Personal Life
In 1989, Underwood co-founded Artists for a New South Africa, a non-profit organization dedicated to democracy and equality in South Africa.
Underwood is a part of several charitable organizations. He won the 1993 Humanitarian Award for his work with the Los Angeles chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. In 2003, along with Ashley Judd, he served as the spokesperson for YouthAIDS. In addition, he is involved with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Blair Underwood Clinic in Washington, DC.
Underwood also appeared in a 2004 public service announcement for The Fulfillment Fund. He is a Trustee for the Robey Theatre Company in Los Angeles, a non-profit theatre group founded by Danny Glover, focusing on plays about the Black experience.
He supported President Barack Obama's candidacy and spoke at campaign rallies for Obama. Underwood got to know Obama while researching his L.A. Law role at Harvard Law School, while Obama was president of the Harvard Law Review.
Underwood's DNA test showed that he is a descendant of the Babungo people of Cameroon. Additional DNA testing and genealogical research revealed that his African ancestry comes from the Bamum, Brong, Yoruba, and lgbo ethnic groups of Western Africa. The DNA test also connected Blair to a distant cousin in Babungo, Cameroon. The test also revealed that he is of 26% European and 74% Sub-Saharan African ancestry. These and other facts were made known about Blair Underwood's family history when the story of his family's lineage was featured on the third season of NBC's Who do You Think You Are?, on February 24, 2012.
On September 17, 1994, he married Desiree DaCosta, with whom he has three children, Paris, Brielle, and Blake.
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