Mark Harmon is a former American football college player who became an actor and is best known for the role of Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs in NCIS and NCIS: New Orleans.
The veteran actor received the People’s Choice Award 2017 as a favorite crime thriller television actor. Mark is also active as a director and producer. Read on to learn more about his career, family, and health.
Mark Harmon Bio (Age)
Mark Harmon was born Thomas Mark Harmon, the youngest of three children of Tom Harmon and Elyse Knox, on September 2, 1951, in Burbank, California. His father Tom was an American football player who won the Heisman Trophy in 1940 and played for the Los Angeles Rams before becoming a sports television broadcaster. His mother Elyse, on the other hand, was an actress, model, and fashion designer. He is of Irish, French, German, and Austrian descent.
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Harmon attended Harvard-Westlake High School, which he graduated from in 1970. From there he attended Pierce College, where he earned a two-year associate degree before enrolling at the University of California, Los Angeles. During this time, Harmon followed in his father’s footsteps to play football as a quarterback. He had made the All-American selection for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in 1971, so it was no surprise that his talents, once he was at UCLA, earned him a starting position on the Bruins’ soccer team.
Mark Harmon helped his school achieve a record 17-5 in the two years he spent there, with second-team All-America Academic Awards and the National Football Foundation Scholarship-Athlete Award for earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication with distinction (cum laude).
After college, Harmon considered a career in law, advertising, or business, but later switched to acting. His first acting role was in an episode of Ozzie’s Girls (1973), then he appeared in a number of series, including episodes of Adam-12 and Police Woman in 1975. In 1977, his role as Robert Dunlap in the television movie Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years earned him an Emmy nomination for outstanding supporting actor. Harmon continued to play supporting roles in the years that followed until he got a role in Flamingo Road (1980). The show lasted two seasons before it was canceled, allowing Harmon to move to the medical drama St. Elsewhere in 1983.
Mark Harmon’s popularity reached an all-time high in the late 1980s when he was named Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine and starred in films such as Prince of Bel Air (1986), The Deliberate Stranger (1986), and Stealing Home (1988). In the 1990s Harmon took roles in series such as Reasonable Doubts (1991-1993) and Chicago Hope (1996-2000) before landing his career-defining role at NCIS.
Mark Harmon Net Worth
Mark Harmon is expected to have an estimated net worth of $90 million. This should come as no surprise, as he is one of the highest-paid actors on television, reportedly taking home about $525,000 per episode of NCIS, and also earning residual income from reruns of the series.
In 2016 alone, Harmon is reported to have earned over $20 million. This figure decreased, though not significantly, in 2017, when he allegedly earned $19,000,000.
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Health Status
Rumors about Mark Harmon’s poor health were started by NCIS fans who noticed that the actor had lost a lot of weight and looked thinner than usual. The story caught more fire after the news surfaced that Harmon was leaving the long-running show to take care of himself. Neither Harmon nor his representatives confirmed the story, so everything that is known is pure speculation. Be that as it may, the actor continues to appear on the show, which he now serves as producer and executive producer.
Mark’s Family, Wife, and Children
It is not impossible, but it is very rare for a couple to stay together for more than two decades in Hollywood. Mark Harmon and his wife Pam Dawber have made it their mission to be a part of this rare breed, as they have been married not only for one but for three decades.
The couple, who are both respected actors in their own right, exchanged their vows in March 1987. Since that time, both parties have rarely been seen together in public and are known for keeping things secret about their marriage and family life. Harmon and Dawber have two sons together: the first is Sean Thomas Harmon, an aspiring actor born on April 25, 1988, and then Ty Christian Harmon, born on June 25, 1992.