Sexiest Women Of Color
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- Actress
- Producer
Bianca Lawson was born on 20 March 1979 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Save the Last Dance (2001), The Feast of All Saints (2001) and Rogue (2013).- Laytrel McMullen is an actor. She is a current member of the NBA Raptors Junior Dance Pak, enjoying many live performances, but she has also filmed a half dozen television commercials. Laytrel transitioned easily into the world of television and film, enjoying first a small role on the feature film Repossession Mambo, and then, most notably as Jamie, a regular, recurring role on the TV series The Weight, which is scheduled to begin airing in late 2008. Her starring role as Violet in the Canadian Film Centre production Pudge, firmly establishes Laytrel as a lead player.
- Ariel Meredith was born on 21 July 1986 in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA.
- Actress
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Antonia Thomas is an English actress. She is best known for her work in the TV series Misfits, Lovesick and the The Good Doctor.
She studied for a Bachelor of Arts in acting at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, graduating in 2009, and then joined the National Youth Theatre.
Her acting debut was in the TV movie Stanley Park (2010).- Actress
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Taja V. Simpson is a Louisiana native of West African and European decent and her colorful background allows her to constantly bring new characters to life. She fell in love with acting when she was seven years old when she and her cousins would 'play pretend'. They would watch movies, learn all the lines and then act them out for fun. Her favorite movie at that time was Berry Gordy's "The Last Dragon" and to this day she can still recite all the lines in the movie. "Who's The Master? Sho-Nuff!"
Although she loved acting at a young age, there weren't any programs or schools in Lake Charles, LA that would help cultivate that skill set. She went on to graduate from McNeese State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mass Communication and an emphasis in Broadcast Journalism. From there, she was on the path of being a News Reporter/Anchor.
After College, she moved to Houston, TX but there was a still small voice in her that kept saying, 'you should try acting,' so she did. She enrolled in acting workshops and ended up winning three awards for her performances. (Best Actress, Best Overall Performance and People's Choice) Now, she was bit by the acting bug and there was no turning back. She would have never thought that 'playing pretend' with her family as a young child would also be what she ultimately would do for a living.
Versatility is Taja's greatest accomplishments which is what lead her to guest star in multiple roles on some of the most popular television shows of our time. She received her first breakout role in The Bold & The Beautiful as Adele which she recurred on the show for over two years. Since then some of the shows she has appeared in are; Grey's Anatomy, NCIA, The Thundermans, NCIS:LA, The Soul Man, KC Undercover, and Lethal Weapon. Taja was widely known for her role as the fun and sassy wife opposite legendary Actor and Director Tyler Perry; in Lionsgate's "Tyler Perry's Boo2! A Madea Halloween," and can be seen as Priscilla Owen in BET's newest drama, Tyler Perry's "The Oval."
Taja is also a film director with over 40 plus productions under her belt from stage plays to music videos and short films. Next up is directing television and her first feature.
She can be seen in Christopher Nolan's "My Online Valentine" on Amazon where she leads this film down the dating woes in this hilarious Romantic Comedy. Next up, a Christmas film, "London Mitchell's Christmas" slated for December 2019 along with 3 additional films in the pipeline. You can also see her in other films on Netflix, Amazon & iTunes.
In her new book,"Cracking The Acting Code: A Practical Step By Step Guide To Becoming A Professional Actor", Taja shares her unique story and expertise from moving from a small town in Louisiana, making it on the big screen in Hollywood, and becoming one of the most trusted names in the entertainment business.
Taja's hobbies include: writing, watching and studying films, learning new words and cooking. Her personal interests involve, spending time with her two dogs, working out, boxing, traveling and always being open to learn new things.
In order to succeed in the entertainment industry its important to be multi-talented both on and off screen. From behind the scenes to being in front and center, Actor, Author, Director and Keynote Speaker Taja V. Simpson has proven just that.- Actress
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Pilar Sanders is known for The Mod Squad (1999), Streets of Blood (2009) and Percentage (2014). She was previously married to Deion Sanders.- Actress
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Faune Chambers Watkins was born on 23 September 1976 in Florida, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Epic Movie (2007), White Chicks (2004) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). She has been married to Fonzworth Bentley since 10 July 2010. They have two children.- Actress
- Producer
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Zoe Saldana was born on June 19, 1978 in Passaic, New Jersey, to Asalia Nazario and Aridio Saldaña. Her father was Dominican and her mother is Puerto Rican. She was raised in Queens, New York. When she was 10 years old, she and her family moved to the Dominican Republic, where they would live for the next seven years. While living there, Zoe discovered a keen interest in performance dance and began her training at the prestigious ECOS Espacio de Danza Dance Academy where she learned ballet as well as other dance forms. Not only did her training provide an excellent outlet for the enthusiastic and energetic youngster, it would also prove to be a fortunate precursor for the start of her professional acting career. At age 17, Zoe and her family moved back to the United States where her love for dance followed and an interest in theater performance became stronger.
She began performing with the Faces theater troupe which put on plays geared to provide positive messages for teens with themes dealing with issues such as substance abuse and sex. These performances not only gave her valuable experience but also a source of great pride knowing that she was making a difference in the lives of young people like herself. While performing with the Faces troupe and also the New York Youth Theater, Zoe was recruited for a talent agency and her dance training years before coupled with her acting experience greatly helped her land her first big screen role as Eva Rodriguez, the talented and headstrong ballet dancer in the film Center Stage (2000). Since her professional career began several years ago, Zoe's talent and determination have allowed her to be involved in blockbuster films and act with major actors, actresses and industry insiders at a pace that very few young professionals have experienced.
Zoe has not only held her own in major motion picture productions but gained the respect and praise from industry insiders such as Jerry Bruckheimer and Steven Spielberg and actors/actresses such as Tom Hanks, Bernie Mac, Keira Knightley, Ashton Kutcher, Kirsten Dunst and Orlando Bloom. According to many of her co-stars, producers and directors, the sky is no limit for this young star who has incredible range, intense concentration, and a steely determination to be involved with projects that challenge her professionally with wide-ranging subject matters and characters. Just to ask practically anyone who she has worked for or with about her, glowing comments abound and earned friendships and respect are readily revealed. A star has been born, and growing every day.- Actress
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Claudia's parents met when her father was in the Air Force, stationed at Brindisi, Italy where he met her mother, an Italian native. She was born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island where as an East Providence High School student, she was selected for the All State Track and Field team. She participated in three Junior Olympics and finished third in the long jump at the East Coast Invitational.
After high school, she attended Baldwin Wallace College in Ohio where she majored in broadcasting and journalism. She had her own campus radio program, worked at the Providence American Newspaper and at the Boston television station WHDH-TV.
She represented Rhode Island as Miss Teen USA in 1991 and Miss USA in 1997. In addition, she has done many commercials for such companies as Coor's Light, Sears, Denny's and Pepsi.- Actress
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Roselyn Milagros Sánchez Rodríguez is a Puerto Rican singer-songwriter, dancer, model, actress, producer, and writer. On television, she is best known for her roles as Elena Delgado on the CBS police procedural Without a Trace (2005-09), as Carmen Luna on the Lifetime comedy-drama Devious Maids (2013-16), and as Elena Roarke on the new Fantasy Island (2021-present). In film, Sánchez has appeared in Rush Hour 2 (2001), Boat Trip (2002), The Game Plan (2007), and Act of Valor (2012).- Actress
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Joyful Drake was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her love for performing began at a young age, earning her two State Speech Performance Titles for reciting and delivering a re-enactment of Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have A Dream" speech and President Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address." Joyful earned her B.A. at the University of Madison Wisconsin on an academic scholarship where she studied drama and writing. During those years she was also a NBA Dancer for the Milwaukee Bucks. She is nicknamed "The Hurricane" by her family because of her high energy and zest for life. And most importantly, she gives back to her community through her "Dream Big Foundation," which mentors young kids and helps them carve out a path to fulfill their dreams and desires.- Writer
- Actress
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Atheana Ritchie was born in East Los Angeles, California. This L.A. native knew she was destined to be in the entertainment industry from the young age of 5 often performing sketches for her biggest fan, her grandfather, Ted Edmond Ritchie, who worked under Howard Hughes. She has since conquered various roles and has written several TV shorts such as Campsite Killer and Tell the Truth. Not one to stop there, Atheana has also stuck her hand in the casting world as well as behind the camera doing Production Assistant, and U.P.M..- Actress
- Producer
Morrow grew up in Miami, Florida. She made her television debut appearance in 1992 as Wendy Mallow on the popular television program, Baywatch. From 1995 to 1996, she portrayed Rachel Gannon on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. Morrow also had a recurring appearance on the sitcom, Family Matters as Darius McCrary (Eddie)'s girlfriend and then ex-girlfriend, Oneisha, from 1992 to 1997. Other television and film appearances include, Living Single, Soul Food, Conan, The Parkers, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and The Jamie Foxx Show and appearances in films such as: Uninvited Guest, Children of the Corn III, Book of Love, Restraining Order, Def Jam's How to Be a Player, Traci Townsend, National Security and Today You Die (2005).
Morrow is also a real estate agent in Los Angeles, California- Actress
- Producer
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Nicole Ari Parker Kodjoe is an American actress and model. She made her screen debut with a leading role in the critically acclaimed independent film The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995) and went on to appear in Boogie Nights (1997), directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Parker has starred in a number of movies, including Blue Streak (1999), Remember the Titans (2000), Brown Sugar (2002), Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (2008), Black Dynamite (2009), and Almost Christmas (2016). On television, Parker starred in the short-lived UPN romantic comedy Second Time Around (2004-05) and the ABC drama Time After Time (2017). In 2017, she joined the cast of Fox's prime-time soap opera Empire playing Giselle Barker. She appears as a recurring character in Chicago P.D. as Deputy Superintendent Samantha Miller and in And Just Like That... as Lisa Todd Wexley.- Producer
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- Music Department
Tracey Edmonds has created and produced groundbreaking projects for television, film, music, and digital media. She served as co-host of Extra TV alongside Mario Lopez and Charissa Thompson for 3 years, where she earned an Emmy Award. Edmonds currently serves as CEO and President of Edmonds Entertainment. Edmonds is also the Founder and Editor of the lifestyle, health and wellness media brand, AlrightNow.com.
Tracey most recently executive produced the second season of Games People Play (BET), a sexy stylized drama about the high-stakes world of the NBA starring Karrueche Tran and Sarunas Jackson. The show finished its first season, starring Lauren London, as BET's #1 show. Other recent projects The Postcard Killings starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Famke Janssen. As a television producer, Edmonds' past projects include the hit series Deion's Family Playbook (OWN) and the three-time NAACP Image Award nominated television movie With This Ring (Lifetime). Edmonds won high acclaim for the serialized version of her hit movie Soul Food, an hour-long drama for Showtime Networks, Inc., which ran for five seasons and won multiple NAACP Image Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series three years in a row. She also executive produced several groundbreaking reality shows including College Hill (BET's first reality show), which ran for six seasons, and its spinoff College Hill Interns; Lil' Kim: Countdown to Lockdown; and DMX: Soul of a Man. Edmonds' other film successes include the hit film Jumping the Broom starring Angela Bassett, which earned several NAACP Image Awards. Her upcoming projects include feature film End of the Road, starring Queen Latifah, Ludacris, and Beau Bridges for Netflix; a drama series, Invisible Life, for HBO; and College Hill: Celebrity Edition, a reimagined version of the original series, starring Nene Leaks, Ray J, Lamar Odom, Big Freedia, Stacey Dash, Dream Doll, India Love, and Slim Thug.
A Stanford University graduate, Edmonds has won numerous awards for her contributions to the entertainment industry, including Ebony Magazine's Outstanding Women in Marketing & Communications Entrepreneur Award (2002); the Volunteers of America Legacy of Leadership Award (2004); the National Organization for Women's Excellence in Media Award (2005); Alliance for Women in Media's Gracies Award for Best Host in Entertainment & Information (2015); Emmy Award, Outstanding Entertainment News Program (2016); and Alliance for Women in Media SoCal's Genii Award for Excellence in Entertainment (2016).
Edmonds served as the co-chair for the PGA's annual Produced By Conference for 6 years. Previously, she also served on the Board of Governors for the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and on the Board of Trustees for the American Film Institute. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is on the Board of the Plby Group.
Edmonds also holds an Honorary Doctorate degree from Southern University.
Tracey Edmonds has two sons, Brandon and Dylan Edmonds.- Actress
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Meagan Monique Good was born on 8 August 1981 in Panorama City, California, USA, to Tyra Wardlow-Doyle, who worked as her manager, and Leondis "Leon" Good, an LAPD officer. She began appearing on commercials at the age of four. Then she started guest-starring on series like The Parent 'Hood (1995), Touched by an Angel (1994), Moesha (1996), The Steve Harvey Show (1996) and The Division (2001). She also starred in Raising Dad (2001) with Bob Saget.- Born in North Carolina, Samantha found her way to Hollywood via San Diego, California, via Bangor, Maine. At an early age, she found discipline in martial arts, and the love of performing in dance and theatre. Acting on television and in movies came to follow. She played the role of 'Stacy' in the '92 Polygram Film "Summer Camp", then booked a bit part in "The Brady Bunch" movie. In '95, she landed her first big television gig as a 4-year series regular on Saved by the Bell: The New Class (1993), playing the feisty 'Maria Lopez.' Several other appearances on sitcoms and TV dramas kept her working. In 2001 she was privileged to work opposite Oscar award-winning Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, and Cliff Curtis, in the feature film Training Day (2001), playing the pivotal role of 'Letty'. Also in 2004 she worked with Christian Bale in the film "Harsh Times", which was directed and written by David Ayer, who wrote "Training Day".
- LAILA ALI TV Personality, Wellness & Fitness Expert, Cooking Enthusiast Four-Time Undefeated Boxing Champion, Beauty & Lifestyle Brand CEO, Best-Selling Author, Inspirational Speaker, Podcast Host, Actress, Mom & Wife
Laila Ali is a world-class athlete, fitness & wellness expert, TV host, cooking enthusiast, founder of the Laila Ali Lifestyle Brand, and mother of two. The youngest daughter of late beloved global icon and humanitarian, Muhammad Ali, she is a two-time hall of famer and four-time undefeated boxing world champion, whose stellar record includes 24 wins (21 of which were "knockouts") and zero losses. Laila is heralded as the most successful female in the history of women's boxing. In 2012 when women's boxing was included in the Olympics for the first time in history, Laila was the first woman in history to provide expert commentary for NBC Sports.
