'''Judd Asher Nelson''' (born November 28 1959 in Portland, Maine) is an American actor and writer.
Early life
Nelson was born in Portland, Maine to Jewish American parents Leonard Nelson (an attorney) and Merle (an attorney and Maine state assemblywoman); he has two sisters, Eve and Julie. He went to school at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, and studied at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, leaving part way through his sophomore year. He subsequently moved to Manhattan where he studied with Stella Adler.
Career
Nelson was one of the 1980s "Brat pack", starring in such films as Joel Schumacher's ''
St. Elmo's Fire'' and John Hughes' ''
The Breakfast Club'', as well as providing the voice of Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime in ''Transformers: The Movie''. He was an enormously popular personality during the "Brat pack" era. It is for his roles in "St. Elmo's Fire" and "The Breakfast Club" that he is best known.
Following his starring role in "The Breakfast Club", Nelson's career failed to take off in a big way, as several of his films, including ''Blue City'' (co-starring "Breakfast Club" alumni Ally Sheedy) and ''
From the Hip'', performed poorly at the box office. His career lost momentum for a time, and in the 1990s he appeared in urban-themed dramas such as ''
New Jack City'' and ''Light It Up''.
However, in 1996 he received a starring role on the NBC television sitcom ''
Suddenly Susan'', which saw enormous success for a four season run. Nelson made a cameo appearance in the 2001 film, ''Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back''; the film's writer and director, Kevin Smith, had been a long time fan of Nelson and the "Brat Pack" movies. Throughout the late 1990s and 2000s, Nelson mostly appeared in television roles and lower-budget films, although he also acts on stage, and by 2006 his career had stabilized to again being successful.
Private life
Nelson has dated Faye Resnick, as well as actresses Kelly Stafford and Shannen Doherty, to whom he was also engaged. He currently lives in Los Angeles.
Nelson has no children but a dog named Talula Bighead.
Selected filmography
