Andre Braugher, star of hit shows Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Homicide: Life on the Street passed away on December 11, 2023, following a brief illness, according to Deadline. The accomplished actor was 61, and behind the scenes of his high-profile jobs, he enjoyed a successful family life, too. Andre had a decades long marriage to his wife, Ami Brabson, with whom he welcomed three sons during the course of their life together.
Audra McDonald, who co-starred with him on The Good Fight, sent her condolences to his family as news of his death broke on December 12. “I loved every single minute of working with him,” she wrote in part via Instagram. “He will be so sorely missed. All my love and light to his lovely wife Ami and their sons. Rest in Peace Dear Dear Andre.”
Amid news that Andre has died, here’s what to know about his wife and marriage.
Who is Andre Braugher’s Wife?
Like her late husband, Ami is an accomplished actress. Throughout her career, she’s appeared in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Kidnapped, Six Degrees, The Jury, and iconic ABC soap opera All My Children, among many others. According to her official website, she’s also a singer and producer, as well as a stage actress. She received an MFA from the prestigious NYU/Tisch Graduate School of Acting, as well.
When Did Andre and Ami Meet?
Andre and Ami met and starred together on Homicide: Life on the Street, according to The Sun. The couple married in 1991. And Andre clearly loved his wife. In a 2020 interview, he opened up about their relationship. “We’re like-minded; we grew up in similar neighborhoods; we share the same values,” he told Variety at the time. “She knows me like the back of her hand, and I’m grateful for that.”
Did Andre and Ami Have Kids?
During their marriage, Andre and Ami welcomed three children — sons Michael, Isaiah and John. In his expansive 2020 Variety profile, Andre divulged that he flew home from Los Angeles to New York during filming of Brooklyn Nine-Nine to spend time with his boys.
“I made a choice along the way that Ami and those boys were too important to not spend quantity time with,” he told the magazine. “The focus on celebrity-ness — it’s not real. So I just chose, in my own way, to sort of drop out.”
He added that despite an impressive, award-winning career, it could have been even bigger. But at what cost, he wondered. “It’s been an interesting career, but I think it could have been larger,” he told the outlet. “I think it could have spanned more disciplines: directing, producing, all these other different things. But it would have been at the expense of my own life.”
Central to that decision, he added, was his family. “I haven’t been in Australia. I haven’t been in Prague. I haven’t been shooting in San Paolo or whatever,” he confessed. “I’ve got three boys, and I want them to know me as someone other than the guy who takes them to the circus every once in a while. I wanted to be there through the course of their life because I know how important fathers are.”