Celebrity Nooz: Mekhi Phifer

Mekhi Phifer (Actor) - ER

Updated: 4/18/22

Name: Mekhi Phifer

Birth Name: Mekhi Thira Phifer

Born: December 29, 1974 in Harlem, New York City, New York, USA

Claim To Fame: Mekhi Phifer is an American actor best known for playing Dr. Greg Pratt on NBC's long-running medical drama ER and for co-starring opposite Eminem in the 2002 feature film 8 Mile.

Family Life: In 1999, Phifer married actress Malinda Williams; later divorced in 2003. They have a son, Omikaye. In 2007, his second son, Mekhi Thira Phifer, Jr., was born to Oni Souratha. In 2013, Phifer married his longtime girlfriend Reshelet Barnes.

Info: He grew up with his mother, Rhoda Phifer, a high-school teacher.

Phifer was the 2004 winner of the Celebrity Poker Showdown Championship, defeating Neil Patrick Harris during the fourth season. Phifer plays on the World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home games for the Love Our Children USA charity.

Phifer is chairman of the board of trustees of The Vine Group USA, a non-profit organization established in 2000 to provide educational resources to universities in Africa.

Phifer is an owner of a number of Athlete's Foot athletic shoe-store franchises in California.

In January 2011, Phifer launched Third Reel Films. The stated mission of the company is to provide an environment for filmmakers to showcase their work to entertainment representatives, acquisition executives, and other key-industry professionals.

Trivia: In 1994, Phifer attended an open-casting call for director Spike Lee's Clockers, beating over a thousand others to get the lead role.

Was the first choice to play Quincy McCall in Love & Basketball (2000), but had to drop out due to a schedule conflict and was replaced by Omar Epps.

He portrayed Dr. Gregory Pratt on the medical drama ER, which he started in April 2002.

Phifer left the show in September 2008, in the first episode of Season 15. His character died during the conclusion of the season 14 finale cliffhanger involving an ambulance explosion that was rigged to kill an injured FBI informant (Steve Buscemi).

During his six years in the show, he was nominated twice for an NAACP Image Award.

He earned an NAACP Image Award nomination for the TV movie, A Lesson Before Dying, opposite Don Cheadle.

Where Are They Now: Phifer has two projects in production: the action movie Lights Out, (currently in post-production) and the crime-drama 10-13, (which is in pre-production).

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