Monica Calhoun

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Monica Calhoun
Born (1971-07-29) July 29, 1971 (age 53) [1]
OccupationActress
Years active1985–present
Known forMia Morgan – The Best Man , The Best Man Holiday
Ebony – The Players Club
Height5 ft 4.5 in (163.8 cm) [2]
Children1

Monica Calhoun (born July 29, 1971) [3] is an American film and television actress. Calhoun is best known for her roles in the films Bagdad Cafe (1987), The Players Club (1998), [4] The Salon (2005), The Best Man (1999), [5] and its sequel The Best Man Holiday (2013). She has also appeared in the films Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993) and Love & Basketball (2000). Calhoun has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award and one NAACP Image Award.

Contents

Biography

Early life and education

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, [1] Calhoun is the daughter of Lorine Calhoun. [6] She moved to California in the late 1970s, and began acting while in sixth grade. [7] Calhoun attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. [8]

Career

Calhoun made her acting debut in the 1985 TV film Children of the Night as Wanda. [9] She portrayed Phyllis, the daughter of CCH Pounder's character, in Bagdad Cafe (1987). [10] Calhoun was the only actor in Bagdad Cafe to return for the television series, [11] albeit the character's name was changed to Debbie. [12] The televised adaptation lasted two seasons before being cancelled.

She portrayed Rebbie Jackson in the 1992 biopic miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream . [13] In 1993, she had a minor role in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit [14] and acted in the Disney Channel film The Ernest Green Story alongside Morris Chestnut. [15] Calhoun received an Emmy Award nomination for her performance in the CBS Schoolbreak Special "Different Worlds: A Story of Interracial Love" (1993). [16] Calhoun co-starred with actor Flex Alexander in the short-lived series, Where I Live , and appeared in Pacific Station.

Calhoun guest starred in several sitcoms including The Wayans Bros. , A Different World and The Jamie Foxx Show , the latter as Jamie Foxx's sister. [17] She appeared as Linda, one of the daughters of Donald Thornton in television film The Ditchdigger's Daughters (1997). [18] Calhoun played the role of Ebony, a stripper, [19] in Ice Cube's directorial debut The Players Club (1998).

She appeared in the lead role, Reese Delaware, in Intimate Betrayal (1999). [20] In Love & Basketball (2000), she portrayed Kerry, a girlfriend of the basketball playing protagonist. [21] In 2002, Calhoun appeared in Trois 2: Pandora's Box as psychologist Dr. Mia DuBois [22] and portrayed Wet in Civil Brand . [23] Calhoun played Rachel in the Western Gang of Roses (2003). [24]

Calhoun portrayed Mia, the wife of Morris Chestnut's character, in The Best Man (1999). [25] She received an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture in 2000 for her performance. [26] She returned in its sequel The Best Man Holiday (2013). [27] In the latter, Mia is terminally ill and dies at the end of the film. [28]

She played the role of Brenda in 2007's The Salon starring Vivica Fox. [29] In 2009, Robert Townsend directed Calhoun in Diary of a Single Mom, Season I, II and III (2008–10). [30] Calhoun appeared as Patricia Tresvant, Ralph's mother in The New Edition Story miniseries which aired on the BET network in January 2017. [31]

Personal Life

Calhoun gave birth to a son in 2000. Her son is blind. [32] [33] [34]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1985 Children of the Night WandaTV movie
1987 Bagdad Cafe Phyllis
1989Heart and SoulJanetTV movie
1991She Stood AloneEliza HammondTV movie
1993 The Ernest Green Story Minnijean Brown TV movie
Jack the Bear Sondra
Younger and Younger Jaime-Lee
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit Classroom Kid
1996 Rebound: The Legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault EvonneTV movie
1997The Ditchdigger's DaughtersLindaTV movie
Damn WhiteyYoung WomanShort
1998 The Players Club Ebony
Park DayTamala Davis
1999 The Best Man Mia Morgan
Intimate BetrayalReese DelawareTV movie
2000 Love & Basketball Kerry
Nature BoyMaria ColeTV movie
2001Faux Pas-
2002TurnaroundCammy
Civil Brand Wet
Trois 2: Pandora's Box Dr. Mia DuBois
2003 Love Chronicles Maya
Gang of Roses Rachel
2004JusticeSharice
2005 The Salon Brenda
Friends and LoversDebraVideo
2013 The Best Man Holiday Mia M. Sullivan
2016Everything But A ManVanessa
No RegretsNina Thomas
2020LeroyJoey
2023Deadly EntanglementDeidra