A cooking enthusiast, Laila previously appeared twice on Food Network's celebrity edition of "Chopped" and emerged victorious as the champion. Continuing her passion in the cooking space, Laila hosted the FYI Network food truck competition series "Late Night Chef Fight." Laila is a favorite guest on daytime shows such as Rachael Ray, The Chew, and she's prepared her famous "oven baked fried chicken" on Steve Harvey's hit daytime talk show.
She is the host of OWN Emmy award-winning series, "Home Made Simple with Laila Ali" and the author of the best-selling cookbook, "Food For Life: Delicious & Healthy Comfort Food From My Table To Yours!" A major source of the inspiration for Laila writing this particular cookbook was her desire to show people how they could enjoy healthier and more nutritious versions of their favorite foods without having to compromise taste.
Ignited by her passion for an active lifestyle and wanting to share this with her millions of supporters, Laila created her own lifestyle blog LailaAliLifestyle where she regularly shares her personal workout regimens, recipes, DIY ideas, family tips, and so much more! One of her favorite passion projects is the massively downloaded weekly "healthy lifestyle" podcast series she launched on the PodcastOne Network in 2017. Laila is also the three-time host of the televised ESPN Sports Humanitarian Awards.
Laila has been an outspoken voice and regular contributor for the CBS Sports Network's new all- female sports commentary program, "We Need to Talk," the first of its kind in the history of sports broadcasting. For multiple seasons she hosted "Everyday Health" airing in national syndication on ABC, in addition to being the previous co-host of "American Gladiators" and former host of "All-In With Laila Ali," which aired in weekend syndication on CBS.
Laila is a past President of the Women's Sports Foundation, a non-profit organization that is supported by many of the biggest athletes in the world. Through the WSF Laila promotes equality for women in the world of professional sports, and is an advocate for programs that encourage young women to be confident, healthy and strong through sports. Laila was a major voice for the 40th anniversary of Title IX, which protects women's rights to be included and treated equally in collegiate sports. Always eager to encourage others to live an active lifestyle, Laila Ali was the 2012 "Mombassador" for the Aquaphor New York City Triathlon, a competition she actually participated in and completed impressively in a little more than 3 hours. Laila has also appeared as a guest-star on popular fitness shows, "Biggest Loser" and "The Revolution."
Laila tickled America's funny bone with multiple hilarious roles as Kevin Hart's boxing nemesis on the hit comedic series, "Real Husbands of Hollywood." In 2014 she made her feature film-acting debut as the co-star of the action movie, "Falcon Rising," opposite martial arts star, Michael Jai White.
Never one to turn down a good challenge, she captured the hearts of millions and made it to the final round of the fourth season of ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" in 2007.
A recognizable and trusted figure whose name and likeness packs a powerful punch, Laila has been an endorser for major brands such Subway, Kohl's, Dannon's Activia and most recently, TJMAXX. Carefully building a successful branding and licensing empire, (a former owner and operator of a successful nail salon in southern California) Laila successfully launched a signature line of hair styling tools with Hot Tools, a brand subsidiary of hair care powerhouse, Helen of Troy.
With philanthropy at her core, Laila is a major supporter of charitable organizations such as Feeding America, Children's Hospital and Peace 4 Kids. Laila is extremely proud of the work she has done on behalf of the American Dental Association to create oral health awareness for children and she is equally proud to be an ongoing supporter and partner with the American Heart Association. This partnership supports Laila's belief in being heart healthy and assists in the facilitation of much needed awareness about heart disease and strokes in communities most affected by these illnesses.
Laila is a sought after inspirational speaker and author. She has keynoted speaking events at Harvard University, North Carolina A&T and has spoken to thousands of executives at leadership conferences for multi-billion dollar corporate brands around the world. Her life's story is chronicled in a dynamic book for young women entitled "Reach!" which has just been re-released to the public.
Laila studied business management at Santa Monica College. She enjoys life in the Los Angeles area with her husband, former NFL star and current sports TV analyst, Curtis Conway, and their two young children, Curtis Jr. (son) and Sydney (daughter). - Actress
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Dorothy Jean Dandridge was born on November 9, 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio, to Ruby Dandridge (née Ruby Jean Butler), an entertainer, and Cyril H. Dandridge, a cabinet maker and minister. Under the prodding of her mother, Dorothy and her sister Vivian Dandridge began performing publicly, usually in black Baptist churches throughout the country. Her mother would often join her daughters on stage. As the depression worsened, Dorothy and her family picked up and moved to Los Angeles where they had hopes of finding better work, perhaps in film. Her first film was in the Marx Brothers comedy, A Day at the Races (1937). It was only a bit part but Dandridge hoped it would blossom into something better. She only appeared in another film in 1940, in Four Shall Die (1940).
Meanwhile, she dropped out of high school and became part of a musical trio which performed with the orchestra of Jimmie Lunceford. During the late 30s, she dated music composer Phil Moore, who was instrumental in launching her career as a nightclub singer and big band vocalist.
Her next few screen roles in the early 1940s tended to be small stereotypical roles of black girls or princesses - such as Bahama Passage (1941) and Drums of the Congo (1942), She was the singing star of the western themed all-black-cast "soundie" (short musical) Cow-Cow Boogie (1942) and appeared in movies that showcased her talents as actress and singer, like Hit Parade of 1943 (1943) as the vocalist of Count Basie's Band, and twice as the vocalist of Louis Armstrong's Band in Pillow to Post (1945) and Atlantic City (1944).
Those brought her headline acts in the nation's finest hotel nightclubs in New York, Miami, Chicago and Las Vegas. She may have been allowed to sing in these fine hotels but, because of racism, she couldn't have a room in any of them. It was reported that one hotel drained its swimming pool to keep her from enjoying that amenity.
In 1954, she appeared in the all-black production of Carmen Jones (1954) in the title role. She was so superb in that picture that she garnered an Academy Award nomination but lost to Grace Kelly in The Country Girl (1954). She did not get another movie role until Tamango (1958), an Italian film. She did six more films, including, most notably, Island in the Sun (1957) and Porgy and Bess (1959). The last movie in which she would ever appear was The Murder Men (1962) (1961).
Dandridge faded quickly after that, due to an ill-considered marriage to Jack Dennison (her first husband was Harold Nicholas), poor investments, financial woes, and alcoholism.
She was found dead in her apartment at 8495 Fountain Avenue, West Hollywood, on September 8, 1965, aged 42, from barbiturate poisoning. She left $2.14 in her bank account, and a handwritten letter: "In case of my death - whoever discovers it - Don't remove anything I have on - scarf, gown, or underwear. Cremate me right away - if I have any money, furniture, give it to my mother, Ruby Dandridge - She will know what to do.". She was cremated and her ashes were interred in the Freedom Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
She was posthumously awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6719 Hollywood Blvd. on January 18, 1983.- Actress
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Mya Marie Harrison was born on October 10, 1979 in Washington D.C. She's an American R&B/pop singer, entertainer, philanthropist & actress known professionally as Mýa. She started taking ballet lessons at 2, adding jazz & tap dancing lessons 2 years later. As a teen, she began to shift her focus to music. Gifted & musically-inclined, she put together a demo tape at 15 w/ the help of her parents, garnering the interest of a record label. At 16, she began recording her first solo album, which was later released on Interscope Records in spring April 1998. It sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. & produced the gold-certified top 10 single It's All About Me featuring Sisqó.- Actress
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Lisa started in this industry as A backup dancer that toured and opened shows for artists such as Public Enemy, Candy Man, Epmd and many others. She became a rap artist herself in a group called 19 after several studio sessions and meetings with label executives "19" was on their way. They were offered a record deal but Lisa had a change of heart and answered her calling to the ministry. In 1999 she wrote and produced a Gospel stage play "A change is gon" come" directed by Tyler Perry. Little did she know a change was coming, she was thrust back Into the industry she was not supposed to leave. Lisa produced and was the host for an entertainment show called "The Industry" that aired on UPN. She wrote,produced and starred in a independent feature entitled "Blackball" , Co Produced the feature "Tapped out" She was cast on the Real housewives of Atlanta seasons 1,2 and 3. Lisa has acted in several movies; "Must be the Music" with Charles Dutton and Tasha smith, "Envy or Greed" with Rockmund Dunbar and Dorien Wilson, "First impressions" with Lamman Rucker and Elise Neal, "The Internship" with Vince Vaughn& Owen Wilson , she has guest starred on television shows. "Meet the browns" , "Born Again virgin" and many others as well as appearances on CNN and countless talk shows. She is currently one of the Hollywood Divas on TV One. Lisa has written written several books and co authored a book with Miasha Coleman entitled "When the cake is made" which is being adapted for the screen.- Actress
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Alexis Jordan was born in Columbia, South Carolina on April 7, 1992 to an African American mother, Native American and European descent and a Puerto Rican father. She rose to fame as a contestant on the first season of America's Got Talent in 2006. After being eliminated from the show, she began to upload cover songs to YouTube, which received millions of views. She was discovered on Youtube by Norwegian production team Stargate and American rapper Jay-Z, who both went on to sign her to their label, StarRoc/Roc Nation.- Actress
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Gugu Mbatha-Raw was born Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha in the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, England. Her father, Patrick Mbatha, is a Black South African doctor, and her mother, Anne Raw, is a Caucasian English nurse. Her parents separated when she was a year old, and she was brought up by her mother in the town of Witney, Oxfordshire (she is still close to her father). She joined the local acting group Dramascope and, from the age of eleven, appeared in the pantomime at Oxford Playhouse every year. A talented singer and dancer as well as playing the saxophone, she joined the Oxford Youth Music Theatre in her teens.
In 2001, she won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. Since graduation in 2004, she has appeared in all media, including as an acclaimed Juliet Capulet in "Romeo and Juliet" at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre in 2005, opposite Andrew Garfield as Romeo Montague. Mbatha-Raw was nominated for Best Actress in the Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards for her portrayal of Juliet Capulet. She also appeared as Octavia in "Antony and Cleopatra" at the same theatre in 2005. In 2009, she was cast as Ophelia in "Hamlet" on London's West End and Broadway, opposite Jude Law as the title role.
Mbatha-Raw appeared on such varied television series as Bad Girls (1999), Doctor Who (2005), Marple (2004) and Touch (2012). She had a supporting role in the romantic comedy Larry Crowne (2011), written and directed by Tom Hanks, who also played the title role. She was acclaimed for her performance of Dido Elizabeth Belle in Amma Asante's Belle (2013), which earned her a British Independent Film Award for Best Actress, and a nomination as Most Promising Newcomer. She was also nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Actress.
She starred in the romantic drama Beyond the Lights (2014) and was nominated for a Gotham Award for Best Actress for her performance. In 2015, she was nominated for a BAFTA Rising Star Award. That same year, she had a supporting role in Jupiter Ascending (2015), played Prema Mutiso, the wife of Dr. Bennet Omalu (played by Will Smith) in the biopic Concussion (2015), and the title role in Jessica Swale's play "Nell Gwynn", playing the actress who became the mistress of King Charles II of England. She was nominated for an Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performance in the play.
She played Rachel in Newton Knight's biopic Free State of Jones (2016), directed by Gary Ross, playing Knight's common-law wife, a freedwoman he had a family with after the Civil War. She also played Esme Manucharian in Miss Sloane (2016), Sophie on Netflix's series Easy (2016), and played Kelly, one of the leads in "San Junipero", the fourth episode of Season 3 of Black Mirror (2011). Her other films are the live-action remake Beauty and the Beast (2017), playing Plumette, A Wrinkle in Time (2018), directed by Ava DuVernay, and The Cloverfield Paradox (2018).
Gugu Mbatha-Raw was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2017 Birthday Honours for her services to drama.- Actress
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Hayley Marie Norman is an American film and television actress.
Hayley was born and raised in Thousand Oaks, California, the daughter of a retired baseball player. Her father is African-American and her mother is of Russian, German, and distant Dutch, descent. On her mother's side, Hayley is the great-granddaughter of production manager/assistant director Gene Anderson, and the great-niece of actor Robert J. Anderson, who played young George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life (1946), and of assistant director Gene Anderson Jr..
Hayley was chosen to be one of the few and highly distinguished California Arts Scholars, in which she was awarded a Governor's medallion, the highest distinction in California for artistically talented students. She received this honor an unprecedented two years in a row. Hayley continued her training and graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Upright Citizens Brigade honing her skills as both a dramatic actress and comedienne. She continues to perform with popular sketch and improv groups around town and enjoys putting up new material on the UCB main stage.
Hayley had a memorable breakout performance in Chris Rock's Top Five (2014), proving she can hold her own among some of Hollywood's most iconic comedians. The film, released on December 12, 2014, became a hot commodity at the Toronto International Film Festival, prompting Paramount Studios to purchase it, including it in the DGA's annual The Contenders event and preparing Top Five for an awards run.
In addition to her role in Top Five, this multitalented actress also co-produces and stars in the semi-scripted hit online series Hello Cupid. Drawing largely on her improv and comedy skills, the series follows longtime friends Robyn (Hayley Marie Norman) and Whitney as they experience the ups and downs of online dating. The series, now in its second season, has garnered critical acclaim and has been named an official selection at the TriBeCa Film Festival and one of the "Top 5 Great Web Series You Should Be Watching Now" by Vulture.
After starring as a perky cheerleader in Sony Pictures Screen Gems' film Fired Up, she received rave reviews from Robert Ebert who declared her "the most intriguing member of the cast." She's had recurring roles on television shows like Crash acting alongside one of her favorite actors, Dennis Hopper, as well as abc's Selfie and BET's long running The Game. Her other credits include Hancock, Our Family Wedding, Norbit, New Girl, Bones, The Exes, CSI: NY, CSI: Miami, Studio 60, and many more. A bonafide LA valley girl, one of Hayley's first jobs was as the Mattel's official "face" of the African American Barbie, and she later filled iconic role of Briefcase #25 model on Deal or No Deal. Hayley also has a role in Relativity Media's Beyond The Lights which is slated to hit theaters this November.
