Devale Ellis
{{Short description|American football player (born 1984)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Devale Ellis
| image = Devale Ellis 2025.jpg
| caption = Ellis in 2025
| number = 15
| position = Wide receiver
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1984|4|2}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/9932/devale-ellis|title=Devale Ellis - Detroit Lions Wide Receiver|website=ESPN}}
| birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 10
| weight_lbs = 174
| college = Hofstra
| undraftedyear = 2006
| pastteams =
- Detroit Lions ({{NFL Year|2006}}–{{NFL Year|2007}})
- Cleveland Browns ({{NFL Year|2009}})
| highlights =
- Second-team All-A-10 (2005)
| statlabel1 = Receptions
| statvalue1 = 4
| statlabel2 = Receiving yards
| statvalue2 = 41
| statlabel3 = Return yards
| statvalue3 = 200
}}
Devale Ellis (born April 2, 1984, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American actor and football player. 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 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. In 2016, he gave a stellar performance in “A Piece of Me” with his wife Khadeen.
Early life
Devale Ellis is the son of [https://subnetworth.com/devale-ellis-net-worth/ Troy and Karen Ellis]. He has one brother Brian and a sister Tori. 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.{{Cite web|url=https://gohofstra.com/sports/football/roster/devale-ellis/607|title=Devale Ellis - Football|website=Hofstra University Athletics}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/2522747/2021/05/03/its-not-a-surprise-to-me-at-all-devale-ellis-nfl-life-was-brief-but-his-show-business-career-is-alive-and-kicking/|title=Devale Ellis once had big NFL dreams, now he's building an entertainment brand and this dream is coming true|first=Stephen|last=Holder|website=The Athletic}}
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.{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/08/bet-sistas-cast-chido-nwokocha-devale-ellis-brian-jordan-jr-kevin-walton-anthony-dalton-tyler-perry-michelle-sneed-1202666808/|title=BET Rounds Out 'Sistas' Cast With Chido Nwokocha, DeVale Ellis, Brian Jordan Jr., Kevin Walton and Anthony Dalton|first=Dino-Ray|last=Ramos|date=August 13, 2019}} Ellis also had a recurring role in 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.{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022/09/own-christmas-movies-letoya-luckett-finesse-mitchell-eva-marcille-devale-ellis-1235124813/|title=OWN Sets Two Christmas Movies Starring LeToya Luckett, Finesse Mitchell, Eva Marcille & Devale Ellis|first=Denise|last=Petski|date=September 22, 2022}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.etonline.com/eva-marcille-and-devale-ellis-talk-combining-football-family-and-love-in-a-christmas-fumble-195788|title=Eva Marcille and Devale Ellis Talk 'A Christmas Fumble' (Exclusive)|website=Entertainment Tonight}} In 2021, it was announced that BET+ ordered Zatima, a spin-off starring Ellis and Crystal Renee Hayslett.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/tyler-perry-sets-sistas-spinoff-at-bet-1235058962/|title=Tyler Perry Sets 'Sistas' Spinoff at BET+|first=Lesley|last=Goldberg|website=The Hollywood Reporter |date=December 8, 2021}} The series premiered in 2022. In 2023, he was cast opposite Christina Milian in the Netflix romantic comedy film Meet Me Next Christmas.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2023/film/news/christina-milian-netflix-holiday-rom-com-meet-me-next-christmas-1235563702/|title=Christina Milian to Executive Produce and Star in Netflix Holiday Rom-Com 'Meet Me Next Christmas' (EXCLUSIVE)|first=Angelique|last=Jackson|date=March 24, 2023}}
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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/stores/Devale%20Ellis/author/B08QJNXFVK/about|title=Devale Ellis: books, biography, latest update|website=Amazon.com}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes | |||
| 2013 | Full Circle | Tommy | |
| 2015 | Stanhope | Raheem | Short film |
| 2016 | Ticket Cop | Ace | Short film |
| 2016 | Honorable Mike | Larry the EMS Guy | Short film |
| 2016 | A Piece of Me: An Everyday Story | Bryce King | |
| 2017 | Marz | Mel | Short film |
| 2022 | Single Black Female | Eric | Television film |
| 2022 | A Christmas Fumble | Jordan Davies | |
| 2023
| Dialo | | |||
| 2024
| Teddy | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes | |||
| 2014 | Young Like Us | Trent | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Power | Light Skin | Episode: "Time's Up" |
| 2016 | The Mysteries of Laura | Cyclist | Episode: "The Mystery of the Downward Spiral" |
| 2017 | Gotham | Orderly | Episode: "Wrath of the Villains: Unleashed" |
| 2017 | The Blacklist | Chuck Shaw | Episode: "Dembe Zuma (No. 10)" |
| 2017 | Master of None | Security Guard | Episode: "New York, I Love You" |
| 2017 | Giving Me Life (in the Land of the Deadass) | Randall | Episode: "Nala" |
| 2017–19 | Makeup X Breakup | Gavin | 13 episodes |
| 2017 | Placeholders | Lonely Heart | 2 episodes |
| 2017–18 | Tough Love | Joseph | 5 episodes |
| 2017 | Vish Merrick | Vish Merrick | 10 episodes |
| 2019 | It's Bruno! | Nelson | 5 episodes |
| 2019 | NCIS | Dante Brown | Episode: "Institutionalized" |
| 2021 | The Equalizer | Preacher / Reggie Floyd | Episode: "Judgment Day" |
| 2019–21 | Bigger | Ken | 7 episodes |
| 2019–present | Sistas | Zac Taylor | Main role |
| 2022 | Everything's Trash | Damien Washington | Episode: "Rom-Coms Are Mostly Trash" |
| 2022–present | Zatima | Zac Taylor | Main role |
| 2023
| Mason |2 episodes |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090506072716/http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/team/player.php?id=3771 Cleveland Browns bio]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080501103042/http://www.detroitlions.com/bio.cfm?bio_id=395&season=10 Detroit Lions bio]
- {{IMDb name|5019209}}
- [http://Subnetworth.com subnetworth]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Devale}}
Category:Players of American football from Brooklyn
Category:American football wide receivers
Category:American football return specialists
Category:Hofstra Pride football players
Category:Detroit Lions players
Category:Cleveland Browns players
Category:James Madison High School (Brooklyn) alumni
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:Male actors from New York (state)