(1972-)

Who Is Josh Duhamel?

Josh Duhamel worked as a model before becoming an actor. He landed his first big role on a soap opera, then starred in the primetime series Las Vegas. Duhamel has also appeared in the Transformers movie franchise, romantic comedies and dramatic films. He married Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie in 2009 and they split in 2017.

Early Life

Joshua David Duhamel was born on November 14, 1972, in Minot, North Dakota. His parents divorced when he was in the fourth grade, with Duhamel and his three sisters remaining with their mother. Despite the split, he stayed close to both of his parents. As a child, he also had a tight-knit circle of friends, relationships that he still maintains.

Duhamel spent his high school and college years pursuing his passion for athletics. Though he was a quarterback at Minot State University, he realized a pro sports career wasn’t in the cards. He decided instead on dentistry, and majored in biology as preparation, but dropped out just short of graduation. (Ten years later, he completed his degree.)

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From Modeling to Movies

After leaving college, Duhamel followed a girlfriend to northern California in 1995. A career in modeling soon began to take shape. While working as a model, Duhamel beat out another future Hollywood heartthrob, Ashton Kutcher, as male model of the year at a 1997 convention.

Following a move to Los Angeles, Duhamel began to seriously pursue acting. In 1999, he nabbed a role as the charming, yet conniving, Leo du Pres on the soap opera All My Children. The part garnered him three Daytime Emmy Award nominations, with a win as Outstanding Supporting Actor in 2003.

Duhamel segued into prime time in 2003, appearing alongside James Caan in Las Vegas. He stayed with the television show for its entire five-season run. Duhamel also broke into films, working opposite Kate Bosworth in the romantic comedy Win a Date With Tad Hamilton! (2004).

Film and Television Career

Duhamel gained even more exposure when, along with Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, he starred in Transformers, a 2007 blockbuster directed by Michael Bay. He reprised his action hero role in the Transformers sequels that were released in 2009 and 2011.

In addition to action movies, Duhamel has appeared as a leading man in dramas and romantic comedies. He shared screen time with Katie Holmes and Anna Paquin in The Romantics (2010), Katherine Heigl in Life as We Know It (2010) and Julianne Hough in Safe Haven (2013). He has also taken roles in edgier films, including Scenic Route, which premiered at the 2013 South by Southwest film festival.

Since then, Duhamel has taken on a number of roles on the small and big screens. Duhamel has lent his voice to the animated series Jake and the Never Land Pirates and starred as Milt Chamberlain the short-lived dramedy-crime series Battle Creek. In February 2016, he starred opposite James Franco in the television mini-series 11.22.63. He’s starred in the drama You’re Not You (2014), Bravetown and Lost in the Sun, both in 2015, and Misconduct (2016).

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Personal Life and Wife

The tables were turned on heartthrob Duhamel during his first encounter with his admitted celebrity crush, Fergie. The two met when the Black Eyed Peas singer made a cameo appearance on Duhamel’s TV show, Las Vegas, but a date took some convincing. “Her friends actually had to talk her into going out with me,” he confessed to Ellen DeGeneres in a 2007 interview.

Having won Fergie over, the pair wed in 2009. Later that year, the relationship was rocked by a stripper’s accusations that Duhamel had cheated on Fergie. The couple stayed together; in a 2012 appearance on Oprah’s Next Chapter, Duhamel revealed to Oprah Winfrey that dealing with the difficult situation had, in the end, strengthened their relationship, and in 2013, they welcomed son Axl Jack into their family.

However, after eight years of marriage, the couple announced in September 2017 that they were separating. “With absolute love and respect we decided to separate as a couple earlier this year,” the couple said in a joint statement. “To give our family the best opportunity to adjust, we wanted to keep this a private matter before sharing it with the public. We are and will always be united in our support of each other and our family.”

QUICK FACTS

  • Name: Josh Duhamel
  • Birth Year: 1972
  • Birth date: November 14, 1972
  • Birth State: North Dakota
  • Birth City: Minot
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Josh Duhamel is an American actor known for his television and movie roles, including the ‘Transformers’ franchise.
  • Industries
    • Television
    • Film
  • Astrological Sign: Scorpio
  • Schools
    • Minot State University
  • Interesting Facts
    • Early in his career, Josh Duhamel appeared as an extra in the music video for Christina Aguilera’s “Genie In a Bottle.”
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QUOTES

  • I want to do good work, but having kids and a life outside of that is important, too. If you don’t have anybody around who loves you, then what’s it all for?
  • I grew up like Huck Finn, always outdoors, exploring, collecting frogs—there was space everywhere.