Evan Olav Ross-Næss (born August 26, 1988) is an American actor and musician. He made his acting debut in the comedy-drama film ATL (2006), and has since starred in the films Pride (2007), According to Greta (2009), Mooz-lum (2010), 96 Minutes (2011), Supremacy (2014), and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014) and Part 2 (2015).

On television, Ross had a recurring role as Charlie Selby in the season 3 of The CW's teen drama series 90210 and a regular role as Angel Rivera in the season 2 of Fox's musical drama series Star. Ross also starred on ABC's procedural drama series Wicked City as Diver Hawkes. As a musician, he released his first single "Yes Me" in February 2011, and his second single "How To Live Alone" in May 2015.

Ross is the son of Diana Ross and shipping magnate and mountaineer Arne Næss Jr. He has been married since 2014 to singer-songwriter Ashlee Simpson, with whom he has two children.

Early life Ross was born Evan Olav Næss in Greenwich, Connecticut, to businessman and mountaineer Arne Næss Jr., who was Norwegian, and entertainer Diana Ross, who is African-American. His paternal great-uncle was Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss.

Ross' parents divorced in 2000. He has one older full brother, Ross Næss, and three older maternal half-sisters, Rhonda, whose biological father is Berry Gordy, and Tracee and Chudney from his mother's marriage to Robert Ellis Silberstein. He also has three older paternal half-siblings from his father's first marriage, Christoffer, Katinka, and Leona, and two younger paternal half-brothers from his father's third marriage, Nicklas and Louis. In January 2004, Ross' father was killed at age 66 in a mountain climbing accident near Cape Town.

Career

Acting Ross began his career as an actor while a student at Greenwich High School. His first major role was in the film, ATL, released in March 2006, in which he co-starred with rappers T.I. and Big Boi. Ross received rave reviews for his role as troubled teenager Amare McCarter in the HBO television film Life Support, starring alongside Queen Latifah and his real-life half-sister Tracee Ellis Ross, who portrayed his elder sister in the film. Ross later co-starred in the biographical film Pride, in which he portrayed a good-natured teen with a speech impediment. He also appeared (uncredited) in an episode of Girlfriends. The episode, titled "What's Black-A-Lackin'?", also guest-starred Chrisette Michele, and was directed by his half-sister Tracee.

Ross has appeared in several other films, including the thriller Linewatch with Cuba Gooding Jr. (2008), the drama Gardens of the Night (2008), and the crime drama film Life Is Hot in Cracktown (2009). He then starred as Julie, the love interest of Hilary Duff's character, in the 2009 comedy-drama film According to Greta. Ross has also appeared in The Notorious B.I.G. music video for the song "Nasty Girl" (2005), and the Lionel Richie music video for the song "Just Go" (2009).

In 2010, Ross joined the cast of The CW's teen drama series 90210 in its third season, portraying Liam Court's (Matt Lanter) half-brother and the love interest to Annie Wilson, played by Shenae Grimes-Beech. That same year, he appeared in Case 219, and the critically acclaimed film festival winner Mooz-lum, also starring Danny Glover and Nia Long. He then starred in the comedy-drama The Family Tree (2011) and co-starred alongside Brittany Snow in the thriller 96 Minutes, which was released April 28, 2012, in select theaters. Ross won the Breakout Acting Award at SXSW for his performance in the film.

In 2012, Ross had a supporting role in the Jay and Mark Duplass-directed comedy-drama Jeff, Who Lives at Home. The following year, he portrayed music producer Dallas Austin in the VH1 biopic CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story, about the 1990s Atlanta girl group TLC (the film was named after their second album CrazySexyCool). He then appeared in the drama film All the Wilderness (2014), which premiered at SXSW; the Courteney Cox-directed comedy-drama Just Before I Go (2014), which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival; and the drama film Supremacy (2014), which premiered at the LA Film Festival.

