Ulrich Alexander "Rick" Fox (born July 24, 1969) is a Canadian television actor and retired professional basketball player.
Fox was born in Toronto the son of Dorothy, who was an Olympic high jumper, and Ulrich Fox. His father was Bahamian and his mother an Italian Canadian. Fox's family moved to his father's native Bahamas when Fox was three. He attended Kingsway Academy in Nassau, where he was a member of the high school's basketball team, the "Saints". Fox also played high school basketball in Warsaw, Indiana. After two seasons (1984-1986) at Warsaw, Fox was projected to have a monster senior season. Just prior to his senior season, the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) ruled that he was ineligible and not allowed to participate in any IHSAA games. Despite not playing his senior season, Fox was voted onto the Indiana All-Star team in 1987.
He then went on to star collegiately at the University of North Carolina where his highlights included leading the Tar Heels to the 1991 NCAA Final Four. Rick currently holds two UNC all time records for most career steals with 197 and is tied for most career appearances.
Fox began his pro-basketball career when he was selected by the Boston Celtics in the first round (24th pick overall) of the 1991 NBA Draft. Fox played for thirteen seasons in the NBA (from 1991–1997 with Boston and from 1997–2004 with the Los Angeles Lakers).
He was the first Celtics rookie forward to start in his first appearance since Larry Bird's debut in 1979. He retired prior to the 2004-05 season after being traded to the Celtics, along with Gary Payton. The Lakers won three NBA championships during his tenure with them.
Fox played internationally for Canada once, at the 1994 FIBA Basketball World Championship held in Toronto. His team was eliminated on the final possession of a game against Greece.
Fox's acting credits include playing prison inmate Jackson Vahue on the HBO prison drama Oz. He has also appeared in a number of basketball themed films, namely Eddie, He Got Game, and Blue Chips. Fox was a producer of The 1 Second Film, the largest collaborative nonprofit film ever created.
He has guest starred in One Tree Hill, "Missing" (TV series Lifetime) and Shark, with James Woods. He also appeared in the movie Holes.
In 2007, Fox signed on with the show Dirt to play a recurring role in a multiepisode storyline. He also had a part in the latest adaptation from Tyler Perry, Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns as Harry, Angela Bassett's love interest. He played Wilhelmina Slater's bodyguard in the second season of Ugly Betty, opposite his former wife.
He has had a guest starring role on the CW series The Game.
Fox married the actress/singer Vanessa L. Williams in a quiet ceremony in the Bahamas; they then followed with an elaborate ceremony in New York in September 1999. Fox and Williams have a daughter, Sasha, born on May 1, 2000. After The National Enquirer published pictures of Fox kissing another woman in mid-2004, Fox's representative announced that the couple had been "headed toward divorce" for over a year. In August 2004, Fox filed for divorce. During some press interviews, Williams cast some doubt on the divorce status, but while visiting the Howard Stern radio show in March 2005, she said that while she and Fox were intimate with each other briefly during the 2004 holidays, a reconciliation was unlikely. Fox and Williams remain friendly.
