He was born Edward Bridge Danson III in San Diego, California, the son of an archaeologist. He was raised outside of Flagstaff, Arizona. In 1961 he was sent to Kent School where he was a basketball star. He became interested in drama while attending Stanford University. He transferred to the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now known as Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), where he received his Bachelor's degree.

Danson was married to Casey Coates from 1977 to 1993. He is currently married to actress Mary Steenburgen whom he wed on October 7, 1995. He is stepfather to her daughter and son.

Danson, while still married to his first wife, was involved with Whoopi Goldberg. Whoopi broke off the romance soon after he appeared at a Friar's Club roast in blackface and proposed to her. However, credible reports state that Whoopi acknowledges that she wrote some of Ted's blackface skit, so this was most likely not the cause of their separation.

Before Danson was a famous actor, he was known to dabble in the monkeywrenching sport of billboard toppling with childhood friend Marc Gaede along the highway between Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon.

Ted Danson is well known for his role as Sam Malone in the television series Cheers. During the show's 12-year run, he was nominated nine times for an Emmy Award as Best Actor in a Comedy Series and won twice, in 1990 and 1993. The role also earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series in 1989 and 1990. He and his wife, actress Mary Steenburgen, starred in and were executive producers of the CBS comedy series Ink.
In 1984, Danson received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in the television movie Something About Amelia , in which he starred opposite Glenn Close. He also starred opposite Lee Remick in The Women's Room . In 1986, he made his debut as a television producer with When the Bough Breaks , in which he also starred. He later starred in the mini-series Gulliver's Travels and Thanks of a Grateful Nation . Danson's numerous feature film credits include The Onion Field , in which he made his debut as Officer Ian Campbell, Body Heat , Three Men and a Baby , 3 Men and a Little Lady , Cousins , Dad , Made in America , Saving Private Ryan , Mumford , and Jerry and Tom .
Danson was raised just outside Flagstaff, Ariz. He attended Stanford University, where he became interested in drama during his second year. In 1972, he transferred to Carnegie-Mellon University (formerly Carnegie Tech) in Pittsburgh. After graduation, he was hired as an understudy in Tom Stoppard's Off Broadway production of "The Real Inspector Hound." Danson moved to Los Angeles in 1978 and studied with Dan Fauci at the Actor's Institute, where he also taught classes. Danson lives with his family in Los Angeles. He is a founding member of the American Oceans Campaign (AOC), an organization established to alert Americans to the life-threatening hazards created by oil spills, offshore development, toxic wastes, sewage pollution and other ocean abuses.