Early life

James was born in Lakewood, California, and lived in Fullerton, California, as a child. His father, Eric, was a musician, songwriter, and music producer.

Career

James started in show business when he was two years old. He appeared in commercials and magazine ads, including one with singer Michael Jackson. At the age of four, he began portraying Richie Crawford on the sitcom Family Matters, where he appeared from 1990 to 1997 in over 200 episodes.

He has portrayed Devon Hamilton on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless since June 2004. He won the 2007 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series, and earned nominations for the same award in 2006 and 2008. After being nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series from 2005 through 2008, James won the award in 2009.

James was a guest star on the drama The Vampire Diaries during its second season as warlock Luka Martin. He voices Jason James/Z-Strap on Nicktoons animated series Zevo-3 and Virgil Hawkins/Static in the Cartoon Network series Young Justice: Invasion. He has also provided the voice of Mark Surge in Hero Factory. His credits also include voice acting work as Freddie on the animated series The Kids From Room 402, Mowgli on The Jungle Book CD-ROM, and Zare Leonis on Star Wars Rebels. James was also a recording artist and performed on Disney Channel and other U.S. and international networks.

Charitable work and honors

James is a spokesperson for many charitable organizations and founded RADD (Recording Artists, Actors and Athletes Against Drunk Driving) in 1996. He received the Michael Landon Award for charitable work through youth in entertainment.

Personal life

In 2011, James married Ashley Leisinger. In 2014, James confirmed that he and Leisinger have since divorced but said they are still close friends. Since spring 2015, James has been in a relationship with singer and actress Sterling Victorian, who he met through his The Young and the Restless co-star, Christel Khalil.

He is best friends with Khalil, saying about their friendship: "Christel and I practically grew up together. We've experienced similar things in our adult lives and we always have each other's backs. I'm an only child and Christel is the closet thing I have to a sibling." James is the godfather to Khalil's son, Michael Caden. He is also godfather to his other The Young and the Restless co-star, Daniel Goddard's eldest son, Ford.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]