Biography for
Dylan McDermott More at IMDb Pro »

Date of Birth

26 October 1961, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA

Birth Name

Mark Anthony McDermott

Height

6' (1.83 m)

Mini Biography

Dylan is the son of Diane and Richard "Mac" McDermott. Diane was only 15 and Mac was 17 when Dylan was born. Mac earned money by hustling pool. During Dylan's early years, his parents separated. In 1967, when Dylan was five, his mother was accidentally shot and killed by her live-in boyfriend, who was reportedly cleaning his gun when it went off. Dylan and his sister Robin, who was then six months old, were taken in by their grandmother, Avis Marino. When Dylan was 15, his father met and married actress Eve Ensler. Eve adopted Dylan and his sister Robin. Eve encouraged him to go to acting school and Fordham University in New York City. She also turned his life around. He had become a hard drinker and was constantly in fights. At age 23, he quit drinking.

He met his now ex-wife, Shiva Rose, at a coffee shop in Venice, California, on the same day he got his first big acting break by being cast in the film In the Line of Fire (1993) with Clint Eastwood. As a result of his connection with Eastwood, Dylan attended a dinner honoring Clint. There he met Jeffrey Kramer, a man who used to frequent a bar where Dylan had earlier worked. Kramer was at that time the president of David E. Kelley Productions. He asked Dylan to audition for an upcoming series about lawyers, "The Practice" (1997), and the rest was history. Another mentor of Dylan is Joanne Woodward, who discovered him while he was doing workshops at the Neighborhood Playhouse.

IMDb Mini Biography By: John Sacksteder

Spouse

Shiva Rose

(19 November 1995 - present) (filed for divorce) 2 children

Trivia

Majored in drama at Fordham University and studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse in NYC under Sanford Meisner.

Dylan's mother died when he was 5. Fourteen years later, his dad, Richard, owner of Manhattan's West 4th St Saloon, married Eve Ensler.

Chosen by People Magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. [1998]

Dated Julia Roberts during and after filming Steel Magnolias (1989)

Favorite Television Show- "I Dream of Jeannie" (1965).

2000 - Dylan and now ex-wife, Shiva Rose, bought a Los Angeles' home from Antonio Banderas & Melanie Griffith for $4 million.

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#67). [1995]

Changed his name from Mark to Dylan in tribute to his ex-stepmother, Eve Ensler, who suffered a miscarriage and who would have given her own child that name. Dylan and Eve have an extremely close and caring relationship.

His former stepmother, Eve Ensler, isn't only an actress. She is also a playwright and women's rights activist, as well. She wrote the famed play The Vagina Monologues.

He took the name Dylan out of respect to his stepmother who was pregnant with a boy she named Dylan, but had a miscarriage.

Hosted VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Rock and Roll.

He jokes about the fact that he is often confused with actor/musician Dermot Mulroney.

Two daughters with his now ex-wife, Shiva Rose: Colette, born in 1996, and Charlotte Rose, born September 8, 2005.

Studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse in NYC under Sandford Meisner.

Attended the 2005 Dubai International Film Festival in the United Arab Emirates. Other attendees included Albert Brooks, Morgan Freeman and Jon Tenney.

Ex-son-in-law of Parviz Gharib-Afshar.

Hi ex-wife Shiva Rose is Iranian.

Personal Quotes

"My theory about actors is we're all walking milk cartons. Expirations dates everywhere."-Dylan in Movieline

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