Also in 2014, Ross portrayed the role of Messalla in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, released on November 21. He reprised the role in Mockingjay – Part 2, which was released on November 20, 2015. In July 2015, he joined the cast of ABC's crime drama series Wicked City, portraying crime scene paparazzo Diver Hawkes, replacing Darrell Britt-Gibson in the role. Beginning in 2017, Ross had a major role as Angel Rivera in the second and third seasons of Fox's drama series Star. In 2018, Ross starred in a reality show alongside his wife Ashlee Simpson Ross called Ashlee+Evan, which lasted 6 episodes.

In 2026, Ross competed in season fourteen of The Masked Singer as "Stingray". He was eliminated on "Star Trek Night" alongside Greg Mathis as "14 Karat Carrot".

Music In 2007, Ross began recording his debut album, which was expected to encompass R&B and pop. After four years in the studio, Ross released his single "Yes Me" on February 25, 2011, which was produced by Tony DeNiro and written by DeNiro and Ross. On December 5, 2014, Ross released a sneak preview of another song, "How To Live Alone", on his Instagram account. Ross released the song as a single, featuring rapper T.I., on May 14, 2015. In 2016, Ross was featured on DJWS & Hero's song, "They". Ross also recorded the duets, "Don't Look At Me" and "All I Want" for the series Star with Brittany O'Grady. In 2017, Ross was featured on "Restricted" by Kronic. In 2018, Ross became one-half of the duo, Ashlee + Evan, with his wife. The pair released a duet collaboration, Ashlee + Evan, on October 12, 2018.

Personal life Ross became engaged to singer-songwriter Ashlee Simpson in January 2014, and the two were married that year on August 30 at his mother's estate in Connecticut. They have two children together, a daughter born in 2015 and a son born in 2020, and Ross is the step-father of Simpson's son with her previous husband, musician Pete Wentz.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2006 ATL Anton Swann 2007 Pride Reggie Jones 2008 Gardens of the Night Donnie Linewatch Little Boy 2009 Life Is Hot in Cracktown Romeo According to Greta Julie Robinson Black Water Transit Gary Vermillion 2010 Case 219 Cameron Porter Mooz-lum Tariq Mahdi 2011 The Family Tree Josh Krebs 96 Minutes Dre 2012 Jeff, Who Lives at Home Kevin 2013 N.Y.C. Underground Sam 2014 All the Wilderness Harmon Just Before I Go Romeo Semple Squatters AJ Supremacy Anthony Walker The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 Messalla 2015 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 Messalla 2017 The Curse of Buckout Road Aaron Powell 2020 Pink Skies Ahead Cameron 2021 The United States vs. Billie Holiday Sam Williams 2021 She Ball Mike Direct to streaming 2022 The Loneliest Boy in the World Julius 2023 A Snowy Day in Oakland Rodney Smalls +Key Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television Year Title Role Notes 1999 Shelly Fisher Ricky Bender Television film 2006–2007 All of Us Danny 3 episodes 2007 Life Support Amare McCarter Television film 2008 Girlfriends Marco Episode: "What's Black-a-Lackin'?" 2010–2011 90210 Charlie Selby 9 episodes 2011 Luck Doorman Episode: "Pilot" 2013 CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story Dallas Austin Television film 2015 Wicked City Diver Hawkes 8 episodes 2017–2019 Star Angel Rivera 14 episodes2018Ashlee+EvanHimselfReality Show2026The Masked SingerHimself/StingraySeason 14 contestant; 4 episodes

Music videos Year Title Artist 2005 "Nasty Girl" The Notorious B.I.G. 2009 "Just Go" Lionel Richie2018"Sugar Daddy"Macy Gray

Awards and nominations Year Award/Festival Category Nominated work Result 2008 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special 2011 SXSW Film Festival Breakthrough Performance 2012 Black Reel Awards Best Actor 2018 Nice International Film Festival Best ActorBuckout Road World Music & Independent Film Festival Best Actor in a Feature Film

References

External links

Evan Ross at Rotten Tomatoes