Hayley is a huge fan of the blaxploitation genre and is a self proclaimed fan girl of Pam Grier. She also speaks frequently about the films of John Cassavetes and her admiration for both him and Gena Rowlands. She is a classically trained dancer and a long time vegan and animal rights activist.- Actress
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Janina Zione Gavankar (born November 29, 1980) is an American actress and musician. Gavankar is also trained as a pianist, vocalist, and orchestral percussionist. She majored in Theatre Performance at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Gavankar's roles include Papi, a lesbian lothario in The L Word; Leigh Turner, a police officer on The Gates; Ms. Dewey, the personification of a Microsoft branded search engine who commented on the user's searches; Shiva, the namesake of the sought-after trophy on The League; shapeshifter Luna Garza on HBO's True Blood; McKenna Hall on The CW's Arrow; and Meredith Bose on NBC's The Mysteries of Laura. She also played Diana Thomas on FOX's supernatural drama Sleepy Hollow.
Gavankar was born in Joliet, Illinois, to Peter Ganesh Gavankar, an engineer from Mumbai, who first traveled to the U.S. to pursue a master's degree, and Mohra Gavankar, from Pune, Maharashtra, who also emigrated to the U.S. from India. Her mother is half-Indian and half-Dutch.
Gavankar has acted in theatre, film, television, and online. Her most notable roles include Iden Versio, canon Star Wars character, and protagonist of Star Wars: Battlefront II, shapeshifter Luna Garza in True Blood, lesbian lothario Papi in The L Word; Ms. Dewey, the personification of a Microsoft live search engine; and Shiva, the namesake of the sought after trophy on The League. She regularly appears in Funny or Die shorts.
In 2006 she joined the cast of The L Word as a series regular, and shot all of the clips used for Ms. Dewey. In 2007, she landed a lead in CW pilot Dash 4 Cash. In 2008, Gavankar appeared in TV series Stargate Atlantis, Grey's Anatomy and NCIS, My Boys, and Factory. In 2009, she appeared in the TV shows The Cleaner, Dollhouse, Three Rivers, and The League, as well as indie movies Men, Interrupted, Indian Gangster, and Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey. Gavankar played the voice of Nikki in Quantum Quest. She landed a lead role in The Gates, since cancelled, on ABC. She appears on CW's Arrow as a vice squad police officer and brief girlfriend to Oliver Queen.
Gavankar is an admitted gamer and has appeared on, as well as co-hosted, G4 TV's Attack of the Show!, Epileptic Gaming's Up All Night, where she helped review Rock Band, Burnout Paradise, and Army of Two.
In 2011 Gavankar became a series regular in HBO's True Blood as a public school teacher and shapeshifter, Luna Garza, who gets romantically involved with one of the main characters of the series.
Her indie movie, Satellite of Love, premiered at the Dallas International Film Festival in 2012, and her 2012 indie I'm Afraid of Virginia Wolf is in post-production. On December 20, 2012, Gavankar was the last person interviewed for the now cancelled Attack of the Show! which aired on G4 TV.
On August 3, 2013, Gavankar landed a role as a witch named Qetsiyah in the fifth season of The Vampire Diaries. She guest starred in the third season of Husbands.
In 2014, she starred as Amita in the video game, Far Cry 4. She also played Detective Meredith Bose on The Mysteries of Laura from 2014 to 2016.
She starred as Iden Versio, the main character in the campaign mode of the 2017 Electronic Arts video game Star Wars Battlefront II.
In 2018, she has two films releasing. Blindspotting is premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, and The Vanishing of Sidney Hall is being distributed by A24.
Gavankar returned to music with a cover of Kanye West's "Love Lockdown". Gavankar's former all female singing group, Endera, was signed to Cash Money Records Universal Records.
She collaborated on a project for a song called "Tell Me What" in India with Pratichee Mohapatra of Viva, Deep, and Navraaz. She has had songs licensed to movies and television, and has sung and played marimba on film scores. Gavankar was featured in Russian artist Ella Leya's music video for "Wish I Could", in the music video by San Francisco-based band Recliner for their single "Float Away", as well as the music video for Manu Narayan's band Darunam.
In August 2012, she released the single for her upcoming EP, entitled Waiting for Godot, and in November, Billboard premiered the official music video. It went on to win numerous film festival awards.
While in high school, Gavankar auditioned for the front ensemble of the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps of Rockford, Illinois. Before hearing whether she had made the corps, she was accepted for the Yale School of Drama's summer camp, and went there. "I fell in love with drum corps when I was 13 years old", Gavankar has stated, and remains a strong fan of the activity. When she heard the Martin Garrix/Usher collaboration, "Don't Look Down", she had the idea of performing it as marching music. With assistance from Drum Corps International, she contacted the Jersey Surf Drum and Bugle Corps and arranger Colin Bell. She went into the studios in New York with fifty members of Jersey Surf and recorded the music video "Don't Look Down- #JustAddDrumCorps Edition" that was released in April 2015.
On May 20, 2015, Gavankar performed a percussion duet at Carnegie Hall with Questlove for the Best Buddies charity benefit.- Actress
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Eva Mendes is an American actress, model and businesswoman. She began acting in the late 1990s. After a series of roles in B movies such as Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998) and Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000), she made a career-changing appearance in Training Day (2001). Since then, Mendes has co-starred in films such as All About the Benjamins (2002), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), Ghost Rider (2007), We Own the Night (2007), Stuck on You (2003), Hitch (2005), opposite Will Smith. and The Other Guys (2010). She has appeared in several music videos for artists like Will Smith. Mendes has been a model and ambassador for Cocio chocolate milk, Magnum ice cream, Calvin Klein, Cartier, Thierry Mugler perfume, Reebok, Campari apéritif, Pantene shampoo, Morgan, and Peek & Cloppenburg. She designs a fashion collection for New York & Company and is also the creative director of CIRCA Beauty, a makeup line sold at Walgreens.
Eva de la Caridad Méndez was born in Miami, Florida, to Cuban parents Eva Pérez Suárez and Juan Carlos Méndez, and was raised by her mother in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Silver Lake after her parents' divorce. Mendes grew up a Roman Catholic and at one time even considered becoming a Catholic nun. Her mother worked at Mann's Chinese Theatre and later for an aerospace company, and her father ran a meat distribution business. Mendes had one older brother, Juan Carlos Méndez, Jr. (1963-2016), who died from throat cancer. She has an older sister, Janet, and a younger paternal half-brother, Carlos Alberto "Carlo" Méndez. She attended Hoover High School in Glendale, and later studied marketing at California State University, Northridge, but left college to pursue acting under coach Ivana Chubbuck. Mendes began her acting career after a talent manager saw her photo in a friend's portfolio. Her first film appearance was in the direct-to-video Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998). Mendes was disappointed in her performance and she hired an acting coach. She then appeared in the films A Night at the Roxbury, My Brother the Pig, Urban Legends: Final Cut, and Exit Wounds. Mendes' breakthrough role came when she appeared in Antoine Fuqua's crime thriller Training Day (2001), playing the girlfriend of Denzel Washington's character. This then led to roles in All About the Benjamins (2002), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) (which earned her a nomination at the Teen Choice Awards), Out of Time (2003), and Stuck on You (2003).
She was the female lead in the 2005 film Hitch, making her one of the first minority actors to play the lead in a hit romantic comedy. Mendes subsequently starred in The Wendell Baker Story (2005) with Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson and Will Ferrell, with Luke Wilson directing, as well as Guilty Hearts (2002), Trust the Man (2005), Ghost Rider (2007), We Own the Night (2007), Live! (2007), and Cleaner (2007). In 2008, she was nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress for her performance in the all-female comedy film The Women. Mendes then appeared in The Spirit, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, The Other Guys (2010), Last Night (2010), Fast Five (2011), and a spoof short film for Funny or Die. In 2012, Mendes visited Sierra Leone and was featured in the PBS documentary Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. In 2012, she starred in the crime drama film The Place Beyond the Pines, with Entertainment Weekly describing her performance as "quietly heartbreaking". The following year, she appeared in the HBO comedy film Clear History (2013). Mendes appeared in the Pet Shop Boys' music video for "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" in 1996, Aerosmith's music video for "Hole in My Soul" in 1997, and Will Smith's music video for "Miami" in 1998.
She also appeared in the music video for The Strokes' "The End Has No End" in 2004, and appeared nude in a print advertisement for Calvin Klein's Secret Obsession perfume, an ad which was banned in the United States. In December 2007, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) used a nude photo of Mendes for their anti-fur campaign. She also modeled in a Morgan campaign. Mendes was a spokesmodel for the 2008 Campari calendar. In July 2008, she was announced as the international face of Australia's 30 Days of Fashion & Beauty event. She made guest appearances in that country at the month-long festival in September. Mendes has been a spokesperson for Calvin Klein, Magnum, and the chocolate milk brand Cocio. She also promoted Thierry Mugler's Angel fragrance, Reebok shoes, and Pantene shampoo. In 2011, Mendes appeared in a Peek & Cloppenburg clothing catalog. Mendes has a line of bed linens and dinnerware that is sold at Macy's. In 2010, Mendes sang on "Pimps Don't Cry," a song featured in The Other Guys, and performed a duet with CeeLo Green on "Pimps Don't Cry." In 2011, she recorded a version of "The Windmills of Your Mind."
Along with acting, Eva is employed by Revlon Cosmetics as an international spokeswoman. She joins such elite actresses and models as Julianne Moore, Halle Berry and Cindy Crawford, who appear in Revlon's television and print ads. She is also a passionate supporter and active participant in Revlon's fight against breast cancer. Eva's goals are to improve her acting skills by working with such contemporary directors as Steven Soderbergh, Spike Jonze, Pedro Almodóvar, Robert Rodriguez, Carl Franklin, John Singleton, and Antoine Fuqua and learning from such renowned directors as Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni.
She was the creative director of the makeup brand CIRCA Beauty, which launched exclusively at Walgreens in 2015.
Eva has two children with her partner Ryan Gosling.- Actress
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Tammy Townsend is a veteran performer with remarkable versatility and range whose acting and musical talents are showcased in a variety of notable projects.
She is a series regular on the seventh and final season of OWN's acclaimed drama series, "Queen Sugar," from Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay and executive producer Oprah Winfrey. Set in rural Louisiana and the fictional community of St. Josephine, the show focuses on the trio of Bordelon siblings (Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Rutina Wesley and Kofi Siriboe), and their extended family. Townsend's character 'Billie,' the daughter of beloved Bordelon family friend 'Prosper Denton' (Henry G. Sanders), was introduced in the sixth season. She has returned to St. Josephine for the first time in 20 years to care for her ailing father, and soon secrets from her past are revealed. "Queen Sugar" airs on OWN, with previous seasons streaming on Hulu.
Townsend has most recently booked the female lead role in BET+'s upcoming dark comedy series, "Average Joe," from Robb Cullen and McG. The storyline follows blue-collar plumber, 'Joe Washington' (Deon Cole), who discovers his recently deceased father lived a secret, second life and stole millions of dollars from dangerous people just before he died. Townsend plays his loving wife, 'Angela Washington,' who suffers from a painful illness, yet works shifts as a waitress to help to provide for her family. Production is currently underway in Atlanta, and the series is slated to premiere in 2023.
She recently starred for two seasons as 'Candace' opposite Timon Kyle Durrett ("Queen Sugar") in the ALLBLK series, "Stuck With You." The storyline revolves around celebrity couple 'Candace' and 'Luvell' as their model marriage falls apart, but they decide to try to protect their brand and status by holding off on divorce while living separate lives. Townsend served as a co-producer on the series, which was Emmy-nominated in the category of Outstanding Writing for a Daytime Fiction Program.
Townsend previously starred as tough but loveable mom and veteran spy 'Kira Cooper' in Disney Channel's live-action spy comedy series, "K.C. Undercover," which revolved around high school student math whiz 'K.C. Cooper' (Zendaya) who trains to be an undercover super spy, following in the footsteps of her parents (mom played by Townsend and dad played by Kadeem Hardison). In addition, Townsend guest-starred on the Disney+ series, "Big Shot," with John Stamos.
An accomplished actress, singer and dancer, Townsend has been performing for audiences since the age of nine. She landed her first TV role at the age of 14 with a guest spot on "Diff'rent Strokes" with Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges. She soon found work on such series as "In the Heat of the Night" and "Quantum Leap."
Townsend made her feature film debut in Robert Townsend's cult classic, "The Five Heartbeats." Additional feature credits include "The Preacher's Kid," "Simone" starring Al Pacino and Evan Rachel Wood, "Playing Mona Lisa," "The Pest" with John Leguizamo and "The Brady Bunch Movie."
She went on to showcase her comedic and singing skills with her starring role on "Sherri," opposite Sherri Shepherd. She had memorable roles in such series as "9ine," "Rock Me Baby" and "Lincoln Heights." She has also starred in numerous television movies, including "The Mistle-Tones," "To Love and to Cherish," "Love Me or Leave Me" and "Home of the Brave."
As a singer, Townsend has worked with many of the music industry's more celebrated singers/musicians, including Branford Marsalis, R&B singer/songwriter Tank, Gerald Albright, Norman Connors, Tamia and guitarist Kevin Eubanks ("The Tonight Show"). She performed the hit single 'One Kiss' from the "Preacher's Kid" soundtrack and has toured with singer/songwriter Eric Benet.
Townsend is an outdoor enthusiast who lives for adventure! She loves participating in activities such as hiking, snowboarding, 4-wheel driving and fly boarding. When she's not working or outdoors, she enjoys watching documentaries of all kinds. Travel is also a huge passion of hers, and she recently traveled to Croatia.
Follow Tammy Townsend on Instagram & Twitter: @tammytownsend10- Actress
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LisaRaye McCoy-Misick was born September 23, 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. She is of African American and Native American descent and is proud of her heritage. She later attended Eastern Illinois University but she never really took the idea of a career in acting seriously until persuaded by an insistent roommate to attend a local audition in Chicago. Her screen debut was in the low-budget action movie Reasons (1996), she received numerous critical kudos despite the fact that the film went largely unseen. LisaRaye is known for possessing a charmingly seductive smile and a distinctively vibrant but laid-back personality. She first caught the eye of television viewers with an appearance on the popular television series In the House (1995). Though the movie never did find a distributor, director Monty Ross convinced the budding young actress to move out to L.A. during pilot season, and she soon landed minor roles on such shows as Martin (1992) and In the House (1995). She also made an appearance in rapper Tupac Shakur's final music video, her memorable appearance caught the eye of rapper/actor Ice Cube, which led to her being in the movie The Players Club (1998). Her memorable performance as a troubled stripper left a solid impression on audiences. Her appearances thus far were impressive, but LisaRaye's career truly began to ignite after her appearance in the movie The Wood (1999). In 2000, LisaRaye found her widest audience yet as the host of Source: All Access (2002), a popular series dedicated to exploring hip-hop culture. She quickly gained a loyal following with her winning smile and extensive knowledge of all things hip-hop. As film roles continued to roll in, she came across her biggest role to date in the 2002 film Civil Brand (2002). A harrowing look into life in women's prison, the film took home top awards at both the American Black Film Festival and The Urbanworld Film Festival. Soon following her little sister Da Brat into a career in music, LisaRaye next began collaborating with Benzino to record a song to be featured in the film Redemption (2004). 2003 proved an equally lucrative year for LisaRaye as she prepared for the release of the Barry Levinson comedy Envy (2004), the female-driven Western Guns and Roses (2000), and her new sitcom, All of Us (2003) which was ran from 2003-2007.- Erica Tazel was born on 31 March 1977 in Dallas, Texas, USA. She is an actress, known for Justified (2010), Roots (2016) and Mafia III (2016).