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1989 CBS Schoolbreak Special VonetteEpisode: "15 and Getting Straight"
1990–91 Bagdad Cafe DebbieMain Cast
1992 The Jacksons: An American Dream Rebbie Jackson Episode: "Part 1 & 2"
CBS Schoolbreak Special CarolEpisode: "Different Worlds: A Story of Interracial Love"
1993 A Different World YolandaEpisode: "Homey, Don't Ya Know Me?"
Where I Live KaiyaEpisode: "Big Mon on Campus"
1994 Sweet Justice KaraEpisode: "Fourth Quarter"
1995 CBS Schoolbreak Special Temple BahamEpisode: "What About Your Friends"
1996 The Wayans Bros. VanessaEpisode: "Unbrotherly Love"
1997 Good News Cynthia PorterEpisode: "Try a Little Tenderness"
1998 The Jamie Foxx Show KimEpisode: "Swing Out Sister"
2000 Malcolm & Eddie HelenaEpisode: "Moving Violations"
2003 NYPD Blue Denise WoodsonEpisode: "I Kid You Not"
Strong Medicine Paige WheelerEpisode: "Coming Clean"
2006 Grey's Anatomy Mrs. WoodEpisode: "Break on Through"
Everybody Hates Chris CharlotteEpisode: "Everybody Hates Funerals"
2007 Dirt ChelleEpisode: "Pilot"
2008 Cold Case Phoebe Curtis (1989)Episode: "Triple Threat"
2009–11 Diary of a Single Mom OceanMain Cast
2017 The New Edition Story Patricia TresvantEpisode: "Part 1 & 2"
2022 The Best Man: The Final Chapters Mia SullivanRecurring Cast

References

  1. 1 2 "Monica Calhoun". Hollywood.com. Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 22, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  2. "Monica Calhoun Height Weight Measurements". Pikastar. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  3. My Heritage - Monica Calhoun
  4. Pimp's Up, Ho's Down: Hip Hop's Hold on Young Black Women. NYU Press. 2003. ISBN   9780814741221 . Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  5. Magazine, JET (October 25, 1999). "Friends Reunite For A Wedding And Scandalous Secrets Are Revealed in "The Best Man"". Google Books. Johnson Publishing Company. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  6. L.A. Blues. Urban Books. 2002. ISBN   9781599831985 . Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  7. Waldron, David Brian (January 22, 1995). "A different world: Special puts a unique shade on teen-age trials". The Boca Raton News . p. 7.
  8. Hamilton, Denise (May 12, 1991). "Different Drummer : Reading, Writing and Rhythm Merge at Arts High School". The Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  9. Parish, James Robert (1992). Prostitution in Hollywood Films. McFarland & Company. p. 78. ISBN   9780899506777.
  10. Rauch Klotman, Phyllis; Gibson, Gloria J. (1997). Frame by Frame II: A Filmography of the African American Image, 1978-1994. Indiana University Press. p. 35. ISBN   9780253211200.
  11. Burlingame, Jon (March 30, 1990). "'Full House' carries a message tonight". Times-News . p. 23.
  12. "Whoopi Goldberg And Jean Stapleton: Actresses Star In TV's New 'Bagdad Cafe'". Jet . Johnson Publishing Company. April 23, 1990. p. 59.
  13. Terrace, Vincent (September 22, 2021). Encyclopedia of Television Miniseries, 1936-2020. McFarland & Company. p. 103. ISBN   9781476687353.
  14. McArt, Nora (January 21, 1995). "Kids Shows: The importance of friendship". Lawrence Journal-World .
  15. Fearn-Banks, Kathleen; Burford-Johnson, Anne (October 3, 2014). Historical Dictionary of African American Television. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 215. ISBN   9780810879171.
  16. Lowry, Brian (March 31, 1993). "CBS tops Daytime Emmy noms". Variety . Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  17. "Highlights". Boca Raton News . June 6, 1999. p. 41.
  18. Lee, Misti C. (December 12, 1996). "Step back in time this holiday". Star-News . p. 5D.
  19. Kagan, Norman (August 15, 2018). Understanding Comedy Through College Comedies. Hamilton Books. p. 123. ISBN   9780761870630.
  20. Thomas McClauskey, Audrey (2007). Frame by Frame III: A Filmography of the African Diasporan Image, 1994-2004. Indiana University Press. p. 376. ISBN   9780253348296.
  21. Edgington, K.; Erskine, Thomas; Welsh, James M. (December 29, 2010). Encyclopedia of Sports Films. Scarecrow Press. p. 298. ISBN   9780810876538.
  22. "Rainforest Films to release 'Pandora's Box' in August". Indianapolis Recorder . p. C1.
  23. Monush, Barry; Willis, John (June 2005). Screen World: 2004 Film Annual. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 195. ISBN   9781557836397.
  24. Varner, Paul (September 15, 2009). The A to Z of Westerns in Cinema. Scarecrow Press. p. 99.
  25. Carr, Jay (October 25, 1999). "Lee's 'Best Man' is cause to celebrate". Star-News . p. 4D.
  26. "NAACP announces Image Award nominees". The Michigan Daily . December 2, 1999. p. 13B.
  27. Farber, Stephen (November 13, 2013). "The Best Man Holiday: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  28. Spitz, Marc (December 4, 2014). "Entries in the Silver Bell Sweepstakes". The New York Times . Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  29. Catsoulis, Jeannette (May 10, 2007). "Cutting Hair and Cutting Remarks". The New York Times . Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  30. Reeves, Ronke Idowu (February 10, 2014). "Monica Calhoun: "I Heard They Are Doing a Third Best Man Film"". BET.
  31. Petski, Denise (May 5, 2016). "La La Anthony, Yvette Nicole Brown, Monica Calhoun Among Five Cast In 'New Edition: The Movie' On BET". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  32. Ebony Magazine (March 2001). "Celebrity Parents". Google Books. Johnson Publishing Company. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  33. Live Ramp Up - Film actress Monica Calhoun son and brothers' illness - November 6, 2016
  34. Ebony Magazine (May 2001). "The New Motherhood". Google Books. Johnson Publishing Company. Retrieved December 15, 2017.