Shemar Moore

Shemar Franklin Moore (born April 20, 1970) is an American actor. His notable roles include Malcolm Winters on The Young and the Restless (1994–2002, 2004–05, 2014, 2019, 2023), Derek Morgan on Criminal Minds (2005–17), and the lead role of Sergeant II Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson on S.W.A.T. (2017–25) all on CBS. Moore was also the third permanent host of Soul Train from 1999-2003. Moore is also known for playing G.U.N. Agent Randall Handel in the second and third films of the Sonic the Hedgehog film series.

Shemar Moore
Moore in 1995
Born	Shemar Franklin Moore (1970-04-20) April 20, 1970 (age 55) Oakland, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Santa Clara University (BA)
Occupations	Actor producer model presenter
Years active	1994–present
Partner	Jesiree Dizon (2020–2025)
Children	1
Awards	Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2000) NAACP Image Awards (8)

Moore has won eight NAACP Image Awards as well as the 2000 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his work on The Young and the Restless. He was nominated for a People's Choice Award in 2016 for his work on Criminal Minds.

Early life

Moore was born in Oakland, California, the son of Marilyn Wilson, a teacher, and Sherrod Moore.^[1] Moore's father was African-American and his mother, who was born in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, was of Irish and French-Canadian descent.^[2][3][4] His mother, who had 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.^[5] 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.^[4] 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. A gifted and talented child, Moore attended The Nueva School in Hillsborough, California before graduating from Gunn High School in Palo Alto.^[6][4] Moore was awarded an athletic scholarship to attend Santa Clara University where he played varsity baseball as both a pitcher and an outfielder all four years. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications with a minor in Theater Arts.^[7]

Career

Moore (left) with other Criminal Minds cast members

Moore is best known for his role as Malcolm Winters on the CBS television soap opera The Young and the Restless for more than a decade. 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."^[8]

During his time on The Young and the Restless, Moore was the host of the syndicated version of the series Soul Train from 1999 until 2003,^[9] and he appeared in the 2001 feature film The Brothers.^[10] He portrayed Detective Jesse Reese on the television series Birds of Prey from 2002 to 2003.^[11] Moore played 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.^[12] He also appeared in the romantic comedy The Seat Filler with Kelly Rowland and Duane Martin.^[13]

In 2005, Moore began playing Derek Morgan in the original cast of Criminal Minds.^[8] In March 2016, he left the role, after 251 episodes, in episode 18 of season 11, "A Beautiful Disaster".^[14]

In February 2017, it was announced that Moore would star in CBS's new series titled S.W.A.T., based on the 2003 film and 1975 television series of the same name.^[15] The show has now filmed eight seasons.^[16]

In June 2021, it was announced that Moore had joined the cast of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, as Randall Handel.^[17][18] He also stars as the "Unnecessary Action Hero" in a series of commercials for Paycom.^[19]

Moore worked as a model during his college years.^[20] He is signed to DNA Model Management in New York City. Moore appeared on the March 2009 issue of Men's Fitness magazine.^[21]

Personal life

Moore dated soccer player Shawna Gordon from 2014 to 2016.^[22] In 2018, he dated Quantico actress Anabelle Acosta.^[23] On January 9, 2023, he announced the due date of his first child with his girlfriend, Jesiree Dizon.^[24] The couple's daughter was born January 24, 2023.^[25] In January 2025, it was reported Dizon and Moore were no longer involved.^[26]

Moore formed a retail clothing company known as Baby Girl LLC. The company's profits are used to help fight multiple sclerosis,^[27] a disease Moore's mother had. The organization's name is derived from a phrase used by Moore's character, Derek Morgan, on Criminal Minds.^[28] In 2016, actor Keith Tisdell pleaded guilty to grand theft charges after stealing more than $60,000 from Baby Girl LLC, and agreed to repay the amount.^[28][29]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Hav Plenty	Chris
1998	Butter	Freddy Roland
2001	The Brothers	Terry White
2004	Motives	Emery Simms
	Greener	Ricky Johnson
2005	The Seat Filler	Trent
	Diary of a Mad Black Woman	Orlando
2007	Motives 2	Emery Simms
2013	Kill Me, Deadly	Bill the Piano Player
2014	Justice League: War [30]	Victor Stone / Cyborg	Voice role[31]
2015	Justice League: Throne of Atlantis
2016	The Bounce Back	Matthew Taylor
	Justice League vs. Teen Titans [32]	Victor Stone / Cyborg	Voice role[31]
2018	The Death of Superman[33]
2019	Reign of the Supermen[34]
2020	Justice League Dark: Apokolips War[35]
2022	Sonic the Hedgehog 2	Randall Handel
2024	Sonic the Hedgehog 3		Cameo

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994–2005, 2014, 2019, 2023	The Young and the Restless	Malcolm Winters	Contract role (1994–2005); guest appearances (2014–23)
1995	Living Single	Jon Marc	Episode: "The Last Temptation"
1996	The Jamie Foxx Show	Elister	Episode: "Kiss & Tell"
1997	The Nanny	Malcolm Winters	Episode: "The Heather Biblow Story"
	Arliss	Sammy Stilton	Episode: "How to Be a Good Listener"
1998	Chicago Hope	Bobby Barrett	Episode: "Waging Bull"
	Mama Flora's Family	Lincoln Fleming	Television film
1999	Moesha	Earl Thomas	Episode: "Had to Be You"
	For Your Love	Dakota Collins	Episode: "Baby Boom"
	Malcolm & Eddie	Ty	Episode: "Won't Power"
1999–2003	Soul Train	Himself	Host
2000	How to Marry a Billionaire: A Christmas Tale	Jason Hunt	Television film
2002–03	Birds of Prey	Jesse Reese	Main role
2003	Chasing Alice	Adam	Television film
2004	Nikki and Nora	Corby
	Reversible Errors	Collins Farwell
	Half & Half	Amani Love	Episode: "The Big Good Help Is Hard to Find Episode"
2005–17	Criminal Minds	Derek Morgan	Main role (seasons 1–11); special guest (seasons 12–13)
2017–25	S.W.A.T.	Sergeant Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson Jr.	Main role
2020	American Soul	N/A	Executive producer (season 2)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
1996	Daytime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series	The Young and the Restless	Nominated
	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series		Nominated
1997				Nominated
	Daytime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
1998	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series		Won
1999				Won
2000				Won
	Daytime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series		Won
2001	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series		Won
2002				Won
2005				Won
	Black Reel Awards	Best Actor, Independent Film	Motives	Nominated
2006	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series	The Young and the Restless	Won
		Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture	Diary of a Mad Black Woman	Nominated
2014		Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series	Criminal Minds	Nominated
2015				Won
2016	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Crime Drama TV Actor		Nominated