- Nadine Ellis was born in Queens, New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for Hairspray (2007), Live Free or Die Hard (2007) and Tropic Thunder (2008).
- Mallika Sherawat is an Indian actress who mainly works in the Hindi film industry. She was named Reema Lamba at birth but later took up Mallika Sherawat as her screen name.
Sherawat did her schooling at Delhi Public School, Mathura Road. She earned her degree in philosophy from Miranda House at Delhi University. She worked as an air hostess and acted in commercials before joining the film industry.
Sherawat's film career began with Talat Jani's romance film Jeena Sirf Merre Liye (2002), in which she plays a small role. She debuted in a lead role in Khwahish (2003), directed by Govind Menon, starring Himanshu Malik. While the film failed to impact the box office, Sherawat gained popularity due to her 17 kissing scenes in the movie.
A year later, she appeared in Murder (2004), a romantic thriller co-starring Emraan Hashmi and Ashmit Patel, directed by Anurag Basu. She went on to act in films like Kis Kis Ki Kismat (2004) and Bachke Rehna Re Baba (2005).
In 2005, Sherawat appeared in her first international film, The Myth (2005), a Chinese fantasy-adventure and martial arts film directed by Stanley Tong that had Jackie Chan in the lead role. Her next film was Pyaar Ke Side Effects (2006), a romantic comedy written and directed by Saket Chaudhary with Rahul Bose playing the lead opposite her.
Sherawat was next seen on Aap Ka Suroor - The Real Love Story (Joy: The Real Love Story (2007)), a romantic thriller directed by Prashant Chadha, starring Himesh Reshammiya and Hansika Motwani. She essayed the role of an advocate in the movie. Her next film was Welcome (2007), directed by Anees Bazmee, starring Anil Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif and Nana Patekar. The film became a huge commercial success and earned more than Rs. 117 crores worldwide.
The following year, Sherawat appeared in Ugly Aur Pagli (2008) and Maan Gaye Mughall-E-Azam (2008). She debuted in Tamil cinema with the film Dasavatharam (2008), with Kamal Haasan in the lead role.
Sherawat played the lead role in Hisss (2010), an English-Hindi crossover from the adventure-horror genre directed by Jennifer Lynch. She promoted the film at the Cannes Film Festival 2010. She won the Best Actress Award at the Gotham Screen Film Festival & Screenplay Contest 2011 for her performance in the film.
She went on to work on Politics of Love (2011), directed by William Dear. Sherawat plays the lead role in this romantic comedy set during the campaign for the U.S. Presidential Election in 2008.
Sherawat appeared in films like Double Dhamaal (2011), Kismet Love Paisa Dilli (2012), and Dirty Politics (2015), among others. She acted in Time Raiders (2016), a Chinese fantasy-action-adventure movie directed by Daniel Lee.
Sherawat has also appeared in item numbers in several films, such as Thank You (2011), Bin Bulaye Baraati (2011), and Tezz (2012). She appeared in TV shows like Sarabhai V/S Sarabhai (2004) and Hawaii Five-0 (2010). In 2013, she took part in Bachelorette India - Mere Khayalon ki Mallika (2013), a reality dating show meant to find the ideal bachelor for herself.
Sherawat received the 2008 Renaissance Artist Award. She also received the International Youth Icon Award at the Kalakar Awards in 2015 - Actress
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Model & Actress KD Aubert started her modeling career with LA Models in 2001. As a runway model working overseas, she soon ventured into print modeling with Elite models (LA) where she was thrust into major campaigns. Soon after KD entered into the world of commercials where again, she was lucky enough into land some very memorable campaigns. In 2002, while hosting the MTV show Kidnapped with Dave Holmes, she landed her first major role, not surprisingly on her first audition, in the cult classic Friday After Next, followed shortly after with a role in The Scorpion King. The following year she replaced a recurring actress on the hit show Buffy the Vampire Slayer (aka Nikki Wood). While shooting Buffy, KD landed a leading role in the movie Hollywood Homicide starring Harrison Ford and Josh Hatrnett. She has also starred on independent movies such as Dysenchanted (starring Jim Belushi) and Easy. KD also starred alongside Kevin Hart, Tom Arnold and many other superstars while on the comedy Soul Plane. After shooting what was one her favorite sci-fi movies Frankenfish in Mobile, Alabama, she returned to LA to snatch a guest star role on FOX's Bones.
Life in Politics In 2007, while recording music and partly residing in Chicago, she volunteered at Obama headquarters where she met Arne Duncan and Rahm Emmanuel. As a Democrat, KD will always stand with the people, especially those less fortunate. KD feels what makes America great, is the way we have always been able to look out for one another and lend a helping hand.
Charities KD enjoys working alongside some very influential non-profit organizations, such as Urban Born out of Los Angeles, and the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation of California. Two of KD's sisters live with the Sickle Cell Disease and the foundation truly helped from childhood to now. In addition, KD works closely with the Charlie Mack Foundation out of Philadelphia, PA. Will Smith and his dear friend, Charlie Mack, founded this foundation. Every year KD is called upon to travel to Philly to visit with kids who suffer from illnesses at local medical facilities. She visits young kids and teens that have been incarcerated as well as host fun events for the inner city youths.
Hobbies Aubert's hobbies include: playing golf, tennis, watching CNN & MSNBC, traveling, eating exotic foods, writing songs, spending time with family, going to the batting cages, and fishing to name a few.
Religion KD's religious views are called "non-denominational" with a Christian foundation. She attends a worship center called "Agape" which means unconditional love.
"We do not judge, we believe that we are all beautiful intelligent expressions of GOD here on this planet." - KD Aubert- Actress
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Of Salvadoran and Spanish descent, Elena Diaz was raised in El Salvador by her father and grandmother, a strict disciplinarian. When she was nine years old her family moved to Southern California. In high school Elena was an honor-roll student, with a passion for the performing arts. She took singing and dancing lessons, and sang in her high-school choir. After graduation she obtained a certificate as a physical therapist, but decided instead to pursue a career in the performing arts. She has since worked in a variety of films and television shows, including The Green Hornet (2011), How I Met Your Mother (2005), It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005) and The Closer (2005).- Actress
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Tatyana Marisol Ali was born on January 24, 1979, in North Bellmore, New York, to Sonia, a nurse from Panama, and Sheriff Ali, a retired police officer from Trinidad. At the age of four, she started singing and got a taste of fame when she begged her mother to take her to an audition for Sesame Street (1969).
She went on to perform in many productions in her native New York, including the Broadway show "Fences"--with James Earl Jones and, later, Billy Dee Williams--and the off-Broadway show "Orfeo del Campo". When she was seven, she appeared on Star Search (1983) and won twice, receiving a four-star rating when she appeared for a second time. At age 11, Tatyana moved from New York to Los Angeles to establish her career and, not long afterwards, got her breakthrough role:Will Smith's cousin, "Ashley Banks," from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990).
While filming "The Fresh Prince," she also had exciting side projects, including guest roles in television shows such as The Cosby Show (1984), The All New Mickey Mouse Club (1989) (aka "The Mickey Mouse Club"), Kyno's Storytime (1992), Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990) and Foster's Field Trip (1994).
The public saw her grow on "Fresh Prince" from an adorable little girl to a stunning young woman, and she sang in several episodes of the show, most notably her rendition of Aretha Franklin's "Respect" and an original song, "Make Up Your Mind." Smith was so impressed with her singing that he asked if she would consider doing it professionally. Tatyana began preparing for her singing career during the last year of the show as she began training her vocal cords, recording demos and publicly performing on television and in various informal live concerts. Her performances on "The Fresh Prince" actually helped her build a fan base that anxiously waited for her first album launch. On August 25, she released her album "Kiss the Sky" (MJJ Music/Work/SME) and her single "Daydreamin'." The single was certified gold within weeks of its release, and it quickly rose on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles, where it reached #6 and stayed there for two weeks. She also contributed to major movies such as Crocodile Dundee II (1988) and Eddie Murphy: Raw (1987). Since then, she has had significant roles in two films, Fall Into Darkness (1996) and Fakin' Da Funk (1997). She has also guest-starred in several sitcoms, including In the House (1995), and had a cameo role in the film Kiss the Girls (1997). She also went to Harvard and graduated with a degree in Anthropology in June 2002. She is now working on a new album and starring in more movies.- Actress
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Lauren London first appeared in the film, ATL, opposite actor and recording artist, Tip "TI" Harris. Due to London's breakout success in ATL, she received an offer to star in the film, This Christmas, with Loretta Devine, Idris Elba and Regina King. Her next film role was in the teen romantic comedy, I Love You, Beth Cooper, opposite Hayden Panettiere. London made her television debut on Everybody Hates Chris. Her other television credits include a recurring guest star role on HBO's Entourage, a recurring guest star role on CW's 90210 and a special guest star role in the VH1 series, Singles Ladies, executive produced by Queen Latifah. London's next feature film is Madea's Big Happy Family, directed by Tyler Perry. She is a Los Angeles native.- Actress
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Halle Maria Berry was born Maria Halle Berry on August 14, 1966 in Cleveland, Ohio and raised in Oakwood, Ohio to Judith Ann Berry (née Hawkins), a psychiatric nurse & Jerome Jesse Berry, a hospital attendant. Her father was African-American and her mother is of mostly English and German descent. Halle first came into the spotlight at seventeen years when she won the Miss Teen All-American Pageant, representing the state of Ohio in 1985 and, a year later in 1986, when she was the first runner-up in the Miss U.S.A. Pageant. After participating in the pageant, Halle became a model. It eventually led to her first weekly TV series, 1989's Living Dolls (1989), where she soon gained a reputation for her on-set tenacity, preferring to "live" her roles and remaining in character even when the cameras stopped rolling. It paid off though when she reportedly refused to bathe for several days before starting work on her role as a crack addict in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever (1991) because the role provided her big screen breakthrough. The following year, she was cast as Eddie Murphy's love interest in Boomerang (1992), one of the few times that Murphy was evenly matched on screen. In 1994, Berry gained a youthful following for her performance as sexy secretary "Sharon Stone" in The Flintstones (1994). She next had a highly publicized starring role with Jessica Lange in the adoption drama Losing Isaiah (1995). Though the movie received mixed reviews, Berry didn't let that slow her down, and continued down her path to super-stardom.
In 1998, she received critical success when she starred as a street smart young woman who takes up with a struggling politician in Warren Beatty's Bulworth (1998). The following year, she won even greater acclaim for her role as actress Dorothy Dandridge in made-for-cable's Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999), for which she won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a TV Movie/Mini-Series. In 2000, she received box office success in X-Men (2000) in which she played "Storm", a mutant who has the ability to control the weather. In 2001, she starred in the thriller Swordfish (2001), and became the first African-American to win Best Actress at the Academy Awards, for her role as a grieving mother in the drama Monster's Ball (2001).- Actress
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Nia Fairweather is an award-winning Actress (A New York Christmas Wedding, The Roe Effect, Paralysis) and Writer (Four Seasons, OORDEEL) known for the emotional range, authenticity and unique perspective she brings to each story.
When Nia is not on set or at her desk penning new worlds, she can be found in her pottery studio, serving her local community or chillaxing with loved ones over cups of chai tea.- Shannon Kane was born on 14 September 1986 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA. She is an actress, known for Brooklyn's Finest (2009), The Collection (2012) and Blood and Bone (2009).
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Vida Guerra was born on 19 March 1974 in Havana, Cuba. She is an actress, known for CHIPS (2017), Mercy for Angels (2015) and Scarface: The World Is Yours (2006).- Actress
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Kent Masters King joined the cast of ABC's daytime drama Port Charles (1997) in June of 2003, just a few months after ABC Daytime President Brian Frons announced it was being canceled. Kent was born in Los Angeles, California, on August 5, 1974. She played Julie Williams in the long-running primetime soap Knots Landing (1979) from 1988 to 1992.
Kent earned a degree in Cinema-Television from the University of Southern California. She has made guest appearances in such TV shows as The Parkers (1999), The Steve Harvey Show (1996), Smart Guy (1997), The Jamie Foxx Show (1996), The Wayans Bros. (1995) and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990), In 2000 she subbed for Victoria Rowell on CBS' soap opera The Young and the Restless (1973).
