Actor and model, Boris Frederic Cecil Tay-Natey Ofuatey-Kodjoe (yeah, that’s a mouthful), better known to us as Boris Kodjoe took the world and women’s hearts by storm when he landed on the popular series, Soul Food. He was born in Vienna, Austria, to Ursula Kodjoe, a psychologist from Germany, and Eric Kodjoe, a physician from Ghana, West Africa. For the most part, he grew up in Germany, but while studying in the states on a tennis scholarship at Virginia Commonwealth in Richmond, Boris was approached by Ford Modeling Agency. He booked campaigns quickly and soon Hollywood came knocking. Now, Boris is a model, actor, spokesperson and business man. But the role that the now 44-year-old Boris will always say he’s most proud of is that of husband and father.
Boris talked about his brave little girl Sophie who was diagnosed with Spina Bifida, a birth defect that affects the development of the spinal cord. Boris and his wife of 12 years, Nicole Ari Parker, founded Sophie’s Voice Foundation in honor of Sophie and to raise awareness by educating communities worldwide on the importance of families working together to build healthy lifestyles one day at a time. By dedicating themselves to a healthy lifestyle, they found ways to address not only their daughters mental, physical and medical needs, but also the needs of their entire family.
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“I’ve spent a ton of time researching [Spina Bifida], we’ve done our best to create a life of the highest possible quality for Sophie. There’s a big spectrum of kids who suffer from this – all the way from kids with leg braces, no leg function, and kids without bladder or bowel function,” says Boris. “Our foundation aims to help families in need afford treatment for Spina Bifida. We also focus on education through the foundation. We go and raise hell to change the policy.”
And Boris is pretty transparent when it comes to how he and his wife deal with a child with special needs:
“For us, [therapy] was important because we were dealing with a lot of stuff first when we were newlyweds with [our daughter] Sophie’s birth defect and all the stuff that came at us,” Boris explained in an interview. “At the same time,…
… we didn’t want to lose sight of each other. We were here first, and that relationship is really important because everything else falls into place around that. So we had to make sure that we stay present in each other’s lives and that we stay connected as a couple.”
“It’s a 75 percent preventable defect, which is a huge, gigantic number, and the key to that is folic acid,” Kodjoe said. “So all women of childbearing age must be on folic acid at all times to protect themselves and their babies.”
Boris and Nicole’s little Sophie is their miracle baby. She’s developed a language around Spina Bifida for how she explains it to her friends, says Boris. “She’s unbelievable, super smart, speaks three languages. We’re so blessed.”
Boris keeps business with his family as well. He recently launched the clothing company ALFA (Affordable Luxury For All) with his brother Patrick Kodjoe, bringing the luxury of custom made clothing to every man and woman in America at affordable prices. The line can be accessed at www.worldofalfa.com.
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