Tembi Locke

Last updated
Tembi Locke
Tembi Locke at San Diego Writers Festival 2025 01 (cropped).jpg
Locke in 2025
OccupationActress
Years active1994–present
Spouses
Saro Gullo
(m. 1995;died 2012)
Robert
(m. 2020)
Children1

Tembi Locke is an American actress who has appeared in television shows and film. She is best known as Dr. Grace Monroe on Syfy's series Eureka and as Dr. Diana Davis in Sliders . Locke is also the author of the bestselling memoir, From Scratch, which was later adapted into a limited series by Netflix. [1]

Contents

Life and career

Born to civil rights activist parents, she attended Alief Hastings High School in Houston. After high school, Locke lived for a time in Italy on a foreign exchange program. While there, she appeared several times on Italian television, including the Carnevale Di Venezia.[ citation needed ] After returning to the United States, she graduated with an art history degree from Wesleyan University, in Connecticut.[ citation needed ]

Locke and her husband, Rosario "Saro" Gullo, a Sicilian chef, lived and worked in Los Angeles, California. He died in 2012 from cancer. [2] She married her partner Robert in 2020 whom she met in 2016. [3]

Career

While in New York, Locke appeared in several off-Broadway productions,[ dubious discuss ] and landed a role on the long-running soap opera As The World Turns.[ citation needed ] Afterward, she moved to Los Angeles. Her prime-time television career began by playing one of Will Smith's love interests on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air .

Locke has appeared in numerous television dramas, comedies, and films over the course of her career. She played Dr. Grace Monroe, a biotech specialist, on seasons four and five of Syfy's series EUReKA (2010–2012). She also starred as Dr. Diana Davis on season five of the Fox/Syfy show Sliders (1999–2000).

Locke's television work includes shows such as Castle , Bones , The Mentalist , Windfall , CSI: NY , and Beverly Hills, 90210 . Her comedic turns include Friends , The Jamie Foxx Show , House of Payne , Like Family , and Raising Dad , among others. She has appeared in a number of movies made for television, including Black Widow, Final Approach and Born in the USA. In 2014, Locke appeared as Dr. Walcott in Dumb and Dumber To .

Locke in 2019 Tembi Locke on Book Mecca.jpg
Locke in 2019

As of October 2018, her most recent work is in the second installment of Hulu original "Into the Dark" series. She plays the therapist in the episode Flesh & Blood.

Locke's memoir, From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily and Finding Home (published April 30, 2019), is about her romance with her Italian husband and her grief after his untimely death. From Scratch was later adapted by producer Reese Witherspoon and writer Marguerite MacIntyre into a limited series starring Zoe Saldana for Hello Sunshine, 3 Arts, Cinestar and Netflix. [4]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1996RingerNeely
1997 Steel Norma
1999 Unbowed Cleola
2003Art of RevengeIsabel ‘Izzy’ BloomVideo
2010Words UnspokenNurse Euphoria MayesShort
2011 Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star Guinness Woman
2014 Dumb and Dumber To Dr. Katie Walcott
2018CollusionsRegina Thomason
2019 The Obituary of Tunde Johnson Yomi Johnson

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1994 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Valerie JohnsonEpisode: ″Grumpy Young Men″
1995 Hangin' with Mr. Cooper MindyEpisode: “One Is the Loneliest Number”
Me and the Boys SherylEpisode: “The Age of Reason”
Night Stand FranEpisode: ″Athletes as Role Models”
1995–96 Beverly Hills, 90210 Lisa DixonRecurring cast (season 6)
1996 Martin Linda LivingstonEpisode: “Kicked to the Curb”
Star Command Ens. Meg Dundee TV movie
In the House ShannaEpisodes: “One Love″ & “This is a Test”
1997 Claude's Crib KayleneMain cast
Hitz LisaEpisode: “Pilot”
The Wayans Bros. DonnaEpisode: “Pops’ Daughter”
1997–98 Michael Hayes GinaEpisodes: “True Blue” & “Vaughn Mower”
1998 The Jamie Foxx Show MoniqueEpisode: “Guess Who’s Not Coming to Dinner?″
1999 Friends KarinEpisode: “The One Where Ross Hugs Rachel”
1999–00 Sliders Dr. Diana DavisMain cast (season 5)
2000 Bull -Episodes: “One Night in Bangkok” & “In the Black”
The Hughleys MyishaEpisode: “Darryl’s Victory Tour”
2001Blind Men-TV movie
2001–02 Raising Dad Vice Principal Liz TaylorRecurring cast
2002 One on One Dr. TiddlehornEpisode: “Misery”
Prep-TV movie
2003 Touched by an Angel AmandaEpisode: “And a Nightingale Sang”
The Division Nora Lowell AKA VickEpisode: “Misdirection”
Eve CammieEpisode: “The Talk”
2004 Like Family EthelRecurring cast
The Bernie Mac Show Mrs. Melanie DiggsEpisode: “Thanksgiving”
Quintuplets JillEpisode: “(Disdainfully) the Helbergs”
2005 Unscripted Olivia RossEpisodes “Episode #1.8” & “Episode #1.10”
2006 CSI: NY Ellen FieldingEpisode: “Charge of the Post”
Windfall Addie TownsendRecurring cast
2007 The ½ Hour News Hour -Episode: “Town Hall: Identity Politics”
Born in the USA-TV movie
Final ApproachJackie ReynoldsTV movie
2008Black WidowJill KeeganTV movie
House of Payne LisaEpisode: “Compromising Positions”
2009 The Mentalist Marshal Christy KnoxEpisode: “Red Sauce”
2010 Bones Marilyn StoddardEpisode: “The Predator in the Pool”
2010–12 Eureka Dr. Grace MonroeMain cast (seasons 4–5)
2012 Castle Beth CabotEpisode: “Secret Santa”
2014 NCIS Alice Kent StaleyEpisode: “The Searchers”
2015 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Doctor Tembi BlaineEpisode: “My First Thanksgiving with Josh!”
2015–16 The Magicians Dr. Jennifer LondonEpisode: “Unauthorized Magic” & “The World in the Walls”
2016 12 Deadly Days Ms WhitmoreEpisode: “Singers Slaying”
2017Private DickJudyEpisode: “Pilot”
Doubt Iris TaylorEpisode: “Finally”
The ClimbBabeTV movie
Animal Kingdom MonicaRecurring cast (season 2)
S.W.A.T. Trisha WatsonEpisode: “Imposters”
2017–18 NCIS: Los Angeles Leigha WintersEpisodes: “Mountebank” & “Vendetta”
2018 Into the Dark Dr. Helen SaundersEpisode: “Flesh & Blood”
2019 Proven Innocent Vanessa DaleRecurring cast
2020, 2021, 2023 Never Have I Ever Elise TorresRecurring cast (season 1), guest (1 episode each, seasons 2, 4)

References

  1. Vognar, Chris (2022-10-20). "In 'From Scratch,' the Locke Sisters Tell a Story of Love, Loss and Food". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  2. "Tembi Locke About". www.tembilocke.com. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  3. Pullar, Jess; Bradney-George, Amy (April 16, 2024). "Where Is Tembi Locke, The Woman Who Inspired Netflix's 'From Scratch', Now?". marie claire. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  4. "Zoe Saldana to Star in Netflix Limited Series 'From Scratch' with Reese Witherspoon Producing (EXCLUSIVE)". variety.com. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 2023-02-10.