David Duchovny

New York native David Duchovny was born August 7, 1960. Duchovny was not always interested in acting. A valedictorian at Manhattan’s exclusive Collegiate School, Duchovny later attended Princeton, where he majored in English Literature and graduated summa cum laude. He later enrolled at Yale to work on his doctorate thesis.

Duchovny began acting in 1987, but it took another six years before he landed his most famous role as an FBI agent on The X-Files. Despite appearing in several films, Duchovny failed to match his X-Files success until he began starring in the 2006 TV series Californication. (He later won a Golden Globe for his role on the Showtime series.)

Duchovny’s personal life has caused him trouble over the years. He married actress Tea Leoni in 1997, and the couple had two children together. In 2008, Duchovny shocked fans when he checked into an undisclosed rehab center for a sex addiction. Despite the incident, the couple stayed together until June 2011, when they jointly announced their split.