Mark Harmon

Background

Thomas Mark Harmon was born on September 2, 1951, in Burbank, California, and is the youngest son of parents Tom Harmon and Elyse Knox. His father was a Heisman Trophy-winning football player and actor, while his mother was an actress, model, and artist. Harmon has two older sisters, the late Kristin Nelson and Kelly Harmon, both of whom were also involved in the arts like their parents. Harmon played as a quarterback in college at U.C.L.A. between 1971 and 1974. In this sport, he received the National Football Foundation Award for All-Round Excellence and was inducted into the inaugural class of the Pierce College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010.

After college, Harmon started to pursue a career in acting, following in his parent’s footsteps. His first job as an actor was in a show titled “Ozzie’s Girls” in 1973. Throughout the 1970s, Harmon starred in various miniseries and made guest appearances on many shows, including “Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years,” “Sam,” and “Centennial,” among others. The year 1986 was significant for Harmon as his career reached several high points. He was named “People Magazine’s” ‘Sexiest Man Alive,’ he played the lead in the T.V. movies “The Prince of Bel-Air” and “The Deliberate Stranger.” Despite a few high-profile roles in films such as “The Presidio” and “Stealing Home,” Harmon’s film career never took off and he returned to T.V. in 1991.

In 2002, Harmon received his second Emmy Award nomination for his role on “The West Wing” as a secret service agent. He portrayed law enforcement characters for most of his career and this helped him land the role of Leroy Jethro Gibbs in “N.C.I.S.” in 2003. His role in “N.C.I.S.” earned him six People’s Choice Award nominations which included a win for Favorite T.V. Crime Drama Actor in 2017. He has also been a producer and executive producer of the show since 2008.