Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreography became a catalyst in the growth of MTV, enabling her to rise to prominence while breaking gender and racial barriers in the process. Lyrical content that focused on social issues and lived experiences set her reputation as a role model for youth.
Rescue Me is an American dramedy television series that aired on FX from July 21, 2004, to September 7, 2011. The series focuses on the professional and personal lives of a group of New York City firefighters.
Margaret Avery is an American actress. She began her career appearing on stage and later had starring roles in films including Cool Breeze (1972), Which Way Is Up? (1977), Scott Joplin (1977); which earned her an NAACP Image Award nomination, and The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (1979). She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Shug Avery in the period drama film The Color Purple (1985).
Jill Heather Scott is an American singer, songwriter, model, poet, and actress. Her 2000 debut album, Who Is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds Vol. 1, went platinum and the follow-ups Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds Vol. 2 (2004) and The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3 (2007) both achieved gold status.
Abdul-Malik Kashie Yoba is an American actor. He is known for his starring role as NYPD Detective J. C. Williams on the Fox police drama New York Undercover and as Yul Brenner in the film Cool Runnings. He appeared as former FBI agent Bill Harken on the Syfy drama series Alphas, as Jim Hudson in Revolution, and as Vernon Turner in Empire. He also starred in the role of FBI Deputy Director Jason Atwood in the ABC political drama Designated Survivor. In 2018, he joined the Netflix drama Seven Seconds as a member of a support group for parents who had lost their children. He also appeared in Jordan Peele’s TBS comedy The Last OG with Tracy Morgan.
Tyler Perry is an American actor, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of Mabel "Madea" Simmons, a tough elderly woman, and also portrays her brother Joe Simmons and her nephew Brian Simmons. Perry's films vary in style from orthodox filmmaking techniques to filmed productions of live stage plays, many of which have been subsequently adapted into feature films. Madea's first appearance was in Perry's play I Can Do Bad All by Myself (1999) staged in Chicago.
Boomerang is a 1992 American romantic comedy film directed by Reginald Hudlin. The film stars Eddie Murphy as Marcus Graham, a hotshot advertising executive who also happens to be an insatiable womanizer and male chauvinist. When he meets his new boss, Jacqueline Broyer, Marcus discovers that she is essentially a female version of himself, and he realizes he is receiving the same treatment that he delivers to others. The film also features Halle Berry, David Alan Grier, Martin Lawrence, Grace Jones, Eartha Kitt and Chris Rock.
Michael Jai White is an American actor and martial artist. He was the first Black American to portray a major comic book superhero starring as Al Simmons, the protagonist in the 1997 film Spawn. White appeared as Marcus Williams in the Tyler Perry films Why Did I Get Married? (2007) and Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010), and starred as the character on the TBS/OWN comedy-drama television series Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse. White portrayed Jax Briggs in Mortal Kombat: Legacy and the Cyborg Seth in Universal Soldier: The Return, opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme. He portrayed boxer Mike Tyson in the 1995 HBO television film Tyson. He also played the title role in the blaxploitation parody film Black Dynamite (2009), as well as the animated series of the same name.
"Nothing" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson. It was released on March 23, 2010 by A&M Records and So So Def Recordings as a soundtrack single from the film Why Did I Get Married Too?, which starred Jackson. The song was later included on Jackson's compilation album Icon: Number Ones. It was written by Jackson, Johntá Austin, Bryan-Michael Cox and Jermaine Dupri and produced by Jackson, Cox, and Dupri. Initially titled "Trust in Me", the song was written about the different character's personas and emotions in the film.
Irene Raymond is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Roberta Taylor. Introduced in 1997 as the matriarch of the Hills family, Irene remained in the serial until 2000, when the actress opted to leave. Involved in comical and dramatic storylines, Irene is paired romantically with Terry Raymond, and is prominently featured as part of the 1999 Christmas Day episodes, where her extra-marital affair with a toy boy is discovered by Terry. Her departure storyline was filmed on-location in Spain, where she ends her marriage to Terry.
