David Ramsey was born in Detroit, Michigan, USA and was the fourth of five children of Jeraldine and Nathaniel Ramsey. After performing in a church play, he started wanting to become an actor and after graduating from Mumford High School, he attended Wayne State University. He had his first role in Scared Stiff but his main career kicked off in 1995 when he started getting small roles in films and television series. He starred in such films as The Nutty Professor, A Very Brady Sequel, Con Air an