Devale Ellis

Devale Ellis (born April 2, 1984, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American actor and former American football wide receiver, singer and rapper. He was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Hofstra. Ellis began acting early and in 2013 he was in the movie “Full Circle” as character Tommy. In 2016 he gave a stellar performance in “A Piece of Me” with his wife Khadeen. In 2015 D. Ellis procured a contract with Tyler Perry studios and began starring as Zac Taylor in the BET comedy-drama series, Sistas and in its spin-off, Zatima.

Early life
Devale Ellis is the son of Skip and Karen Ellis. He has one brother and a sister. Devale attended James Madison High School in Brooklyn, New York, where he played football and basketball. In his senior year at Madison, he lit up the Public School Athletic League. He was in the top ten for catches made and in the top ten for touchdowns made by a wide receiver. He also played in the PSAL all-star game. During the season, he earned the nickname Devale "Show Time" Ellis.

He attended Hofstra University, where he was a teammate of New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marques Colston. Ellis finished his career with 176 catches for 2,207 yards (a 12.5 per-catch average) and 22 touchdowns. As a senior in 2005, he led Hofstra with 74 receptions for 943 yards and five touchdowns. He ranked second in the Atlantic 10 in receptions, third in receiving yards, and ninth in all-purpose yards (103.8 yards per game). As a junior, with Colston sidelined all season with an injury, Ellis led the team ranked second in the Atlantic 10 and 11th in I-AA with 74 catches, good for 1,067 yards (a 14.4 average) and 13 touchdowns.

Football career
He went undrafted in the 2006 NFL Draft, but was signed as a free agent after participating in the rookie mini-camp as a tryout player. He was signed to the Lions eight man practice squad on September 3, 2006. Although he played in the season opener against the Seattle Seahawks on the September 9th, he was waived from the active roster on September 11, and shortly afterwards re-signed with the practice squad. As of October 15, he had been upgraded to the active roster and made his first start against the Buffalo Bills. Ellis was waived by the Lions during final cuts on August 30, 2008.

After spending the 2008 regular season out of football, Ellis was signed to a future contract by the Cleveland Browns on December 31, 2008. He was waived on July 26, 2009.

Acting career
In 2010s, Ellis began acting guest-starring on television series including Power, The Mysteries of Laura, Gotham, The Blacklist and NCIS. In 2019 he was cast as a series regular in the BET comedy-drama series, Sistas. Ellis also had a recurring role in the another BET series, Bigger from 2019 to 2021 and guest-starred on The Equalizer. In 2022 he appeared in the thriller film Single Black Female for Lifetime starring opposite Amber Riley and Raven Goodwin. Also that year, Ellis played male lead opposite Eva Marcille in the Oprah Winfrey Network comedy-drama television film, A Christmas Fumble. In 2021, it was announced that BET+ ordered Zatima, a spin-off starring Ellis and Crystal Renee Hayslett. The series premiered in 2022. In 2023 he was cast opposite Christina Milian in the Netflix romantic comedy film Meet Me Next Christmas.

Personal life
He is married to Khadeen Joseph (b. 1983). Together they have four sons: Jackson Carter (b. 2011), Kairo Shakur (b. 2016), Kaz Hendrix (b. 2017) and Dakota Marley (b. 2021). Devale and Khadeen have a comedy filled YouTube channel called "The Ellises" where they showcase their family vlogs and skits. In 2019, they created a podcast called “Dead Ass” together where they share stories, opinions and give advice on love, marriage and business.