Holloway was born in the California region that would become known as Silicon Valley, but his family moved to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia when he was two. He has one sister and three brothers; he's the second boy. Josh also has a large extended family, including Baptist preacher Dale Holloway and author Carl Holloway. He also is the great-grandson of "Lulu" Holloway, who wrote a book during the 20th century about the Holloway family. Holloway attended Free Home Elementary and Cherokee High School, in Canton, Georgia. He developed an interest for movies at a very young age. He studied at the University of Georgia but quit after only one year to become a successful male fashion model, which took him all over Europe and North America.

Holloway's ambition for acting took him to Los Angeles, where he got a role in the comedy Doctor Benny. He followed that up with lead roles in the movies Mi amigo, Moving August, and Cold Heart. After those roles, he gained notice for his lead role in the Sci-Fi Channel movie Sabretooth with David Keith and John Rhys-Davies. He has also made appearances in Good Girls Don't season1 episode3 "Addicted to love", NCIS season1 episode12 "My other left foot",The Lyon's Den season1 episode9 "Separation Anxiety",Walker, Texas Ranger season9 episode17 "Medieval Crimes", CSI: Crime Scene Investigation season4 episode1 "Assume Nothing", and Angel season1 episode1 "City of" .Holloway appeared in the Aerosmith video for the song "Cryin'" as a thief who tries to steal Alicia Silverstone's purse from a diner, but she catches up to him and beats him up.

Holloway is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford in the hit television program, Lost. The show propelled Holloway to celebrity status, but left him with little time to use that fame to snatch up other big roles. According to USA Today, he took himself out of consideration for roles in both a Brad Pitt Western and X-Men 3 due to the demands of his shooting schedule. Despite this, he found the time to star in the upcoming thriller, Whisper, as well as venture into the world of video games: in Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, he plays the role of a Nod soldier named Ajay. In May 2007, 20th Century Fox approached Holloway for a second time and offered him the role of Gambit in X-Men 4. He was the main contender for the same role in 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand but took his name out of the running due to his busy schedule on Lost. Producers scrapped plans to have the character of Gambit in the third X-Men film shortly thereafter.

Holloway is widely regarded for his good looks. In 2005, People Magazine named Holloway one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World". In January 2006, In Touch Weekly named Holloway the "hottest hunk" on television. In the same month, Holloway was voted the 17th sexiest guy worldwide by British readers of OK! magazine. And in March 2007, Holloway was selected to be the new face for Davidoff's "Cool Water" fragrance worldwide.

Holloway says his interests include boating, sailing, snowboarding, martial arts, motocross, and playing guitar. He also said on a Channel 4 trailer in the UK that "I do enjoy my beer," and noted that the greatest invention of all time was "distilled alcohol", whereas his Lost contemporaries noted "pen and paper, the wheel, and the guitar" as their picks. Holloway married his long time girlfriend Yessica.

On the morning of October 12, 2005, he and his wife Yessica were robbed at gunpoint in their home. The couple were asleep when the gunman awoke them and took cash and credit cards before driving off in Holloway's Mercedes-Benz, which was found abandoned a short time later. There was no evidence that the criminals knew whom they were robbing, or had targeted them because Holloway was a celebrity.

In the summer of 2006, Holloway lent his celebrity status to the self-defense project Just Yell Fire, aimed at teaching teenage girls techniques with which to defend themselves against abductors and rapists.

• Although born in California, his family moved to Georgia when he was a baby, and he still considers himself a "Blue Ridge Mountain boy."
• Had a successful career as a model until he got bitten by the acting bug and relocated to Los Angeles.
• After going out of his way to lessen his Southern accent to get a wider variety of work, he had to pick it back up to play the shady "confidence man" Sawyer on the hit show "Lost" (2004).
• Grew up in Free Home, Georgia.
• His first job was picking up dead chickens at a farm.
• He's the second of four brothers.
• While he says it looks "cool", he admits to hating the long hair he has to wear as "Sawyer" on "Lost" (2004).
• Chosen by "People" magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. [2005]
• At around 4:30am on Wednesday, October 13th 2005, he and his wife were robbed at gunpoint in their home in Oahu. The robber took cash and credit cards as well as stealing Holloway's Mercedes-Benz that was later dumped not far from his home in Hawaii Kai, which is about 12 miles east of Honolulu. They were shaken but unharmed. An arrest was later made in the robbery.
• He has been a movie-buff since the age of 3. His favorite film is The Shining (1980).
• Shares birthday with mega-model Gisele Bündchen.
• He is of Dutch and Scottish heritage.
• Was offered the role of "Gambit" in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) but turned it down, saying the role was too close to his "Lost" (2004) character.
• Born on the same day that Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon.
• Favorite foods are fried chicken and chocolate pie.

"I was booking jobs once, maybe twice a year." On how unlucky he was when he first moved to L.A. to become an actor. "When "Lost" (2004) took off, part of me thought, 'Do I cut and run?' I still like to look around, but respectfully and with no intentions. 'Married, not buried', I always say. If I were single?... Damn, I'd have one girl doing my laundry, one shaving me, one bringing me a cocktail and another one coming out of my tent all hung over". "Being Southern and being the guy I've been all my life, I've lived more on the lighter side of life. I have a dark side, but that's not where I come from. A lot of artists like to come from that." "Fortunately and unfortunately, people don't see me as a character actor. They see me as a leading man or nothing, which makes it really hard to get work."

• Whisper (2007) ... as Max Truemont
• Command and Conquer 3 (2007) ... as Ajay
• Just Yell Fire (2006) ... as Himself
• Lost (2004) ... as James "Sawyer" Ford
• Good Girls Don't (2004) ... as Eric
• Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service (2004) ... State Trooper Darryl Dawson
• The Lyon's Den (2003) ... as Lana's Toy
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2003) ... as Kenny Richmond
• Doctor Benny (2003) ... as Pheb
• Sabretooth (2002) ... as Trent Parks
• My Daughter's Tears (2002) ... (uncredited)
• Mi amigo (2002) ... as Younger Pal Grisham
• Walker, Texas Ranger ... as Ben Wiley
• Cold Heart (2001) ... as Sean
• Moving August (1999) ... as Loren Carol
• Angel (1999) ... as good looking guy (Vampire)
• Cryin' (1993) ... as Purse Thief