David Duchovny

Background

Born to Amram Ducovny and his wife Meg in 1960, David Ducovny was the second child of three. He had an older brother named Daniel, and a younger sister named Laurie. His father Amram, removed the ‘h’ in his last name to curtail mispronunciations he faced while serving in the army. Born to a Jewish father and Lutheran mother, Duchovny was schooled at The Collegiate School for Boys in Manhattan, and then attended Princeton University, where he played basketball and graduated with an A.B. in English literature. He went on to obtain a Master of Arts in English Literature from Yale University and studied to earn a Ph.D. However, he didn’t complete his studies, and his doctoral thesis remains uncompleted.

He first appeared on T.V. in an advertisement for ‘Löwenbräu’ beer in 1987. He then played the role of Tess’ friend in the movie “Working Girl” in 1988. He had a couple of other roles in the series “Twin Peaks” as Denise Bryson, a transgender D.E.A. agent; and Rollie Totheroh in “Chaplin,” based on the life of Charlie Chaplin between 1990 and 1992. He landed his breakthrough role in 1993 when he played FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder in “The X-Files.” In that same year, he was cast in the film “Kalifornia,” alongside Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis. He also provided the voice for a parody of his Mulder character in an episode of the comedy series “The Simpsons,” titled “The Springfield Files.”

Duchovny has been nominated for four Emmy Awards, and guest-hosted “Saturday Night Live” twice in 1995 and 1998 respectively. He played the role of Hank Moody, a troubled novelist from 2007 to 2014 in the series, “Californication,” and received a Golden Globe Award in 2007 for his performance. After featuring in several other films and shows, he put his acting career on hold in 2017, to focus on being a novelist and musician.

Duchovny tied the knot with actress Téa Leoni in 1997, and their union produced two children named Madelaine West and Kyd Miller. Sadly, the couple parted ways in 2008, and he underwent treatment for sex addiction later that year. Duchovny and Leoni reunited but then separated again in 2011. The settlement terms for their separation were agreed upon in August, after Duchovny filed for divorce in June, that year. He is a pescatarian and a strong supporter of environmentalism.