Who is actor Eric Close? Wife Keri Close, Net Worth, Family

Known for movies



Eric Close is an American actor, who is most widely recognized for starring as Martin Fitzgerald in the Golden Globe Award-winning TV mystery crime drama series “Without a Trace”. Additionally, he is popular for portraying the recurring character of Travis Tanner in the TV comedy drama series “Suits”, as well as for starring as Teddy Conrad in the musical drama series “Nashville”.

Early Life, Childhood and Education

Eric Randolph Close was born under the zodiac sign of Gemini on the 24^th May 1967, in New York City’s borough of Staten Island, the eldest of three sons of orthopedic surgeon Frederic Close and his wife Eva, and of American nationality and white ethnicity.

He has two younger brothers named Christopher and Randy Close. Eric spent his early childhood moving between the states of Indiana and Michigan, before the family eventually settled in San Diego, California, when he was seven.

In 1985 Close matriculated from Valhalla High School, after which he attended the University of Southern California from which he graduated in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications.

Acting Career

Interested in acting from an early age when he appeared in several school plays, upon graduation Eric decided to try his luck in the movie-making industry.

He made his debut acting appearance in the theatre play “Rat Songs” in the late 1980s, and his debut on-screen appearance came in 1991, with a support role in the TV movie “Keeping Secrets”, which led him to appear in an episode of the TV series “MacGyver” later that year. His first big screen appearance occurred in 1992, with another support role in the critically praised crime drama film “American Me”.

To greater prominence he came later in 1992, when he was cast for the recurring role of Sawyer Walker in the NBC TV’s romantic drama daytime soap opera “Santa Barbara”, in the course of the next year appeaing in over 90 episodes of the series.

For this performance, Eric was honored with a nomination for the Soap Opera Digest Award in the category of Outstanding Male Newcomer. He then appeared in the drama film “Taking Liberty”, before appearing in two 1994 TV movies – “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys – Hercules and the Lost Kingdom” and “Without Consent”.

Through 1994 and ‘95, Close starred as Brick McKenna in the TV adventure drama series “McKenna”, while from ‘95 to ‘96 he portrayed the recurring role of William ‘Billy’ Griffin in the two-time Golden Globe Award-nominated television drama series “Sisters”.

Additionally, in 1995 he was cast for the leading role in the TV drama film “The Stranger Beside Me”. Through 1996 and ‘97 he played the character of John Loengard in the Primetime Emmy Award-winning NBC TV’s Sci-Fi series “Dark Skies”, and by the end of the 1990s era, Eric Close had added two more notable engagements to his portfolio – between 1998 and 2000 the recurring character of Vin Tanner in the Primetime Emmy Award-winning CBS TV’s western series “The Magnificent Seven”, while from 1999 to 2000 he starred as Michael Wiseman in over 20 episodes of the Primetime Emmy Award-nominated TV Sci-Fi comedy drama series “Now and Again”; the latter engagement earned him a nomination for the Saturn Award given by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.

In the beginning of the 2000s, Close landed leading roles in the TV movie “Follow the Stars Home” as well as in the romantic film “Liberty, Maine” before being cast for the recurring role of John in the Golden Globe Award-nominated mini TV Sci-Fi drama series “Taken” in 2002. To greater prominence he came later that year when he was cast for the recurring role of Martin Fitzgerald in the Golden Globe Award-winning CBS TV’s mystery drama series “Without a Trace” – in the course of the next several years, Eric appeared in over 160 episodes of the show, before it was eventually called off in 2009. For his performance, he earned a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award.

In 2010 Eric made several brief appearances in TV series such as “Seven Deadly Sins” and “Criminal Minds“, before landing the supporting role of Michael Dorset in the TV drama series “Chaos”. However, the real breakthrough in his acting career occurred in 2011, when he was cast for the memorable role of Travis Tanner in the critically praised television legal drama series “Suits”, which he occasionally portrayed through the show’s following five seasons.

Between 2012 and 2015, Close starred in the recurring role of Teddy Conrad in the ABC TV’s musical drama series “Nashville“, before appearing in the TV thriller movie “Christmas Crime Story” in 2017. During 2018, he was cast in the war drama film “Indivisible” as well as in the western movie “Legal Action”. Some of his most recent on-screen appearances include the television series “Hooked”, and in TV movies “A Christmas Love Story” and “Angel Falls: A Novel Holiday”, all in 2019.

Personal Life

Despite his popularity and prosperous career within the moviemaking industry, the 53-year-old actor has somehow kept his private life far from the media’s attention, as there aren’t many relevant details available. However, since 25^th June 1995 he has been married to Keri Close, with whom he’s welcomed two daughters, Katie and Ella born in 1998 and 2001 respectively.

Net Worth

The total of Eric Close’s net worth, as of mid-2020, has been estimated by authoritative sources to exceed the sum of $4 million. It has been entirely acquired through his on-screen acting career spanning nearly three decades since 1991.

Source: IMDb, Wikipedia