Andre Braugher was an American film, stage, television and voice actor. He was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago's West Side. He attended St. Ignatius College Prep for high school, and earned a scholarship to attend Stanford University, where Braugher graduated with a BA in theatre in 1984. He then attended the Juilliard School's Drama Division, graduating in 1988. Braugher died at the age of 61 after a battle with lung cancer. He had been married to actress Ami Brabson since 1991, and they lived in New Jersey with their three sons.
Braugher is best known for his television role as Frank Pembleton in the police drama series Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999) and its companion television film Homicide: The Movie (2000). He is also known for his roles as Owen Thoreau Jr. in the television series Men of a Certain Age (2009–2011), and as Raymond Holt in the police comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013–2021) as well as on an episode of the comedy series New Girl (2016). Braugher also appeared in numerous other TV series such as Gideon's Crossing (2000–2001), Hack (2002–2004), Thief (2006), The Andromeda Strain (2008), House (2009–2012), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2011-2015), Last Resort (2012–2013), BoJack Horseman (2017), and The Good Fight (2022). For his television work, Braugher received two Primetime Emmy Awards from eleven nominations, as well as two Golden Globe Award nominations.