Tahj Mowry

Tahj Mowry
Mowry performing in November 2009
Born
Tahj Dayton Mowry[1]

(1986-05-17) May 17, 1986 (age 38)[1]
Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.[1]
Alma materPepperdine University
Occupations
  • Actor
  • singer
Years active1990–present
RelativesTia Mowry (sister)
Tamera Mowry (sister)

Tahj Dayton Mowry (/tɑːʒ ˈmɔːri/; born May 17, 1986) is an American actor and singer. He is the brother of identical twin actresses Tia Mowry and Tamera Mowry and is known for his role on the show Smart Guy as the main character TJ on The WB, though the show gained later recognition on Disney Channel. Mowry was cast as the voice of ten-year-old super genius Wade Load on Kim Possible as a nod to this role. He is also known for his roles as Michelle Tanner's best friend Teddy on Full House and Tucker Dobbs on Freeform's comedy show Baby Daddy.

Early life

Tahj Dayton Mowry was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on May 17, 1986. His mother, Darlene Renée (née Flowers), managed her children's careers. His father, Timothy John Mowry, became a custody officer/jailer with the City of Glendale Police Department when the family moved to California.[1][2]

His father has British and Irish ancestry, and his mother is of Afro-Bahamian descent.[3][4] His parents met in high school in Miami, Florida. Both joined the U.S. Army, and eventually reached the rank of Sergeant.[5] His older twin sisters are Tia and Tamera Mowry and he also has a younger brother named Tavior. He played football at Birmingham High School in Lake Balboa before transferring to Westlake High School in Thousand Oaks, California, and one season of football at Savannah State University and the University of Wyoming. He attended Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, where his sisters Tia and Tamera both graduated.

Career

Mowry starred and is perhaps best known as T.J. Henderson, a child prodigy, on the sitcom Smart Guy. He also played Teddy on the sitcom Full House. Mowry has appeared in Disney Channel movies such as Hounded and The Poof Point. He had a guest role on the Disney Channel Original Series, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and in a Star Trek: Voyager episode titled "Innocence". Mowry appeared in the movie Are We Done Yet? as Danny Pulu and in Seventeen Again as Willie Donovan. Mowry also had an appearance in one episode in the fourth season of Desperate Housewives. He guest-starred on an episode of The Game as Melanie Barnett's brother, acting alongside his real-life sister Tia who played Melanie Barnett in the series. Mowry performed the voice of Wade in the Disney Channel animated series Kim Possible.

He sang "Shine Your Light On Me" for School's Out! Christmas, "Circle of Life'" on the Disney Channel Circle of Stars recording of The Lion King included on the Platinum Edition DVD, and was featured on a single called "Kick It Out" with Boom Boom Satellites and Flo Rida. Mowry also appeared in an episode of Friends where Phoebe sings to kindergartners.

He starred as Tucker Dobbs in the ABC Family sitcom Baby Daddy, which premiered on June 20, 2012. Mowry released his debut single called "Flirt", produced by Excel Beats, in April 2015.[6] He released a six-song EP titled Future Funk on August 4, 2015. It featured tracks like "Bossy", "Dancing Alone", and "End of the Road".[7] He appeared on the daytime talk show The Real with his sister and co-host Tamera Mowry and was a guest co-host for three episodes. In 2023, he began starring in the Disney+ series The Muppets Mayhem.[8]

Personal life

Mowry dated actress Naya Rivera between 2000 and 2004, after the two worked together on Smart Guy in the 1990s. Rivera remained close with Tahj and his sisters, Tia and Tamera, until her death, and had once helped the sisters find an apartment when they got kicked out of their house.[9]

On July 12, 2020, Mowry posted an Instagram tribute to Rivera, while search operations were underway for her after she went missing while swimming on July 8 at Lake Piru in Southern California.[10] Rivera's body was recovered the next day.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1991 Rappin' N' Rhymin' Himself
1994 Disney Sing Along Songs : Let's Go to the Circus Himself
1999 We Wish You a Merry Christmas Ollie
2000 Seventeen Again Willie Donovan
2001 Hounded Jay Martin
2001 The Poof Point Eddie Ballard
2003 Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time Wade Load Voice
2005 Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama
2007 Are We Done Yet? Danny Pulu
2021 Welcome Matt Matt
2021 Let's Get Merried Finn
2022 Me Time Kabir