Why Did I Get Married? is a 2007 American comedy-drama film adaptation written, produced, directed, and starring Tyler Perry. It was inspired by Perry's play of the same name. The film also stars Janet Jackson, Jill Scott, Malik Yoba, Sharon Leal, Tasha Smith, Michael Jai White, Richard T. Jones, Denise Boutte, and Keesha Sharp. The film was released in the United States by Lionsgate on October 12, 2007.
Why Did I Get Married? is a 2003 American stage play created, written, produced and directed by Tyler Perry. It originally starred Kelly Price as Sheila and LaVan Davis as Poppy. The live performance, featuring Cheryl Pepsii Riley, released on DVD on June 27, 2006 was recorded live in Atlanta at The Ferst Center for the Arts at Georgia Institute of Technology in December 2005. It was released on DVD alongside Madea Goes to Jail and Madea's Family Reunion.
Tasha Smith is an American actress. She began her career in a starring role on the NBC comedy series Boston Common (1996–97), and later appeared in numerous movies and television series.
Meet the Browns is a 2008 American romantic comedy-drama film released by Lionsgate on March 21, 2008. The film was based on the play of the same name by Tyler Perry and is the third film in the Madea cinematic universe. It was written and directed by Tyler Perry with Ruben Cannon helping with the writing, and starring Angela Bassett, Rick Fox, Margaret Avery, Frankie Faison, Jenifer Lewis, Lance Gross, Sofía Vergara, Lamman Rucker, Tamela Mann, Tyler Perry, and introducing David Mann in his film debut as Leroy Brown. The film tells the story of a struggling single mother from Chicago who takes her children to Senoia, Georgia to attend her long-lost father's funeral and meets the relatives she didn't know she had. The film grossed $42 million.
Lamman Rucker is an American actor. Rucker began his career on the daytime soap operas As the World Turns and All My Children, before roles in The Temptations and Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? and Why Did I Get Married Too?. He played Will Brown in the 2008 film Meet the Browns and its television adaptation. In 2016, he began starring as Jacob Greenleaf in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, Greenleaf. As of 2022, he stars in the BET+ drama series The Black Hamptons.
Denise Boutte is an American actress. She made her film debut starring in the 2004 horror feature Death Valley: The Revenge of Bloody Bill and in 2007 appeared in the comedy-drama Why Did I Get Married?. On television, Boutte was a regular cast member on the TBS sitcom Meet the Browns (2009-2011).
For Colored Girls is a 2010 American drama film adapted from Ntozake Shange's 1975 original choreopoem for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf. Written, directed and produced by Tyler Perry, the film features an ensemble cast which includes Janet Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg, Phylicia Rashad, Thandiwe Newton, Loretta Devine, Anika Noni Rose, Tessa Thompson, Kimberly Elise, Kerry Washington, and Macy Gray.
For Better or Worse is an American television sitcom created, written and executive produced by Tyler Perry. The series is based on and is a TV spin-off to Perry's 2007 film Why Did I Get Married? and its 2010 sequel Why Did I Get Married Too? The show premiered on November 25, 2011 and aired on TBS for two seasons.
Love Thy Neighbor is an American television sitcom broadcast from May 29, 2013 to August 19, 2017 on the Oprah Winfrey Network. The series is written, directed and executive produced by Tyler Perry. The series serves as a spin-off of the Madea franchise. It also acquired the second highest-rated series premiere on the Oprah Winfrey Network, after another Perry program, The Haves and the Have Nots.
American recording artist Janet Jackson has appeared in various films and television shows. She began her career as a child star in the sitcoms Good Times, CHiPsDiff'rent Strokes, and Fame. Jackson then starred in her debut film Poetic Justice (1993), directed by John Singleton. She portrayed Justice, who copes with her mother's suicide and boyfriend's murder through writing poetry. It opened at number one at the box office and has been considered iconic within popular culture. Throughout the decade, Jackson was initially cast in leading roles in several films, including Jerry Maguire (1996), The Matrix (1999), Scream 3 (2000), and X-Men (2000), but was unable to proceed with filming due to scheduling conflicts while touring. Additionally, she was considered for the role of Lena Horne, but was asked to step down, following the Super Bowl controversy. She was also set to star in Valley of the Dolls, Newlyweds, and Tennessee, but could not commit to those acting roles due to focusing on her music career.
