Ted Danson Biography: Award, Movies, Wife, Net Worth, Real Name, Age, Kids, Parents, Siblings

Ted Danson is a famous American actor, producer, and activist who has starred in many movies and TV shows.

He is best known for his roles as Sam Malone in Cheers, Jack Holden in Three Men and a Baby, Dr. John Becker in Becker, and Michael in The Good Place.

He is also a co-founder of Oceana, an organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the world’s oceans.

Profile

• Full name: Edward Bridge Danson III
• Nickname: Ted
• Date of birth: December 29, 1947
• Age: 75 years old
• Gender: Male
• Place of birth: San Diego, California, USA
• Nationality: American
• Profession: Actor, producer, activist
• Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
• Parents: Edward Bridge Danson Jr. (father), Jessica MacMaster (mother)
• Siblings: Jan Ann Haury (sister)
• Spouse: Mary Steenburgen (m. 1995), Casey Coates (m. 1977; div. 1993), Randy Danson (m. 1970; div. 1975)
• Children: Kate Danson, Alexis Danson (biological daughters), Charlie McDowell, Lilly McDowell (stepchildren)
• Relationship status: Married
• Net worth: $80 million

Early Life & Education

Edward Bridge Danson III, better known as Ted Danson, was born on December 29, 1947, in San Diego, California, to Edward Bridge Danson Jr., an archaeologist and museum director, and Jessica MacMaster, an English teacher. Ted turned 75 in 2023.

He has one sister, Jan Ann Haury, an archaeologist. He grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona, where his father worked at the Museum of Northern Arizona.

He attended Kent School, a boarding school in Connecticut, where he was a star basketball player.

He then enrolled at Stanford University, where he studied drama, but transferred to Carnegie Mellon University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drama in 1972.

Personal Life

Ted Danson has been married three times and has two biological daughters and two stepchildren. His first marriage was to actress Randy Danson in 1970, but they divorced in 1975.

His second marriage was to producer Casey Coates in 1977, who suffered a stroke during the birth of their first daughter, Kate, in 1979.

Danson devoted much of his time and money to care for her, but they separated in 1992 and divorced in 1993. During this period, he also had a highly publicized affair with actress Whoopi Goldberg, his co-star in the film Made in America.

His third and current marriage is to actress Mary Steenburgen, whom he met on the set of the film Pontiac Moon in 1993.

They married in 1995 and have been together ever since. They have two stepchildren from Steenburgen’s previous marriage to actor Malcolm McDowell: Charlie and Lilly. Danson also has another daughter, Alexis, who was adopted by him and Coates in 1984.

Danson and Steenburgen live in Los Angeles, California, and have a house in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. They are active in various environmental and social causes, such as Oceana, Heifer International, and the Clinton Foundation.

Career

Ted Danson began his acting career in the early 1970s, appearing in various commercials, soap operas, and TV movies.

He made his film debut in The Onion Field in 1979, playing a detective kidnapped and murdered by two criminals. He then had minor roles in films such as Body Heat, The Women’s Room, and Creepshow.

His breakthrough came in 1982 when he was cast as Sam Malone, a former baseball player and bartender, in the NBC sitcom Cheers.

The show was a huge success and ran for 11 seasons, making Danson one of the most popular and highest-paid TV actors of the 1980s and 1990s.

He won two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for his role and was nominated for several other awards.

He also starred in several comedy films during this period, such as Three Men and a Baby, Three Men and a Little Lady, Cousins, and Made in America.

After Cheers ended in 1993, Danson continued working in film and TV with less success. He starred in the short-lived sitcoms Ink and The Good Life and had supporting roles in films such as Getting Even with Dad, Saving Private Ryan, and Mumford.

He also appeared in TV movies and miniseries, such as Gulliver’s Travels, Thanks of a Grateful Nation, and Living with the Dead.

In 1998, he returned to TV comedy with the CBS sitcom Becker, playing a grumpy, sarcastic doctor who runs a small practice in the Bronx. The show ran for six seasons and earned Danson another Emmy nomination.

He also starred in the HBO comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm, playing a fictionalized version of himself. He had a recurring role in the NBC sitcom Frasier, reprising his character of Sam Malone.

In the 2000s and 2010s, Danson shifted to more dramatic roles, especially in crime dramas. He joined the cast of the CBS series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in 2011, playing D.B. Russell, the new supervisor of the forensic team. He stayed on the show until 2015 and then moved to its spin-off, CSI: Cyber, for its second and final season.

He also starred in the FX series Damages, playing a corrupt billionaire who is sued by a ruthless lawyer, and in the HBO series Bored to Death, playing a bored magazine editor who hires a private detective.

He received critical acclaim and several award nominations for both roles. In 2016, he starred in the NBC fantasy comedy The Good Place, playing Michael, a demon who designs a fake afterlife to torture four humans.

The show was a hit and ran for four seasons, earning Danson another Emmy nomination and a Critics’ Choice Award.

He also had a guest role in the Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, playing a therapist who falls in love with Kimmy’s mother.

In 2020, Danson starred in the NBC sitcom Mr. Mayor, playing a retired businessman who became Los Angeles’s mayor.

He also appeared in the HBO Max comedy series The Flight Attendant, playing the titular character’s father. He is set to star in the upcoming Hulu series The Orville, playing a spaceship captain in the 25th century.

Net Worth

Ted Danson has an estimated net worth of $80 million. He has earned most of his wealth from his long and successful acting career, especially from his roles in Cheers, Becker, CSI, and The Good Place.

He also has several endorsement deals and investments, such as his ownership of the restaurant chain Ted’s Montana Grill, which he co-founded with media mogul Ted Turner in 2002.

Controversy

Ted Danson has faced some controversy in his personal and professional life. In 1993, he was involved in a scandalous affair with actress Whoopi Goldberg, who was his co-star in the film Made in America.

The affair led to his divorce from his second wife, Casey Coates, and also caused a backlash from some fans and critics.

He also received negative publicity for his appearance at a Friars Club roast of Goldberg in 1993, where he wore blackface and used racial slurs in his jokes.

He later apologized for his actions and said that he meant no harm. He also faced criticism for his role in the 1996 film Loch Ness, where he played an American scientist searching for a mythical creature in Scotland.

Some Scottish nationalists accused him of disrespecting their culture and history, and some environmentalists accused him of harming the natural habitat of the lake.

Social Media

• Instagram handle: @teddanson
• Twitter handle: @TedDanson

Filmography

• Cheers
• Three Men and a Baby
• Three Men and a Little Lady
• Becker
• Curb Your Enthusiasm
• Damages