Coy Luther Perry III was born in Fredricktown, Ohio on October 11th, 1966. He was a somewhat unenthusiastic student in high school, with no real aim in life other than the vague desire to become an actor one-day.

After graduating high school in 1984, Perry moved to Los Angeles to see if he could make it in show business. He took acting lessons, and sought out auditions while supporting himself with asphalting jobs and construction work. Perry eventually found work on the daytime drama Loving and Another World in the late 80’s.

Fame came to Perry when he landed the role of Dylan McKay in “90210” in 1990. Dylan was a brooding, soulful Fonzie of the nineties, and Perry was such a hit that he was receiving around 3000 fan letters a week. In fact he was so popular that his personal appearances tended to turn into riots. By the time “90210” swung into the second season, he was not only one of the series leading characters, but a full-fledged teen idol.

In 1992 Perry decided to branch into film with back-to-back films “Terminal Bliss” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” In 1994 he attempted to distance himself from his teenybopper image by starring in the role of the late rodeo champion Lane Frost in “8 seconds.” Unfortunately the film didn’t fare any better at the box office than his previous endeavors into film.

Perry left “90210” in 1995 and in 1996 he was paired with Ashley Judd in “Normal Life.” He also appeared in the virtually unseen “American Strays.” Perry appeared in the Bruce Willis sci-fi-flick “The Fifth Element” as an archeological assistant and in the thriller “Lifebreath.” His recent projects have been TV movies where he appeared as a cop in ShowTime’s “Riot” and fell victim to an extraterrestrial virus in “Invasion.”

Perry had one time been romantically linked with Yasmine Bleeth of “Baywatch” but is now married to Minnie Sharp, a former paralegal. They live in the San Fernando Valley with their three Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs. He has also started his own production company, the quaintly titled mid-west Productions.