Taye Diggs Facts: Celebrities Who Started on Soaps

Taye Diggs is an accomplished film and television actor, but he’s also a Broadway legend. The actor is best known for starring on the ABC medical drama Private Practice as Dr. Sam Bennett, but he has also appeared in films like How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Chicago. And he also started on soaps.

Diggs became interested in the world of musical theater at a young age, so it’s no surprise he’s been starring in stage productions for over 25 years. From where he was born and raised to winning a major award, here are five fast facts about the actor.

Who Is Taye Diggs?

Diggs was born on January 2 in Newark, New Jersey, but he was raised in Rochester, New York. He graduated from Syracuse University with a BFA in musical theater and began performing in theater productions in New Hampshire.

Soap Beginnings
After appearing in his first Broadway musical, Carousel, in 1994, Diggs began working in television. He was cast as music producer Adrian “Sugar” Hill on the now-defunct CBS soap Guiding Light in 1997 while he was starring on Broadway in Rent. He left GL by the end of the year.

SAG Winner
Diggs appeared in the movie version of the hit musical, Chicago, in 2002 as The Bandleader. The movie won a number of awards — including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars — but Diggs and the rest of the cast won a SAG Award for Best Acting Ensemble.

From Stage to Big Screen

Diggs was cast as Benny in the original Broadway production of Rent, and he reprised the role in the movie version, along with almost the entire cast, including his now ex-wife, Idina Menzel. The film was released in 2005.

Getting Personal With Taye Diggs
Diggs married Menzel on January 11, 2003. They welcomed their son, Walker Nathaniel Diggs, on September 2, 2009. However, after 10 years of marriage, Diggs and Menzel decided to part ways. Their divorce was finalized on December 3, 2014.