juba, in the 2000 film Gladiator. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for In America, in 2004, becoming the first African to be nominated for an Oscar. That same year, Charlize Theron, a White South African actress, was nominated for her work in Monster, and was the first time that one African man and one African woman were nominated for an Oscar in the same year. In 2006, he won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Blood Diamond; he received Broadcast Film Critics Association, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Academy Award nominations for this performance. Also on the 4th of March 2008 Djimon starred as Jean Roqau in the movie Never Back Down.

Since 2007, Hounsou has been dating model and CEO of the fashion label Baby Phat, Kimora Lee Simmons. On 30 May 2009, Simmons gave birth to their son, Kenzo Lee Hounsou, reportedly named in honour of Japanese fashion designer, Kenzo Takada. Honsou is now a naturalized U.S. citizen and resides in Los Angeles. Hounsou and Simmons were married in 2009 before Kenzo`s birth. Mr. Hounsou spoke at the Summit on Climate Change at the United Nations, on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009.

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