Angel the human was born in 1727 with the name Liam. Angel the vampire was "born" in 1753, making him 246 or 247 in vamp years (these are the dates given on Angel's tombstone in flashbacks of the Angel episode "The Prodigal"). Angel was a bit of a rogue, and a drinker as well. He was, in fact, out drinking one night when he encountered Darla, who turned him into a vampire. In 1860, he met Drusilla, killed her family, drove her mad, and then turned her into a vampire. In 1898, he killed the daughter of a Romany (Gypsy) tribe, and the tribe cursed him by restoring his soul; from then on he suffered with guilt over the acts he had committed as a vampire. He ended up in New York city in the 1990s, where a "good" demon, Whistler, found him, took him to LA, and showed him a girl: Buffy. Angel decided to help the Slayer, eventually growing close to her and becoming a useful ally to the Scooby Gang. Buffy and Angel fell in love, and when they made love on Buffy's seventeenth birthday, Angel lost his soul again. It turned out the curse was to be removed if Angel ever experienced a moment of true happiness. Angelus (his vampiric name) wreaked havoc on Buffy and the gang, until Willow succeeded with the spell that would give him his soul back — too late; Angel had awakened Acathla, who would suck the world into hell. To prevent it, Buffy had to send Angel to hell. A few months later Angel was returned to earth, though not through his own efforts. He and Buffy eventually got back together, but Angel eventually realized that she could not live life to her full potential with him (only going out at night, not being able to have children, etc.). So, for Buffy's own sake, Angel broke up with her and left town. He now lives in Los Angeles, helping the helpless and fighting demons with the help of Cordelia and Wesley.

David Boreanaz, 32, graduated from Ithaca College in New York, where he acted and studied film, before moving to Los Angeles to try to break into show business. He didn't do too well at first, though he did manage to get a small part on "Married ... With Children." Rather, he worked such jobs as parking cars, painting houses, and selling gourmet food door-to-door. He got his lucky break while walking his dog, Bertha Blue — a manager saw him, signed him, and called Buffy casting director Marcia Schulman to arrange an audition for the role of Angel. Obviously, he got it, and women and girls around the world have been admiring him ever since. David's father is a popular weatherman on Philadelphia's ABC affiliate, WPVI. As David mentions on most talk shows, he was also the host of Rocketship 7 from 1962-78 (he went by the name Dave Thomas then). You can see his father's bio and picture on ABC's site here, and some older pictures of him here and here. David divorced his wife, Ingrid Quinn, in 1999.