Attractively rumpled blue-eyed blond performer Chad Michael Murray began as a model and successfully segued to an acting career with high profile roles on The WB on the small screen and parts as teen queen love interests on the big screen.

After winning an opportunity to model in Orlando, this Buffalo native landed representation and headed to Los Angeles following his high school graduation. As a model in campaigns for Tommy Hilfiger, Gucci and Sketchers, Murray gained visibility. He made his acting debut on an episode of the PAX TV series "Chicken Soup For the Soul" in 1999. The following year he guested as a teen suspect on "Diagnosis Murder" (2000) and began his 2000-2001 recurring turn as Tristan, the over-privileged prep school tormenter of Rory (Alexis Bledel), on "Gilmore Girls". Though the character -- cast opposite Rory in the school production of "Romeo and Juliet" and hell-bent on riling up her good-natured boyfriend -- was smarmy arrogance personified, this role earned Murray the attention of the series' large youth audience, and the actor was soon named a teen heartthrob, landing on the pages of all the top magazines for young women.

Solidifying his appeal with that market, Murray was featured in another recurring role on The WB, playing Charlie, a baby-faced bad boy rocker on "Dawson's Creek" (2001-2002) whose wandering ways sent Jen (Michelle Williams) into the arms of Dawson (James Van Der Beek) and piqued the interest of budding rebel Joey (Katie Holmes). His smirking take on the cocky but charming character (bolstered by no shortage of steamy and semi-naked scenes) earned the actor the attention of older viewers as well as his loyal teen following. The WB quickly graduated Murray to his own teen-angst drama, casting him as the co-lead alongside James Lafferty in the series "One Tree Hill" (2003 - ) as two disparate teens who discover they are secretly half-brothers, with Murray well-cast as the brooding loner from the wrong side of the tracks.

In addition to his television work, Murray had a supporting role as the young version of Michael Biehn's character in "Megiddo: Omega Code 2", the 2001 sequel to the popular Christian action film "The Omega Code." He also had stints as the love interests of the reigning teen queens of the day, playing Lindsay Lohan's motorcycle-riding crush in the mother-daughter body-swapping hit comedy "Freaky Friday" (2003) and Hilary Duff's modern-day version of Prince Charming in "A Cinderella Story" (2004), a clunky contemporary retelling of the classic rags-to-riches tale. Murray then appeared in the not-too-faithful remake, “House of Wax” (2005), playing one half of a pair of fraternal twins (the other played by Elisha Cuthbert) who, along with three friends, get stranded in a ghost town on their way to a football game and ultimately trapped in a house of horrors with wax beings made from previous victims.

• Born:
  August 24, 1981 in Buffalo, New York
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Model, Janitor, Receptionist

Family

• Brother: Brandon Murray. born c. 1985
• Brother: Rex Murray. born c. 1978
• Father: Rex Murray. raised children after Murray's mother left the family
• Sister: Shannon Murray. born c. 1986

Significant Others

• Companion: Kenzie Dalton. played an extra on "One Tree Hill"; dating since December 2005; engaged April 2006
• Wife: Sophia Bush. met in 2003 on the set of the WB drama "One Tree Hill"; became engaged July 2004 in Australia; married April 16, 2005 in a seaside ceremony in Santa Monica, California; announced split September 2005, after five months of marriage; divorce finalized December 2006

Education

• Clarence High School, Buffalo, New York, 1999

Milestones

• 1999 Made his acting debut in an episode of the Pax series "Chicken Soup for the Soul"
• 1999 Moved to Los Angeles
• 2000 Had a recurring role as the chief tormenter of Rory (Alexis Bledel) on "Gilmore Girls" (WB)
• 2000 Guested as a teen suspect on "Diagnosis Murder" (CBS)
• 2001 Had a recurring role on "Dawson's Creek" (WB), playing Charlie, a love interest for Michelle Williams' Jen
• 2001 Played the younger incarnation of Michael Biehn's character in the Christian action sequel "Megiddo: Omega Code 2"
• 2003 Cast as basketball star Lucas Scott on the WB's ''One Tree Hill''
• 2003 Co-starred in the family feature "Freaky Friday"
• 2003 Named as the new "The Lone Ranger"
• 2004 Starred opposite Hilary Duff in the modern day fairytale "A Cinderella Story"
• 2005 Featured in the remake of "House of Wax" with Elisha Cuthbert and Paris Hilton
• 2006 Cast in Irwin Winkler's drama "Home of the Brave," about the lives of four American soldiers in Iraq and their return back to the US
• As a teenager, won a chance to attend a modeling convention in Orlando, Florida
• Had nose broken during an attack at a fast food restaurant
• Worked as a model in campaigns for Tommy Hilfiger, Gucci and Sketchers

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