She made her directing debut with "Manolias Funeral", which won the Black American Cinema Society Award for "Best Short Film."- Actress
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Naturi Naughton is an American Actress/Singer best known for her performance as "Tasha St. Patrick" in the hit show "Power" on the Starz Network. She has won 2 NAACP Image Awards for her performance in this role. Many also remember her thrilling portrayal of "Lil Kim" in Fox Searchlight's film "Notorious". Naughton has starred in various other projects such as MGM's remake of the classic film "Fame", Lottery Ticket, The Playboy Club, Mad Men and The Client List. She also appeared on Broadway in the Tony Award winning musical, "Hairspray" for 3 years. Before her transition into film and television, Naughton was a member of the Platinum selling girl group 3LW. Born and raised in East Orange, NJ, she was greatly inspired by Whitney Houston as a child and knew by the age of 5 that she wanted to be a performer. Naughton continues to thrive in Hollywood as a respected actress who has been lauded for her ability to transform into any role she is given.- Actress
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Regina Hall was born December 12, 1970 in Washington, D.C., to Ruby, a teacher, and Odie Hall, a contractor. She graduated from Fordham University in 1992, and went on to earn a master's degree in journalism from New York University before shifting to an acting career. In 1997 at age 26, she began appearing in commercials, and then made the giant leap into movies. Her fame came with her role in the comedy-horror spoof Scary Movie, Regina Hall has frequented the big screen in roles that far from betrayed her age. Her recurring role in Scary Movie and the sequel Scary Movie 2 exhibited the 30-year-old's ability to maintain her youthful appearance, as she portrayed the high-school-aged Brenda Meeks. However, her first film role was in the 1999 film The Best Man. The following year, she made many other film appearances, including her starring role in Scary Movie in 2000. She first had a role in the movie Love and Basketball which also starred close friend Sanaa Lathan. In 2001, Hall's list of credits grew to include her first television role, as Corretta Lipp on the prime-time drama Ally McBeal, which was a recurring role for several episodes. Furthermore, in 2001 Scary Movie 2 was released, in addition to the Mandel Holland comedy The Other Brother, featuring Hall as Vicki. One year later, she starred in the action-drama Paid in Full, directed by Charles Stone III. She would later on start in other films such as;Malibu's Most Wanted, Scary Movie 3, The Honeymooners, and First Sunday.- Actress
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Courtney Reed was born in Elgin, Illinois, USA. She is known for Endings, Beginnings (2019), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) and The Affair (2014).- Daphne Duplaix was born on 18 August 1976 in New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for One Life to Live (1968), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000) and Lost & Found (1999). She has been married to Grady Heiberg since 28 June 2014. They have one child. She was previously married to Ron Samuel.
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Kellita Smith was born January 15, 1969 as Kellita A. Smith in Chicago, Illinois. She is an actress who has appeared on House Party 3 (1994), The Bernie Mac Show (2001-2006), Sister, Sister (1994-1999), Moesha (1996-2001), In Living Color (1990-1994), Living Single (1993-1998), and The First Family (2012). In her early years she was a supermodel before deciding to become an actress. She attended Santa Rosa Junior College.- Actress
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Franklin joined the multi-platinum singing group Destiny's Child after co-founding members LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson were fired by manager Matthew Knowles (father of lead singer Beyoncé Knowles). She was unceremoniously dismissed in the same manner after only five months.- After attending the University of Wisconsin for a year Kirby Griffin became a high fashion model who started her career after being discovered on Spring Break. Since, she has and continues to work frequently in Los Angeles, NYC, and Europe. Georgia born, Wisconsin raised, Kirby now splits her time between California, where she is studying acting, and New York City. Kirby was among 17 models featured in the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue and has shot for Victoria's Secret.
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A former model and beauty queen (both as Miss University World and Miss India talent winner), Shah has acted on the big screen and on stage for over eight years, fast becoming a household name in India. She is best known for her roles in such hits as Yes Boss and Jungle, as well as for her acclaimed dancing numbers in movies like Vaastav and Aankhen. Kashmira started doing theater and soon proved herself as an accomplished actress in her many plays. This may have contributed to her showcase of her talents in 'Jungle' where her performance earned her a coveted Best Supporting Actress nomination in the local film industry. Shah recently graduated from prominent co-starring roles to lead parts - notably, in a anticipated series of films including one wherein which she plays Revati, a poor rag picker who finds her dignity in a journey of self-discovery. And her latest project, My Bollywood Bride, where in addition to co-writing the screenplay she plays the lead role of Reena, a Bollywood film star that falls in love with an American writer played by Jason Lewis (Sex and the City) Kashmera is now slated to star in two more Hollywood films and several Bollywood films all currently in pre-production or production. Whatever the medium, Shah seems to have a knack for being involved in successful projects. She was recently ranked among the Top 35 All Time Actresses in India and she has been promoted as the Worlds Most Exotic Woman and/or India's Most Exotic Export!- Actress
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Gabrielle Union was born on October 29, 1972, in Omaha, Nebraska, to Theresa (Glass), who managed a phone company, and Sylvester E. Union, a military sergeant and business executive. When she was eight, her family moved to Pleasanton, California, where she grew up and attended high school. There, Union was an all-star point guard and a year-round athlete participating in soccer, basketball, and track. She graduated from Foothill High School (Class of 1991).
After high school, Gabrielle attended college at University of Nebraska, where she played on the soccer team; and then later transferred to Cuesta College. Eventually, she ended up at UCLA. On her way to law school, just planning on being a working stiff, things started to happen during her senior year. Gabrielle had a college internship at a L.A. modeling agency, she thought it would be an easy way to pick up some extra credits. Little did she know that clients were eyeing the help. Upon the completion of the internship, she was asked to become a client with the agency. Gabby thought of it as a great way to pay off a stack of college loans, and modeled until her agent found that she could actually act. Her first audition/job was landed without any headshots, on Saved by the Bell (1989). Since then, she has gone on to have many small but substantial film roles and has guest-starred on several hit TV shows, all before landing the role of "Dr. Courtney Ellis", on CBS' short-lived medical drama City of Angels (2000).
Although she plays parts that are opinionated and strong, Gabrielle believes that, "Hollywood needs to recognize all shades of African-American beauty." Gabrielle is a 1996 graduate of UCLA with honors in sociology.- Actress
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Jill Marie Jones was born on 4 January 1975 in Dallas, Texas, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Girlfriends (2000), Drool (2009) and Sleepy Hollow (2013).- Actress
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Stevens was born in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of actor and radio announcer Shadoe Stevens, and former model Beverly Cunningham. She has a younger sister named Chyna Stevens (Chyna Rose Stevens). She is a graduate of Beverly Hills High School. Her father is Caucasian (of Norwegian, German, English, and Dutch descent) and her mother is African-American (and part-Comanche).- Actress
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Janel Parrish is an American actress and singer who portrayed Mona Vanderwaal in Pretty Little Liars (2010).
She was born Janel Meilani Parrish on October 30, 1988 in Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, to parents Joanne (Mew) and Mark Phillip Parrish. Her mother is of Chinese descent and her father is Caucasian. Her sister, Melissa Nohelani, is eight years her senior. At age 6, Parrish began piano lessons, and within a year was also studying acting, singing, tap dance and jazz dance. She was educated at Moanalua Elementary and Moanalua High School, but left after ninth grade to be home schooled. At 14, she moved to Los Angeles with her family. That same year, she entered the talent competition Star Search (2003), but did not progress further than the first round.
Parrish began her acting career in 1996 with the role of Young Cosette in "Les Misérables", first performing in the U.S. national tour and then transferring to the Broadway production. She subsequently guest starred in various television series, before landing her breakthrough role as Jade in Bratz (2007). Three years later, she was cast in her most notable role, Mona Vanderwaal, in Pretty Little Liars (2010). Parrish won four Teen Choice Awards for her performance throughout the series' run.
In addition to acting, Parrish also competed in the nineteenth season of Dancing with the Stars (2005), in which she finished third, and released her first single as a singer-songwriter in 2007 through Geffen Records.- Actress
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Michelle Van Der Water is a South African native born in Cape Town. Her parents moved the family to Australia soon after Michelle's birth. The family settled in a small town just an hour outside of Sydney. Michelle attended and graduated from Inaburra High School in the Sutherland Shire before going on to attend Wollongong University. At Wollongong, she graduated with a Bachelor of Creative Arts in Graphic Design and New Media. Michelle started out modeling in Sydney while taking acting classes on the side. This sparked Michelle's passion for acting she continued training in the field once she moved permanently to Los Angeles. Michelle began her professional career in 2000. Among her performances, most of which are film shorts and television, Michelle appeared in the horror/fantasy film Minotaur (2006) starring alongside Tom Hardy and Tony Todd. Other works include the 2009 revival of the series Melrose Place (2009), followed by work on Castle (2009) in 2011 and NCIS: Los Angeles (2009) in 2012. She continues studying acting at the John Kirby Studio in Hollywood.- Actress
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BernNadette Stanis is best known as Thelma from Good Times (1974), but there's much more to her than that. In the 1970s she was the personification of black beauty. As sophisticated and graceful as she was, she still became TV's first black sex symbol or "It" girl. Thelma/BernNadette and the Evans family also proved many stereotypes wrong about the ghetto and the young black girl, such as that all black girls and black families in the ghetto had no hopes, dreams, or class. Thelma showed that a "ghetto girl" had hopes and dreams, intelligence, respect, dignity, and grace, and it wasn't just acting--BernNadette was that naturally. She introduced a new definitive image of the young black girl and woman.
BernNadette was a wonderful, graceful dancer, which she displayed several times on the series. Everything she did was marked with delicacy, diminutive beauty, form, or grace, all very welcome in TV in the 1970s. Her dramatic, comedic charm, witty one-liners, daintiness, winsomeness, and sexy but innocent image were versatile qualities that made her a great talent and great favorite who will never be forgotten.Thelma Thelma Thelma - Good Times- Actress
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In September 2009, Rose announced plans to launch her own line of eye wear. She walked the runway at New York Fashion Week for "Celestino." She has said that being with Wiz Khalifa was the best decision she made after going through a rough relationship with ex-boyfriend Kanye West because he was cheating with Kim Kardashian.
Levonchuck has also made cameos in music videos such as Ludacris' "What Them Girls Like," Young Jeezy's "Vacation," Mary Mary's "God in Me," Nicki Minaj's "Massive Attack," and Fabolous "You Be Killin' Em."
In 2010 she appeared in Russell Simmons' reality show about his two assistants, "Running Russell Simmons." She also starred in a PSA by NOH8 Campaign. In 2011, Amber Rose was a guest judge on Season 3 of RuPaul's Drag Race. She was also a judge on Season 2 of Master of the Mix.
In November 2011 she became the spokesperson for Smirnoff and appeared in a TV ad and billboards for the company's new flavors Whipped and Fluffed.
Levonchuck released her debut single, "Fame," which features Wiz Khalifa, in January 10, 2012, followed by a second single, titled "Loaded," was released on February 6, 2012.- Actress
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Thandiwe Newton was born in London. She is the daughter of Zimbabwean mother Nyasha, a health-care worker from the Shona tribe, and British father Nick Newton, who worked as a lab technician. She lived in Zambia until political unrest caused her family to move back to the UK, where she lived in Cornwall (in southwest Britain) until she was 11 and enrolled in London's Art Educational School to study modern dance until a back injury forced her to quit dancing. This led to her auditioning for films. Her first role was in John Duigan's Flirting (1991). She then moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue acting. When her British accent limited the amount of work she was getting, she returned to Britain, studied at Cambridge University, and earned a degree in anthropology. Between semesters she continued acting and became noticed in in- demand for future film roles.- Katie Cockrell is an American actress, dancer, and performer. She grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah and started dancing at the age of 5. She's of mixed ethnic background, her mother is Chinese and her father is English and Irish. Katie has an identical twin sister, Kellie, who is also an actress. Katie's been in over 50 commercials and film projects; most notably playing a Catian alien twin opposite Chris Pine in Star Trek: Into Darkness.
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Kandi is best known as one of the lead vocalists in the hugely successful 1990s R&B vocal group, Xscape. Burrus sang lead on hits such as "My Little Secret", "Just Kickin' It" and "Who Can I Run To", as well as wrote their early hits, including "Feel So Good" and "Can't Hang". Kandi is also known as the song-writing genius behind the massive 1999 No. 1 hit, "No Scrubs", by TLC, which won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song, a song-writing award. She was also recognized as the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Award for Songwriter of the Year, other hits penned by Kandi included "Bills, Bills, Bills" by Destiny's Child and "There You Go" by Pink, to name just a few, in all she's written dozens more songs for artists including, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, *NSYNC, Monica, Alicia Keys, Boyz II Men, Faith Evans, Blu Cantrell and many, many more. During the late 1990s, when she emerged as a talented singer/song-writer, along with song-writing partners Kevin 'She'kspere' Briggs (also rumored husband) and Tiny Harris (member of Xscape and co-writer of "No Scrubs"), she was tipped as a leader of a new breed of talented behind-the-scenes female artists and received great ovation for her talents, the media had nothing bad to relay. Burruss attempted to wow the critics once more by releasing her very own highly anticipated debut solo set, with a lead single, "Don't Think I'm Not", which had fair success. The album, entitled "Hey Kandi", sold reasonably well during its first few weeks. Despite modest success, she was dropped from "Columbia" as a recording artist, though she continues to write songs for other artists through the company. Burruss returned to her recording career with her second album, "I Need", released through independent label, "Upfront Records".- Actress
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Stunning pop culture icon, Hollywood leading lady and three-time NAACP award winner Nia Long returns to the big screen this fall in the highly anticipated Universal Pictures sequel The Best Man Holiday (in theaters November 15th) where she reunites with original castmates Taye Diggs ("Private Practice"), Terrence Howard (Hustle & flow), Morris Chestnut (The brothers) and Harold Perrineau ("Lost"). Additionally in Spring 2014, Long will star in Tyler Perry's Single mom's club alongside Wendi McLendon- Covey (Bridesmaids), Tyler Perry (Madea) and Amy Smart (Crank).
Early this year, Long joined the all-star cast of Showtime's "House of Lies" alongside Golden Globe Award winner Don Cheadle & Kristen Bell as "Tamara," a business school classmate and former flame of Marty's (Don Cheadle) who has been hired by the same consulting firm Galweather Stearn after taking time off to raise a family.
Long made her film debut in the poignant film portraying the social problems in inner-city Los Angeles, Boyz n the hood , and continued on to star in Friday, alongside Ice Cube and Chris Tucker, as well as Love Jones, which won the prestigious Audience Award at Sundance. Other notable film roles include Soul Food, Alfie opposite Jude Law, The Best man, Are We There Yet?, Big Momma's House 1 & 2 opposite Martin Lawrence, Stigmata, the Broken Hearts Club and Made in America.
On the small screen, Long's portrayal of "Officer Sasha Monroe" on NBC's hit crime drama "Third Watch" awarded her two NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Drama series. Long's other TV accomplishments include "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," "Boston Legal," "Judging Amy," and "Big Shots." Long also voiced "Roberta" in the first season of the Fox hit "the Cleveland Show."
Making her directorial debut on Ashanti's music video "Baby" and Yolanda Adam's "This Too Shall Pass," Nia continues her work behind the camera and is developing a feature film that centers on renowned world champion boxer and trainer Ann Wolfe.
