A handsome, often goateed actor, Jesse L. Martin won attention and legions of female fans with his turn as the sensitive and patient Dr. Greg Butters, a sometime love interest to Calista Flockhart's "Ally McBeal," and subsequently as "Law & Order's" dapper Det. Ed Green. Astute theatergoers in NYC, however, were already aware of the charismatic performer, most notably from his performance as the HIV-positive academic who unexpectedly finds love with a drag queen in the award-winning hit musical "Rent," a role he reprised in the 2005 feature film.

Although born in Virginia, Martin settled with