David Alan Grier was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Aretas Ruth Dudley, a schoolteacher, and William Henry Grier, a psychiatrist and writer. He received his training in Shakespeare at Yale University, where he earned an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.
Grier began his professional career on Broadway, earning a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and the Theatre World Award for his role as Jackie Robinson in "The First" in 1981. He then joined the cast of "Dreamgirls" and later starred opposite Denzel Washington in "A Soldier's Play", reprising his role in the film adaptation "A Soldier's Story" in 1984. He appeared in Robert Altman's "Streamers" as Roger, earning the Golden Lion for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival in 1983.
Grier's television work includes a principal cast member role on the Emmy Award-winning "In Living Color" from 1990 to 1994, where he created memorable characters, and later appeared in "DAG", "Life with Bonnie", for which he earned Image and Golden Satellite nominations. He also created, wrote, and executive-produced "Chocolate News" for Comedy Central and won America's votes as a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars" in 2009.
In addition to his television work, Grier has written and executive-produced a book, "Barack Like Me: The Chocolate Covered Truth", which explores politics, culture, and race, as well as his own life story. He has also starred in David Mamet's play "Race" opposite James Spader and Kerry Washington on Broadway, earning a Tony Award nomination.
Throughout his career, Grier has been recognized as one of Comedy Central's "100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time".