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1990 Who's the Boss? Greg Episode: "Who's Minding the Kid?"
1991–1995 Full House Teddy 14 episodes
1992–1993 Out All Night Shavon 5 episodes
1993 Where I Live Jimmy Episode: "The Terminator"
1994 Sonic the Hedgehog Young Sonic (voice)[1] 2-part episode: "Blast to the Past"
1994–1995 Aladdin King Mamoud
Tanti 		2 episodes
1995–1998 Sister, Sister Cousin Tahj
Sammy T.J 		4 episodes
1995 What-a-Mess Additional Voices Season 3
1996 Star Trek: Voyager Corin Episode: "Innocence"
1996 Minor Adjustments Kenny Episode: "A Christmas Story"
1996 Friends Kid Episode: "The One After the Superbowl (Part one)"
1997 The Weird Al Show Himself Episode: "Because I Said So"
1997–1999 Smart Guy T.J. Henderson Main role; 51 episodes
2001–2005 Express Yourself Himself Interstitial series
2002–2007 Kim Possible Wade Load (voice) Main role; 86 episodes
2005 Lilo & Stitch: The Series Episode: "Rufus: Experiment #607"
2006 The Suite Life of Zack & Cody Brandon Episode: "Scary Movie"
2007 Desperate Housewives Matt Episode: "Smiles of a Summer Night"
2012–2017 Baby Daddy Tucker Dobbs Main role; 100 episodes
2015 The Real Himself Guest Co-Host
2021 Family Reunion Mr. Dean Episode: "Remember When Shaka Did the Robot?"
2021 Black Don't Crack Khalil Grant Main role; Unsold pilot
2022 How We Roll Lew Recurring role
2023 The Muppets Mayhem Gary "Moog" Moogowski Main role

Awards

Awards
Year Result Award Category Nominated Work
1992 Nominated Young Artist Awards Exceptional Performance by a Young Actor Under 10 Full House
1998 Nominated Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series: Leading Young Performer Smart Guy
Nominated YoungStar Awards Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Comedy TV Series
1999 Nominated Image Awards Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress
2000 Nominated Image Awards Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress
2001 Nominated Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a TV Movie (Comedy): Supporting Young Actor Seventeen Again
2013 Nominated Teen Choice Awards Scene Stealer: Male Baby Daddy
2014 Nominated Teen Choice Awards Scene Stealer: Male

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Tahj Mowry Biography (1987-)". Advameg, Inc. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
  2. ^ "Tia and Tamera Interview". Archived from the original on October 19, 2009. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
  3. ^ During an appearance on The Wendy Williams Show in 2010, it was stated that for years that the Mowrys believed they had Italian ancestry on their father's side. However, after researching their family tree on Ancestry.com, they discovered that their father has British ancestry: "We're actually British."
  4. ^ "'My Ancestors Live in Me': Tia Mowry-Hardrict Gets Emotional Over DNA Ancestry Results". Atlanta Black Star. January 14, 2020.
  5. ^ Double Devotion – Today's Christian. Web.archive.org (January 9, 2008). Retrieved on July 5, 2011.
  6. ^ Monaé, Ashley (April 29, 2015). "Tahj Mowry Wants To 'Flirt' With You (Video)". Vibe.
  7. ^ Shine on Media (July 2, 2015). "Tahj Mowry Talks New Music, "Babby Daddy" & "Fuller House"". Youtube. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021.
  8. ^ Del Rosario, Alexandra (April 5, 2022). "'The Muppets Mayhem': Tahj Mowry Joins Lilly Singh For Disney+ Comedy Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  9. ^ Alexander, Bryan. "'Rest sweet Naya': Ricky Martin, 'Glee's Lea Michele, more stars react to Naya Rivera's tragic death". USA Today. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  10. ^ Gariano, Francesca (July 11, 2020). "Tahj Mowry says Naya Rivera was his 1st love in heartbreaking tribute". Today. Retrieved July 12, 2020.