In addition to her film and TV work, Long's passion lies in serving her community. With her family roots planted in Trinidad, Grenada, and Barbados, Long's long term goals are to connect women in the US to those of the islands and to mentor young girls to regain their self-esteem. Additionally, Long lends her support to Black Girls Rock, an organization that promotes the arts for young women of color and encourages dialogue on the ways women of color are portrayed in the media. In 2012 she was named an official surrogate to the Barack Obama reelection campaign.
Nia was born in Brooklyn, to Talita (Gillman), a teacher and printmaker, and Doughtry Long, a high school teacher and poet. She now calls Los Angeles home where she lives with her 12 year old son, Massai, 14 month old son, Kez and partner Ime Udoka, an Assistant Coach for the San Antonio Spurs. Long loves to cook organic farmers market fresh meals adding a twist of her Trinidadian heritage. When she's not juggling between her career and motherhood, she enjoys staying active by doing pilates, boxing, hiking, and horseback riding. Long also finds pleasure in traveling and experiencing different cultures throughout the world. One of her favorite locations to visit is Jamaica, a place she calls her second home where she can reflect and refuel.- Actress
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Paula Patton was born in Los Angeles, California, to Joyce (Vanraden) and Charles Patton. Her father is African-American and her mother, who is caucasian, has German, English, and Dutch ancestry. Her family lived across the street from the 20th Century Fox lot when she was growing up and she was a fan of films from her earliest years. Her mother, who also appreciated good films, was a schoolteacher, and her father was a lawyer. Paula claims that as a girl she would escape by "pretending to be someone else" so it was not a surprise that she acted in high school plays at Hamilton Magnet Arts High School. Her favorite role was that of "Abigail" in "The Crucible". However, she went on to study film at the University of Southern California in a summer program, and won a 3-month assignment making documentaries for PBS. This led to her working as a production assistant for TV documentaries, and also for Howie Mandel's talk show. She progressed to actually producing documentary segments for Medical Diaries (2000) airing on Discovery Health Channel. Paula now professes that she liked what she was doing, but her dream remained the same as when she was small so she took acting lessons and shifted gears to become a performer. She was almost immediately successful and, within three years, had played parts in major features, Hitch (2005) and Idlewild (2006) and the female lead in Deja Vu (2006) opposite Denzel Washington.- Actress
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Lauren Sanchez was born on 19 December 1969 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. She is an actress, known for Hollywood Homicide (2003), The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and We Bought a Zoo (2011). She was previously married to Patrick Whitesell.- Actress
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Jessica Marie Alba was born on April 28, 1981, in Pomona, CA, to Catherine (Jensen) and Mark David Alba, who served in the US Air Force. Her father is of Mexican descent (including Spanish and Indigenous Mexican roots), and her mother has Danish, Welsh, English, and French ancestry. Her family moved to Biloxi, MS, when she was an infant. Three years later her father's career brought the family back to California, then to Del Rio, TX, before finally settling in Southern California when Jessica was nine. In love with the idea of becoming an actress from the age of five, she was 12 before she took her first acting class. Nine months later she was signed by an agent. She studied at the Atlantic Theatre Company with founders William H. Macy and David Mamet.
A gifted young actress, Jessica has played a variety of roles ranging from light comedy to gritty drama since beginning her career. She made her feature film debut in 1993 in Hollywood Pictures' comedy Camp Nowhere (1994). Originally hired for two weeks, she got her break when an actress in a principal role suddenly dropped out. Jessica cheerfully admits it wasn't her prodigious talent or charm that inspired the director to tap her to take over the part--it was her hair, which matched the original performer's. The two-week job stretched to two months, and Jessica ended the film with an impressive first credit. Two national TV commercials for Nintendo and J.C. Penney quickly followed before Jessica was featured in several independent films. She branched out into TV in 1994 with a recurring role in Nickelodeon's popular comedy series The Secret World of Alex Mack (1994). She played an insufferable young snob, devoted to making life miserable for the the title character, played by Larisa Oleynik. That same year, she won the role of "Maya" in Flipper (1995) and filmed the pilot for the series. She spent 1995 shooting the first season's episodes in Australia. An avid swimmer and PADI-certified SCUBA diver, Jessica was delighted to be doing a show that allowed her to play with dolphins. The show's success guaranteed it a second season, which she also starred in. Her involvement in the show lasted from 1995 to 1997.
In 1996 she appeared in Venus Rising (1995) as "Young Eve." The next year she appeared on The Dini Petty Show (1989), a Canadian talk show, and spoke about her role in "Flipper" and her general acting career. She began working on P.U.N.K.S. (1999), featuring Randy Quaid, in 1998. In early 1998 she appeared in Brooklyn South (1997) as "Melissa." That same year she was in two episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990) as "Leanne" and in two episodes of Love Boat: The Next Wave (1998).
She appeared in "Teen Magazine" in 1995 and various European magazines over the following years. More importantly, she was featured in the February 1999 issue of "Vanity Fair" magazine. She also had major roles in two movies that year: Never Been Kissed (1999) and Idle Hands (1999). In 2000 she had roles in Paranoid (2000) and starred in the sci-fi TV series Dark Angel (2000), gaining worldwide recognition.
Her first starring role in a major studio film was the Honey (2003), Universal Pictures' contemporary urban drama that grossed over $60 million worldwide. She has since made over 25 feature films that have earned a combined box-office total of over $800 million, including comedies and dramas, from gritty independents to major studio blockbusters. In 2005 she starred opposite Bruce Willis and an all-star cast in the provocative and critically acclaimed Sin City (2005), directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller. She next starred as Sue Storm--"The Invisible Girl"--in Marvel's action-franchise blockbuster Fantastic Four (2005), which was released by 20th Century-Fox in July 2005 and became a worldwide box-office success with over $300 million in revenue.
Jessica was part of Garry Marshall's all-star ensemble romantic comedy, Valentine's Day (2010), which broke box-office records with the largest opening on a four-day President's Day weekend in history. She starred opposite Casey Affleck and Kate Hudson in director Michael Winterbottom's controversial screen adaptation of The Killer Inside Me (2010), based on Jim Thompson's novel, as well as Robert Rodriquez's Machete (2010). She co-starred in the third installment of the hit "Meet the Parents" franchise Little Fockers (2010), as well as the 4D family adventure Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World (2011), marking her third of five collaborations with Robert Rodriguez. Jessica was part of an all-star voice cast for The Weinstein Company's animated adventure, Escape from Planet Earth (2012), also featuring Sarah Jessica Parker, Brendan Fraser and James Gandolfini.
She appeared in the comedy A.C.O.D. (2013), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and starred Adam Scott, Jane Lynch and Amy Poehler. She made a cameo appearance in Machete Kills (2013) and co-starred in Robert Rodriquez's highly-anticipated, star-studded sequel Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014). That year she had a full slate of acting projects, including the period drama Dear Eleanor (2016), The Englishman opposite Pierce Brosnan and Salma Hayek; the IFC parody mini-series The Spoils of Babylon (2014), produced by Funny or Die, with a stellar cast including Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig, Tobey Maguire, Michael Sheen and Tim Robbins; and Stretch (2014), co-starring Patrick Wilson, Chris Pine, Ray Liotta, Ed Helms and Brooklyn Decker.
Jessica has received Golden Globe and People's Choice Award nominations, was voted TV Guide readers' Breakout Star of the Year, and won Favorite TV Actress at the 2001 Teen Choice Awards for "Dark Angel." She won the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Female Actress for her performance in "Fantastic Four" and an MTV Movie Award for Sexiest Performance in "Sin City." She received another Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress in a Horror/Thriller for The Eye (2008) and was honored by the Young Hollywood Awards as Superstar of Tomorrow in 2005. She has received ALMA Awards for her performances in "Dark Angel" and "Machete," as well as a Fashion Icon in 2009.- Actress
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Dominique DuVernay was born on "4/20" in New Orleans, La. She is most noted for her role as Brittany on the Emmy nominated ALLBLK series "A House Divided." In 2020 she won a HAPA award for best supporting actress in a digital series for this role.
One of the biggest questions that are always raised regarding Dominique is what her ethnic background is. This New Orleans native is authentically Creole with a splash of Latina. She is African American, Nicaraguan & French. Dominique and her younger sister were raised by a single mother and between the ages of 7 and 15 she and her family moved back and forth between New Orleans and the Bay Area until they settled back home in New Orleans for good. Dominique was no military brat but had her fair share of relocating growing up. She attended a whopping total of 23 schools from kindergarten through 12th grade in both Louisiana and California. Her unique childhood which also comprised of sometimes living in battered women and homeless shelters on occasion contributed to her fascination with various kinds of people, characters, accents, languages, anything that had to do with communication and varying personalities and as a child she would create different characters, give them all different accents, and taught herself a great deal of Spanish. She was a shy child but her mother, knowing her hidden talents and interests nudged her sign up for a role in the church play at the age of 14 and that's were she got bit by the acting bug.
Upon graduating high school she began her full pursuit of acting and has never looked back. Dominique has had appearances in films such as the RZA's "Cut Throat City" and 50 Cent's "Freelancers" as well as shows such as "The Game," "Claws," and so much more. She is also a mother of two beautiful daughters and gives full to glory to God for all of her success on and off screen and looks forward to her continued blessings and flourishing career.- Actress
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Tiffany Hines was born on 2 September 1983 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. She is an actress, known for Magnum P.I. (2018), 24: Legacy (2016) and Bones (2005).- Beautiful N'Bushe Wright started out as a dancer, trained at the prestigious Alvin Ailey Dance Center and the Martha Graham School of Dance, but then switched to acting, enrolling at Stella Adler's studio. Within a year, Wright was starring in Anthony Drazan's Zebrahead (1992). That year, she won the recurring role of Claudia, a black civil rights activist fighting for equal opportunities in education in the acclaimed but short-lived NBC television drama I'll Fly Away. She received positive reviews for her moving portrayal of the drug-addicted older sister of the title protagonist in Boaz Yakin's Fresh (1994). The following year, Wright played an idealistic Black Panther in the Hughes Brothers Dead Presidents (1995). A native of New York City, she is the daughter of jazz man Suleiman-Marim and a NYC Board of Education psychologist. Wright attended the Manhattan High School for the Performing Arts.
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Kim Porter is from Columbus, Georgia. She started out as a blushing model from the small town area. After her graduation from Columbus High School in 1988, she moved to Atlanta to pursue a bigger dream. She was in a relationship with singer Al B. Sure! and in 1991, they had a son Quincy Brown who was named after Al B. Sure's mentor, musician Quincy Jones. In 1994 she began a relationship with Sean 'Diddy' Combs. He adopted and raised Quincy and the couple also has a son, Christian Casey Combs, and twin daughters D'Lila Star and Jessie James Combs.- Actress
Leila Lopes was born on 26 February 1986 in Benguela, Angola. She is an actress, known for HeartBeat, Elite Model Look South Africa (2013) and Criança Esperança (1985). She has been married to Osi Umenyiora since 30 May 2015.- Actress
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Barbara Mori began her career in television where she starred in telenovelas for more than 10 years. The most notable of those was "Rubí" which garnered her international recognition globally.
Through this notoriety she has had the opportunity to work in such countries such as Chile, The United States, Spain, India and South Africa.
Following her television success Mori also ventured into cinema with films such as "My Brother's Wife", "Love Pain and Vice Versa", "Kites" and "Cantinflas", among others.
In 2012 she created her own production company, "Lua Producciones", with which she has produced films such "Alice in Marialand", The Mongolian Conspiracy", Thirty Single and Fantastic" and the television series "Dos Lunas"
That same year Mori also began the charitable foundation "Amorinfinito Fundation", which is dedicated to fulfilling the dreams of boys and girls who are going through terminal illness or who are at risk of death. It continues to be a huge focus for her today.
Next up, she is preparing her debut feature as a screenwriter and director.- Paulette Braxton was born on 31 January 1965 in Houston, Texas, USA. She is an actress, known for A Night at the Roxbury (1998), Homeboys in Outer Space (1996) and CSI: Miami (2002).
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Candace Smith was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio where she began performing at a young age at the Dayton Playhouse. She is an actress known for My Father Die (2016), End of Watch (2012) and Gimme Shelter (2013).
Throughout high school and college, she participated in Drama as well as athletics. While attending the University of Dayton on a full academic scholarship, Candace studied media and communications for a summer at the University of London, where her love for theatre grew on the West End. She returned from London and graduated from the University of Dayton with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in Communications.
Candace went on to attend Northwestern University School of Law. While studying in Chicago, Candace immersed herself in the experience by volunteering for an outreach program at the juvenile detention center and traveling to Cuba as a group leader for a research project. Upon graduating, Candace returned to Ohio to be close to her family. She was admitted to the Ohio Supreme Court and began practicing commercial real estate. While practicing, Candace won the prestigious title of Miss Ohio USA 2003. Once she concluded her duties as Miss Ohio USA 2003, she made the move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment while continuing to coach clients in life & love.
Most recently, Candace appears in ABC's Same Time, Next Christmas (2019) starring Lea Michele, as the sister to Charles Michael Davis. In the soon to be released Netflix comedy, The Wrong Missy (2020) Candace shares the screen with David Spade as the wife to Joe Anoa'i.
In the feature action film My Father Die (2016) produced by Pierce Brosnan, Candace stars as Nana, the heroine of this gritty action thriller set in the South, alongside Joe Anderson. Candace appeared as a West African social worker in the independent film Gimme Shelter (2013) alongside Rosario Dawson and Vanessa Hudgens. In David Ayer's film End of Watch (2012), Candace plays a distraught mother opposite Jake Gyllenhaal, which debuted No. 1 opening weekend.
Candace's lifelong passion for comedy led her to perform stand-up at the world famous Comedy Store on Sunset Blvd. She studied at Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles as a member of their diversity class. She has appeared in three of the comedy troupe, Broken Lizard's films; including her film debut as Naomi in Warner Brothers' Beerfest (2006), The Slammin' Salmon (2009) as Michael Clarke Duncan's sister and the The Babymakers (2012).
In television, Candace has appeared on CBS's Hawaii Five-0 (2010), NBC's Heroes (2006), TBS's Conan (2010), and Joey (2004), HBO's Entourage (2004) and Fox's Method & Red (2004).
As a TV Personality specializing as a lifestyle expert & love expert, Candace has appeared on Bravo's The Millionaire Matchmaker (2008), E!'s The Platinum Life (2017), the Hallmark Channel's Home & Family (2012) and WE TV's Million Dollar Matchmaker (2016).
