Jason Lewis

A familiar face on billboards and in magazines, Jason Lewis found fame on the catwalk as a successful fashion model before pursuing his true passion of acting. After a successful career in the fashion mecca of Paris, Lewis landed small parts on television and in film before gaining attention as Tiffani Amber-Thiessen's love interest during the seventh season of "Beverly Hills, 90210" (Fox, 1990-2000).

But it was his turn as the much younger boyfriend to Kim Cattrall's Samantha Jones on the final season of "Sex and the City" (HBO, 1998-2004) that earned him the widest exposure of his career. From there, he settled into a number of supporting turns and guest starring roles while attracting the attention of celebrity tabloids for his two-year romance with Rosario Dawson.

He went on to play Alyssa Milano's disillusioned beau on the final season of the campy supernatural drama "Charmed" (The WB, 1998-2006) and scored another recurring stint on the first year of "Brothers & Sisters" (2006-2011). Whether on television or the big screen, Lewis delved into his roles with both determination and aplomb.

Born on June 25, 1971 in Newport Beach, CA, Lewis was raised by his father, Gregory, a judge and his mother, Nancy, a nurse. Growing up in Los Alamitos, he graduated from Los Alamitos High School and saved up money afterward by working odd jobs as a plumbing contractor and waiter while attending San Diego State University.

After being approached by a modeling scout, he headed to Paris to pursue print and runway modeling, later becoming a star working for some of the biggest names in fashion, including Guess?, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Byblos, and Ray Ban. Lewis garnered attention doing fashion shows in New York and Milan, and was nominated for the Male Model of the Year award at the 1996 VH1 Fashion Awards.

Signed to Wilhemina Modeling agency, Lewis appeared solo in an 11-page editorial campaign in GQ in 1996. From there, he appeared in a number of major ad campaigns, including Versace, Valentino, Michael Kors, and Gap. Even with his success as a model, he wanted more and eventually made his way to Hollywood to become an actor.

Lewis made his onscreen debut as a regular on the short-run adventure series, "High Sierra Search and Rescue" (NBC, 1995). But instead of jumping into another role after the series tanked, he took time off to focus on learning his craft, studying with a top acting coach to hone his skills.

After making his feature debut as a Russian dancer in "The Man Who Knew too Little" (1997), Lewis went on to nab a recurring role on the seventh season of "Beverly Hills, 90210" (Fox, 1990-2000), where he played the hot-shot actor boyfriend of Tiffani Amber-Thiessen's Valerie Malone. He next landed a number of small roles in "Next Stop Wonderland" (1998), "Kimberly" (HBO, 1999), "The King's Guard" (2000) and "The Elite" (2001), while also appearing as a guest star in a 2003 episode of "CSI: Miami" (2002-2012).

Disillusioned with the Hollywood process, Lewis sold his house in Los Angeles and made the trek back to New York where he soon landed the recurring role of Jerry "Smith" Jerrod on the hit HBO series, "Sex and the City" (1998-2004). As the sensitive love interest to the brazen, slightly older Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) in the show's final season, Lewis was finally able to earn major notice from fans and critics.

After "Sex and the City" wrapped, Lewis crossed back over to films with "The Jacket" (2005) opposite Adrien Brody and Keira Knightly. He returned to the small screen with another recurring role, this time as a mortal San Francisco artist who unknowingly marries a witch (Alyssa Milano) on the final season of the popular "Charmed" (The WB, 1998-2006).

Meanwhile, Lewis' personal life spilled a bit of tabloid ink for his two-year relationship with Rosario Dawson, which ended in 2006. At the same time, his film career ramped up with roles in "My Bollywood Bride" (2006) and "Mr. Brooks" (2007), while landing the title role in "The Death and Life of Bobby Z" (2007), a legendary marijuana dealer and eccentric surfer whose mysterious life is explored by protagonist Paul Walker.

Lewis went on to land a recurring role as Chad Berry on the first season of "Brothers & Sisters" (ABC, 2006-2011), reprised Smith Jerrod for the feature version of "Sex and the City" (2008) and its 2010 sequel, and scored episodes of both "House" (Fox, 2004-2012) and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS, 2000-15). He starred opposite Brittany Murphy as her love interest in "Tribute" (Lifetime, 2009), while scoring episodes of "Love Bites" (NBC, 2011) and "How I Met Your Mother" (CBS, 2005-14).

By Shawn Dwyer