Jaleel White

Background

Jaleel Ahmad White was born in Culver City, California, to parents Michael and Gail White. After high school, he enrolled in U.C.L.A. and graduated in 2001. White began acting in preschool and began appearing in television commercials when he was three, including an ad for Jell-O pudding pops with Bill Cosby. His first television role was on “The Jeffersons” back in 1984. The following year, he appeared in “Charlie and Company” until the show was canceled in 1986. White went on to star in a few other short-lived television programs.

White’s big break came in 1989 when he was 12 and cast for the one-off role of Steve Urkel on “Family Matters.” The character was only supposed to appear on the show once but quickly gained fan favor, leading to White becoming a regular. Urkel became so popular that White often appeared in commercials while playing the character. The series went on for nine seasons and ended in 1998. By then, White had allegedly grown to hate the character.

In 1993, White was cast as the original English voice of Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog. He voiced the beloved animated character in “Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog,” “Sonic SatAM,” “Sonic Underground,” and “Sonic Christmas Blast.” Since then, the actor has appeared in “Dreamgirls,” “Bones,” and, most recently, Netflix’s “The Big Show Show.” He also made a few guest appearances on popular television shows like “House,” “Castle,” and “Psych.” White has one daughter, Samaya, born in 2009, with ex-girlfriend Bridget Hardy.