As a producer, Candace has worked as an associate producer on several network shows. She is developing both unscripted and scripted projects.- Actress
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Lena Calhoun Horne was born June 30, 1917, in Brooklyn, New York. In her biography she stated that, on the day she was born, her father was in the midst of a card game trying to get money to pay the hospital costs. Her parents divorced while she was still a toddler. Her mother left later in order to find work as an actress and Lena was left in the care of her grandparents. When she was seven, her mother returned and the two traveled around the state which meant that Lena was enrolled in numerous schools. For a time she also attended schools in Florida, Georgia and Ohio. Later she returned to Brooklyn.
Lena quit school when she was 14 and got her first stage job at 16 dancing and later singing at the famed Cotton Club in Harlem, a renowned theater in which black performers played before white audiences immortalized in The Cotton Club (1984)). She was in good hands at the club, especially when people such as Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington took her under their wings and helped her over the rough spots. Before long, her talent resulted in her playing before packed houses.
If Lena had never made a movie, her music career would have been enough to have ensured her legendary status in the entertainment industry, but films were icing on the cake. After she made an appearance on Broadway, Hollywood came calling. At 21 years of age, Lena made her first film, The Duke Is Tops (1938). It would be four more years before she appeared in another, Panama Hattie (1942), playing a singer in a nightclub. By now Lena had signed with MGM but, unfortunately for her, the pictures were shot so that her scenes could be cut out when they were shown in the South since most theaters in the South refused to show films that portrayed blacks in anything other than subservient roles to whites. Most movie studios did not want to take a chance on losing that particular source of revenue. Lena did not want to appear in those kinds of stereotyped roles and who could blame her?
In 1943, MGM loaned Lena to 20th Century-Fox to play the role of Selina Rogers in the all-black musical Stormy Weather (1943), which did extremely well at the box office. Her rendition of the title song became a major hit on the musical charts. In 1943, she appeared in Cabin in the Sky (1943), regarded by many as one of the finest performances of her career. She played Georgia Brown opposite Ethel Waters and Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson in the all black production. Rumors were rampant that she and Waters just did not get along well, although there was never any mention of the source of the alleged friction. However, that was not the only feud on that picture. Other cast members sniped at one another and it was a wonder the film was made at all. Regardless of the hostilities, the movie was released to very good reviews from the ever tough critics. It went a long way in showing the depth of the talent that existed among black performers in Hollywood, especially Lena.
Lena's musical career flourished, but her movie career stagnated. Minor roles in films such as Boogie-Woogie Dream (1944), Words and Music (1948) and Mantan Messes Up (1946) did little to advance her film career, due mainly to the ingrained racist attitudes of the time. Even at the height of Lena's musical career, she was often denied rooms at the very hotels in which she performed because they would not let blacks stay there. After Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956), Lena left films to concentrate on music and the stage. She returned in 1969 as Claire Quintana in Death of a Gunfighter (1969). Nine years later, she returned to the screen again in the all black musical The Wiz (1978) where she played Glinda the Good Witch. Although that was her last big-screen appearance, she stayed busy in television appearing in A Century of Women (1994) and That's Entertainment! III (1994).
Had it not been for the prevailing racial attitudes during the time when Lena was just starting her career, it's fair to say that it would have been much bigger and come much sooner. Even taking those factors into account, Lena Horne is still one of the most respected, talented and beautiful performers of all time.- Actress
- Producer
Annie Ilonzeh was born on 23 August 1983 in Grapevine, Texas, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Peppermint (2018), Person of Interest (2011) and He's Just Not That Into You (2009).- Actress
- Producer
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Sanaa Lathan is an actor, director, producer, and activist, well-known for starring in such hit films as LOVE & BASKETBALL, THE BEST MAN and BEST MAN HOLIDAY, BROWN SUGAR, ALIEN VS. PREDATOR, and NAPPILY EVER AFTER.
She recently made her feature directorial debut for Paramount Pictures' ON THE COME UP, based on the New York Times best-selling novel of the same name. Premiering at the Toronto film festival to stellar reviews. Currently streaming on Paramount Plus.
Coming soon: MACRO Films' YOUNG WILD AND FREE which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
She is currently starring in the 3rd season of the Emmy Award-winning HBO series Succession. For which she was nominated for an Emmy award.
Lathan can be seen starring in REPLAY, an episode of the Jordan Peele's remake of The Twilight Zoneon CBS All Access. She also stars in Showtime's The Affair and Fox's Shots Fired created by Gina Prince- Bythewood, and Rashid Johnson's Native Son on HBO.
Lathan is the voice of 'Donna Tubbs' on Fox's animated series Family Guy and The Cleveland Show, as well as the voice of 'Catwoman' in the DC animated series Harley Quinn.
On stage, Lathan was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance on Broadway in A RAISIN IN THE SUN and starred as 'Maggie the Cat' opposite James Earl Jones in the Olivier award winning revival of CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF at the Novello Theatre in London's West end.
Lathan made her directorial debut with the short film LEAP for Maven Pictures, which she shot during lock down, about a Zoom therapist who suffers from OCD and panic disorder. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
She also stars in Peacock's MAN: FINAL CHAPTERS limited series with the original cast for which she was nominated for an image award.
Later this year she will be starring in the Fox Searchlight film: SUPREMES AT EARL'S ALL YOU CAN EAT based on the book of the same name.
Her lengthy list of credits also includes Steven Soderbergh's CONTAGION, NOW YOU SEE ME 2, AMERICAN ASSASSIN and Focus feature's SOMETHING NEW.- Dawn Jackson was born on 17 August 1981. She is an actress, known for The Dictator (2012), The Daily Show (1996) and Harlem Heights (2009). She has been married to Jibril Hassan Jackson since 18 June 2011.
- Music Artist
- Actress
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Talented. Beautiful. Modest. These three words described R&B singer-turned-actress Aaliyah perfectly.
Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Diane (Hankerson) and Michael Haughton. Her uncle was music manager Barry Hankerson and her brother is director Rashad Haughton. Aaliyah was raised in Detroit. She got her first major exposure appearing on the syndicated television series Star Search (1983), where she awed the audience with her amazing voice and talent, singing "My Funny Valentine", a song which her mother had sung years earlier. At age 11, she sang with Gladys Knight in a five-night stint in Las Vegas. Withdrawing from the celebrity scene for a few years, Aaliyah lived the life of a normal teenage girl, attending Detroit's Performing Arts High School, where she majored in dance. It was around this same time that Aaliyah met singer/composer R. Kelly. Kelly assisted Aaliyah with the production of her debut album "Age Ain't Nothing But A number", which scored several number hits, specifically "Back and Forth." The album's title was a brief reference to her short-lived marriage to R. Kelly (she was 15 years of age at the time, and he was in his 20s). Thir marriage was annulled due to her status as a minor.
During her senior year, Aaliyah went on to record "One In A Million", which featured the songwriting talents of major R&B producers/writers Missy Elliott and Timbaland. The album was a major success and sealed Aaliyah's fame forever.
Aaliyah recorded the single 'Journey to the past' for the Anastasia (1997) soundtrack. After seeing her at an awards show and in the video for her hit song "Are You that Somebody?" (from the Eddie Murphy film Doctor Dolittle (1998)), film producer Joel Silver (producer of The Matrix (1999) and other major actor films) asked Aaliyah to audition for a role in an romance/action film, Romeo Must Die (2000). With her determination and sex appeal, Aaliyah won Silver over and was cast in her first major film role. Romeo Must Die (2000) was a hit at the box office. This film led to her being cast as one of the stars of the film based on Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned (2002), and in the two sequels to the major box office hit, The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003).
During the busy schedule of her film career, Aaliyah took time to record her third album, the self-titled "Aaliyah". July 2001 was a busy time for Aaliyah. After the success of her song "Try Again", for which she was nominated for a Grammy Award and won several MTV Video Awards, Aaliyah finally released her "Aaliyah" album. Debuting at number two on the Billboard charts, "Aaliyah" was a sales success, despite some lackluster reviews.
In August 2001, Aaliyah took time off from her busy album promotional tour to fly to the Bahamas to film a video for the song "Rock the Boat". The video, filmed on Abaco Island, was directed by Hype Williams, a major music video director known for his style and wit.
On August 25, 2001, after filming the video, Aaliyah and about 9-11 of her entourage took off from Marsh Harbour airport at 6:50pm EDT in a small Cessna 404 en route to Opa-Locka, Florida. A few minutes after take-off, the plane crashed about 200 feet from the runaway, killing Aaliyah and many others instantly. Four passengers were pulled alive from the wreckage, and one later died at a hospital in Nassau. Aaliyah was only 22 years old. Her funeral was held on Friday August 31st in New York, and 22 white doves were flown to celebrate each year of her life. Soon after her death, the hit singles 'More Than a woman' and 'Rock The Boat' were released, from her third album. In 2002, the film Queen of the Damned (2002) was released, in which Aaliyah played Queen Akasha. She was nominated for best Villain at the MTV Movie Awards 2002.
Aaliyah's short-lived, but brilliant career, was a true success story for a young African-American woman who went against all odds to be herself in an industry where originality is scarce. Truly missed by her family, friends, and fans, her music and film contributions will live forever. It's no wonder that her name means 'Highest, most ex-halted one; the best' in Hebrew. She had achieved so much in her twenty-two years.- Actress
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Cleopatra Coleman is an Australian film and television actor and former contemporary and ballet dancer. With a career shifting between many genres she is known for playing complex and bold characters and prides herself on showcasing challenging female characters and subculture. Cleo was raised in the alternative community of Byron Bay, Australia to which she attributes her openness and creativity.- Tara Wilson was born on 18 August 1979 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is an actress, known for Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001), Piñero (2001) and Frame of Mind (2009). She has been married to Chris Noth since 6 April 2012. They have two children.
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Erica Hubbard started her career in 1988 doing voice-overs and starring in commercials such as: McDonald's, MCI, Reebok and Sears. She has worked in many markets, including Chicago, New York and California.
Ms. Hubbard has performed in feature films distributed by Paramount, 20th Century Fox and TSIBILI Pictures. She has starred in television shows on various networks such as: CBS, NBC, MTV and the WB. In addition, she has graced the pages of many popular magazines, including Seventeen, Honey, Ebony and YM (as the Noxzema Girl).
Erica attended Columbia College and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in three years. After graduating, Erica already had her own television show on WPWR, a UPN affiliate in Chicago. Before Erica's third season was aired, she received a Regional Emmy and earned a Service To America Award from the National Association of Broadcasters. This was a result of hosting the children/teen show: Up'N Running (1997). Erica's dynamic resume includes credits such as Save the Last Dance (2001), A Cinderella Story (2004), Light It Up (1999) and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) (a New York Times Best Selling Novel). Erica just wrapped Akeelah and the Bee (2006) for Lions Gate Films. Erica is working as a Regular on the series, Lincoln Heights (2006), on ABC Family Channel and Erica's animated series, The Replacements (2006), is airing now on Disney.
As a unionized actress, she knows how important it is to be affiliated with organizations in her profession. Furthermore, she is a proud member of NATAS, IFP/West, AFI and WIF, and successfully continues her career, coast to coast.- Actress
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Vanity was a glamorous Canadian model and lead singer of the all-girl group "Vanity 6." She specialized in playing sultry female characters often in trouble with the law.
Vanity was born Denise Katherine Matthews in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, the daughter of Helga Senyk and James Levia Matthews. She was of African and German descent. Vanity first appeared on screen in the biographical tale of writer Jack London titled Klondike Fever (1979), before venturing into more gritty territory such as the slasher film Terror Train (1980), the very odd chick flick Tanya's Island (1980), a B-grade martial arts film entitled The Last Dragon (1985) and the totally weird Never Too Young to Die (1986).
However, her best two performances were as the naive stripper assisting blackmail victim Roy Scheider in the under-rated thriller 52 Pick-Up (1986) and as a seductive, smart-talking nightclub singer teaming up with cop Carl Weathers to defeat murderous car tycoon Craig T. Nelson in the violent Action Jackson (1988).
Unfortunately, the remainder of Vanity's film work was of the "straight-to-video" variety and she only scored minor roles in several low-budget thrillers such as Neon City (1991) and Da Vinci's War (1993). In late 1995, Vanity turned her back on Hollywood and the entertainment industry, and dedicated her life to the Christian faith.
Vanity, who suffered from sclerosis encapsulating peritonitis, died on February 15, 2016 in Fremont, California.- Simone Battle was born on 17 June 1989 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Zoey 101 (2005), What We Need (2014) and Meanamorphosis (2012). She died on 5 September 2014 in West Hollywood, California, USA.
- Shakara Ledard was born in 1979 in Nassau, Bahamas. She is an actress, known for Raising Helen (2004), After the Sunset (2004) and The Defender (2004).
- Helena-Alexis is an Award-Winning actress born in Canada, known for her exceptional talent and screen presence. She received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Jessica Wu in the Chronicles of Jessica Wu, earning her a two-time Best Actress Award at the Vegas Movie Awards in 2023 and 2020, and landing her on the 2023 and 2019 Primetime Emmy Ballots as Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series. In addition to her success on the small screen, Helena-Alexis is a two-time winner of the FACES Best Actress Award, as well as a 2015 Black Canadian Award nominee for Best Actress.
With an impressive acting career spanning several years, Helena-Alexis has appeared in a range of notable films, including xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017), Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014), Beauty and the Beast (2012), and many more. However, her journey in the entertainment industry started at a young age when she landed her first acting gig at just 10 years old, playing the lead in a national commercial for POST Golden Raisin Crisp cereal.
As an emerging actress with a natural talent for the screen, Helena-Alexis continued to land significant roles, such as playing Vanessa Williams in the recurring VH1 Christmas film, 'Diva's Christmas Carol,' at the age of 15. With her impressive skills and undeniable passion for acting, Helena-Alexis has proven herself to be a remarkable talent in the industry and a true force to be reckoned with. - Actress
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Early life Cotto was born and raised in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, New York to Puerto Rican-American parents. She studied drama at the High School of Performing Arts in New York City. She trained at the William Esper Studio and studied dance.
Career After studying dance, she was given a small role in Lean on Me. After being away from acting she made an appearance in Law & Order. She was later featured in films Girl 6 and Personals. In 2002, Cotto had her first starring role in the feature film Empire playing John Leguizamo's girlfriend Carmen. She starred in the television series Kingpin until its cancellation in 2004. She was featured in Cinemax's short film entitled Stories of Lost Souls alongside James Gandolfini. Her other film credits include Splinter, Broken Circle, Rockaway and Illegal Tender.
