Sean Frye was born in Hollywood, California, to an American actor father and an Irish mother. He was pushed into the world of commercial television at the tender age of six, and by nine, he was already studying with the renowned Lee Strasberg at The Actors Studio in Hollywood.
At the age of 11, Frye was spotted by director Ted Kotcheff in a Crest toothpaste commercial, and despite never having been seen on film before, he landed the role of Billy in the 1977 film "Fun with Dick and Jane".
Frye's father, Virgil Frye, met his future wife, Sondra Peluce, on the set of one of Sean's commercial television film shoots for M&M Candies, and soon after, his sister, Soleil Moon Frye, was born. Sean introduced Soleil to his talent agency, Herb Tannen & Associates, and she went on to achieve greater success in the entertainment industry.
As a young actor, Frye co-starred in several stage productions, including "The Petrified Man" opposite Marian Mercer, La MaMa Theater's "Skyjack '76, Entebbe", which won a Drama Critics Circle Award, and the madcap comedy "Crazy Marriage".
Frye also appeared in several television productions, including two consecutive TV productions with Elizabeth Montgomery, "The Awakening Land" and "Act of Violence", and he portrayed Melissa Gilbert's first love interest on "Little House on the Prairie".
Frye is perhaps best remembered for his role as Steve in the blockbuster classic "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" (1982),and by the age of 14, he had already traveled the world.
In his personal life, Frye was briefly married to Rita Trinidad in 1987, but he retired from the film industry in 1988 to pursue a career in social work after the death of two close friends. In 1993, he met his future spouse, Michael Alexander, when Alexander issued Frye a parking ticket in West Hollywood.
The couple adopted their infant son, Logan Frye Alexander, in 2003 and have been living happily ever after.