She has also made guest appearances on many television shows such as Trinity, Oz, CSI: Miami and Cuts; has performed in an off-Broadway entitled "Cloud Tectonics" in the role of Celestina Del Sol; and has appeared on the cover of popular magazines such as Open Your Eyes (OYE) twice, Tinta Latina and Profile.- Actress
- Producer
Anabelle Acosta is an American film and television actress. She was born in Havana, Cuba to Cuban-American parents and has a younger brother named Jason Acosta. Anabelle is both a Meisner and Method trained actress. Her extensive training also includes dance and stage. She started her early acting and modeling career in New York City appearing in a series of national commercials and print ads. Her first big break into the acting world came in 2010 when after a long and arduous casting process across LA and NY Rob Burnett and Jon Beckerman finally discovered and cast Anabelle for the lead role of Kelly in their independent film "We Made This Movie".- Actress
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Kerry Washington is an African-American actress, television show producer and film director who is known for her roles in Scandal, Ray, the Tim Story Fantastic Four film series, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Confirmation, Django Unchained, Little Fires Everywhere, Cars 3 and The Last King of Scotland. She had two children from Nnamdi Asomugha.- Actress
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Cara Santana was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. After developing a love for the creative arts and theater, she left Texas at 15 to pursue a career as an actress. She enrolled at the prestigious Idyllwild Arts Academy, where she trained and studied the Meisner method, Stanislavsky and Uta Hagen techniques for 4 years before moving to Los Angeles. After graduating from the academy she started working in guest starring roles throughout network television. With a diverse and ambiguous look Cara has been able to morph into a variety of different characters showcasing both her comedic ability and dramatic talent. A chameleon to some degree, she has a strong resume of interesting and versatile roles showing her love for characters.
With the rise of social media, she quickly gained a following and has created a secondary career in brand endorsements and a voice in activism. With an outspoken opinion on immigration reform, gun control and human rights issues; Cara has also contributed as a writer to Harper's Bazaar and The Huffington Post. Often partnering with brands that mimic her same sensitivity to social impact, her strongly engaged social media followers allow her to successfully shed light on brands and causes that are deeply rooted in her passions.
With interests in writing and production, Cara is also focusing on producing and bringing her own material to life, including the feature film, Steps, about addiction which she is looking to be her directorial debut.
Cara lives in Los Angeles.- Actress
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Robin Simone Givens was born on November 27, 1964 in New York City, to Ruth (Newby) and Reuben Givens. Her father left his family when Robin was a young girl, and she seldom saw him after that. Robin's mother raised her and her younger sister in Westchester, Connecticut. Her mother (once linked to Yankee outfielder Dave Winfield) always encouraged her children's creativity, and helped them develop an interest in the arts. When she was young, Robin began playing the violin but quickly decided it was not for her. She chose instead to channel her artistic energy through acting and, at the age of ten, she started acting classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. In 1980, at fifteen, Robin enrolled as a freshman at Sarah Lawrence College to study pre-med. By her junior year, however, Robin's excitement about the idea of a career in acting intensified and she began taking her craft more seriously. Robin's first experience in Hollywood was on The Cosby Show (1984), the hottest show on television. As a result of the role, she and comedian Bill Cosby forged a great friendship which would prove instrumental in Robin's career. She also landed a guest appearance on Diff'rent Strokes (1978). Her career was just about to take off. Robin first made it big in Hollywood in 1986. She took a role in a television movie, Beverly Hills Madam (1986), as "April Baxter". But, it was later that year that Robin became a recognizable actress in Hollywood. She was given a role on the television series Head of the Class (1986) as "Darlene Merriman". The series was a comedy about a group of gifted high school students that were placed in an enrichment class. In 1988, Robin married boxing legend Mike Tyson. This union put her into the national spotlight, as Tyson was on the top of his career. He was one of the youngest boxers ever to receive the attention, acclaim and financial success that Tyson garnered. The marriage ended (on Valentine's Day), just a year later. Rumors hinted at abuse and infidelity. Robin gave marriage another chance in 1997, by marrying her tennis instructor Svetozar Marinkovic. The marriage proved a total failure, as the two were separated since the day they married, and Robin filed for divorce citing "irreconcilable differences". Aside from a successful model and acclaimed actress, Robin is a mother. In October 1999, she gave birth to a baby boy. The baby's father is tennis player Murphy Jensen, but the couple are no longer together. She has another child, and she is raising the two boys today. In 2000, Robin took a controversial career move as she took over for Mother Love on the successful television talk show, Forgive or Forget (1998). Her stint was brief, as just a few months later, the show stopped production. Many point to Mother Love's devoted audience, and the odd dismissal of her from the show she pioneered and created. Robin has tried to forge a friendship with Mother Love, but Love doesn't appear interested. Robin called in during a Howard Stern interview of Mother Love, where she said she was "on her way to work", which although innocent, proved to upset Mother Love.- Actress
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Ananda Lewis was born on 21 March 1973 in San Diego, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for On the Line (2001), Method & Red (2004) and Nora's Hair Salon II (2008).- Angelle Brooks was born on 11 August 1967 in Miami, Florida, USA. She is an actress, known for The Brothers (2001), V.I.P. (1998) and Spider-Man (2003).
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- Soundtrack
Born to a German father and an African-American mother, Charli was raised mainly by her elder half-sister, Yolanda. After graduating Pierce College and having two daughters, she met the Notorious B.I.G. at a concert in the summer of 1995. He supported her in her rap ambitions, but after his death Charli went into a tailspin. She pulled herself back together in time to attend his funeral, and released her own album, "Ice", and worked on the "Woo" Soundtrack.- Music Artist
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- Music Department
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles was born on September 4, 1981 in Houston, Texas. Her mom, Tina Knowles designs their glittering costumes & her dad, Mathew Knowles manages Destiny's Child. Solange, her sister (they're 4 years apart) has released her debut album. She dances with her big sister during DC-3 concerts. Beyoncé's of Louisiana Creole & African descent.
She and her group were discovered by Whitney Houston. One of her favorite songs is "Lovefool" by The Cardigans. Her favorite item of clothing is a pair of path work metallic boots. She writes & produces many of the group's songs, including smash hits "Jumpin Jumpin", "Bootylicious", "Nasty Girl", "Independent Women", "Happy Face" and "Apple Pie a la mode".- Actress
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Marisa Lauren was born in Florida, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Superhero Movie (2008), Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight (2008) and 90210 (2008).- Music Artist
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Rihanna was born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988 in Bridgetown, St. Michael, Barbados to Monica Braithwaite, an accountant & Ronald Fenty, a warehouse supervisor. Her mother is Afro-Guyanese and her father is of Afro-Barbadian and British Isles ancestry. Rihanna lived the life of a normal island girl going to Combermere, a top sixth form school. Rihanna won numerous beauty pageants and performed Mariah Carey's single, Hero in a school talent show. Her life changed forever when one of her friends introduced her to Evan Rodgers, a producer from New York who was in Barbados for a vacation with his wife, who is a native. Rodgers arranged for her to go to New York to meet Jay-Z, CEO of Def Jam Records. He heard her sing and knew she was going to be incredibly successful. She was age 16 when she was signed to Def Jam. Since then, she's amassed phenomenal success.- Actress
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Tatum Miranda later known as Tatum Jimenez, worked as an American actress, swimwear model and vocalist. She was born on a US Air Force base in Belgium to an American father and British mother then grew up traveling. Tatum's nationality is of mixed decent, mostly Portuguese, Jamaican and British. She moved to Los Angeles in 2008 to pursue a career in music and eventually decided to try film as well. Tatum studied as a full time student of the Anthony Gilardi Acting Studio in Hollywood. She has worked on the sets of "Horrible Bosses 2" directed by Sean Anders for New Line Cinema and had a lead role in the film "Most Likely To Die" directed by Anthony DiBlasi which premiered in May 2016. Tatum wrote, produced and starred in a short film titled "Toxic Temptation" under her film production company Venus Rose Pictures in 2016.- Actress
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Melyssa Ford was born on 7 November 1976 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is an actress and director, known for Think Like a Man (2012), Three Can Play That Game (2007) and Entourage (2004).- Actress
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Foxy Brown, a Brooklyn native, never thought she would be in the rap industry, much less in films. Even though she received a lot of skepticism from critics because of her raunchy lyrics and sexual appeal in music videos, Foxy still managed to stay on top. With a platinum album under her belt, and literally tens of appearances on other songs, her movie debut was much expected.- Actress
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Kat Graham is an actress, singer, dancer and producer. Working across a variety of genres in film, television and music, she is one of most accomplished and versatile young talents working today.
Graham was recently seen in the 70s period crime thriller "The Poison Rose" opposite Morgan Freeman and John Travolta. Graham plays Freeman's daughter, a club owner and singer suspected of murder, while Travolta plays a hard-drinking L.A. private eye who takes the case. Previously she starred in Netflix's "How It Ends" as Samantha. The film, follows a man (Theo James) and his estranged father-in-law's (Forest Whitaker) desperate race to save his pregnant wife, Samantha, after a mysterious apocalypse. Graham made history lending her voice to Nickelodeon's animated television show, "Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" as the first African-American April O'Neil.
Graham can be seen as the female lead in RZA's "Cut Throat City" starring Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Terrence Howard, and Eiza Gonzalez scheduled for release summer 2020. The film tells the story of a heist set in New Orleans' lower ninth ward after Hurricane Katrina. Graham who stars in Mark Amin's period drama "Emperor" with Dayo Okeniyi, Bruce Dern and James Cromwell following the true tale of Shields Green, a runaway slave who helped spark the civil war, is scheduled for release August 2020. Graham also stars in Netflix's "Operation: Christmas Drop" with Alexander Ludwig. The film, scheduled for release November 2020, follows a congressional aid played by Graham, on a mission to shut down the Christmas Drop mission. Operation Christmas Drop is a real life air force mission that started in 1952 that serves as training for the U.S. Air Force. It has since become the longest-running U.S. Department of Defense mission in full operation, and the longest-running humanitarian airlift in the world. In addition to the "Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" series and accompanying Netflix 2021 film, Graham's 2020 animation releases will also include Dreamwork's and Hulu's "Trolls", as well as "Robot Chicken".
Graham starred as Jada Pinkett in the highly anticipated Tupac Shakur biopic "All Eyez on Me," released by Lionsgate. She has also starred in Lionsgate's "Where's the Money?" a comedy about a guy who must pledge a fraternity to recover a stash of stolen money, both released in 2017. Graham can also be seen as the lead in Netflix's holiday hit film "The Holiday Calendar" with Quincy Brown. Graham made her television debut in 2002 on Disney Channel's popular teen comedy "Lizzie McGuire." She starred as Bonnie Bennett, considered to be her breakout role, in the CW's "The Vampire Diaries." The show premiered in 2009 and her award winning performances throughout the series received praise from fans and critics alike. The supernatural drama ran for eight seasons. She also appeared on a number of hit television shows for Disney, Fox, CBS and ABC. Other notable film credits include "17 Again", "The Roommate," "Addicted", and the starring role in "Honey 2."
Graham has also produced and sold multiple film and television projects including the series "Breaking the Record" with Disney's Maker Studios. She is set to star in and produce a biopic about iconic Motown singer Tammi Terrell produced with Brad Krevoy. She is currently producing "The Consciousness Collective", a doc series and podcast presented by Deepak Chopra, slated for 2020.
A talented singer and music producer, Graham released her second album, "Love Music, Funk Magic," in 2017 which she worked on with Babyface and Prince. She released her debut EP "Against the Wall" in May 2012 after signing with A&M/Octone/Interscope records, and her first single, "Put Your Graffiti On Me", reached over 7 million views on VEVO and hit #5 on the Billboard Dance Chart. She has had multiple Billboard/Chart top fives including "Sometimes", and the Prince penned "If Eye Could Get UR Attention". Her debut album "Roxbury Drive," which included her single "Secrets" featuring Babyface, was released in 2015. Graham, who has a degree in recording engineering, produced the 90s-inspired album with Jean-Yves "Jeeve" Ducornet and co-wrote the entire album with Babyface.
A trained dancer, Graham has appeared in music videos for a myriad of artists including Grammy winners Pharrell, Missy Elliot, John Legend, Nelly, Diddy and Usher. She has also performed on tracks with Snoop Dogg and Will.I.Am, and toured with the Black Eyed Peas on their 2007 world tour as Will.I.Am's artist.
Graham has served as the face of many campaigns and endorsements for brands such as Wet 'N Wild, Degree, Samsung, Avon, Bing, Ford, Aquafina, Abercrombie, Nivea, Armani Exchange and Fanta. Graham is currently a L'Oreal Ambassador, the face of Foster Grant and the new Dior campaign.
Born in Geneva, Switzerland, Graham is a strong advocate for human rights. Her PSA short film for Black Lives Matter landed her an Emmy nomination for best PSA short. Graham is particularly passionate about the plight of refugees worldwide. As such, Graham became a High Profile Supporter of the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees) in 2013. In 2019, she also became a Goodwill Ambassador for Rotary International, another organization providing key support and services on the global stage. In addition to her work with refugees, Graham is a council member for GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), Governor for the Recording Academy's Atlanta Chapter, as well as co-founder of the Modern Nirvana Wellness Group.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Director
Rosie Perez was born in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York City, to Lydia Perez and Ismael Serrano, a merchant marine. She is of Puerto Rican descent. Rosie attended Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood, Queens, New York, and later enrolled at Los Angeles City College in Los Angeles, California. Rosie Perez was in her second year of college, and just about to move back to New York from Los Angeles. Her friends had given her a going-away party. When Spike Lee proposed that she work in his film Do the Right Thing (1989), she accepted. It would be her first major acting role. She went on play the supporting role of Carla Rodrigo in Peter Weir's Fearless (1993), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. (She lost to Anna Paquin for The Piano (1993).)- Jennifer Lee is a native of Southern California. Her love of acting began at an early age. Her first production was at the tender age of 10 where she played Tilly Tulip in Alice and Wonderland. From there she has gone on to perform in various television shows, commercials, stage productions and web series. Her work includes roles on hit television shows such as Scandal, Criminal Minds, and Scorpion.
When Jennifer is not performing she can be found volunteering for various charitable organizations such as the West Hollywood Food Coalition, LA Works, and the Monday night mission where she helps feed the homeless. She believes in giving back and helping humanity.