I
was born on September 18, 1964, in Philadelphia, PA. My mother, Dolores,
was a school teacher and my father, Matthew was a struggling
writer and producer of local television shows. In 1968, when I was four
and my brother, Matt, was seven, my dad got his big break as the
star of a new children's program called (who could've predicted this
show would still be on!) Sesame
Street. I was so psyched to get to hang out with Big Bird, Oscar
and Cookie Monster. At age four, can you imagine? He
went on to do the series for the first few years and the quit to produce
and write for film and television.
My
parents separated soon after and my mother, brother and myself up and
moved to Malibu, CA. Talk about culture shock! Philly
to Malibu? Cheese steaks to surfers? We felt like the
Beverly Hillbillies only without the oil well! We moved there
because a dear, departed family friend, the late actor Cleavon Little,
let us stay for free in his beach house while he was performing on
Broadway. This allowed my mom to get on her feet and figure out
what she could do to support her two children.
She
went to work for a talent agency where she discovered her penchant for
managing talent, eventually landing LeVar Burton as her first
management client, just days before the television phenomenon Roots
aired. Around this time, at the age of 11, I began working as a
celebrity correspondent on the show Kidsworld which gave me the
unique opportunity to interview dozens of celebrities.
Meanwhile
my brother and I adjusted quickly to our new schools where we fast
became friends with many classmates who would eventually become
very famous.
With both my mom and my dad in the show business, I had an early desire
to sing & act as well, with a big emphasis on singing. I dabbled
around with a few acting parts here and there when I was in junior high
school, but my dad was always breathing down my neck about completing
high school and college. His worst fear was that I would quit
school for the bright lights of Hollywood.
I
never took anything too seriously until after I graduated from Sarah
Lawrence College in 1986. I then gave myself a time limit of
three months to land a truly substantial acting job, or - I'd go to grad
school. 'Lo and behold- 2 1/2 months after graduation- like divine
clockwork comes 21 Jumpstreet. What a wild five year ride
that show was!
It
taught me invaluable lessons about the business and life in general.
This show's unending worldwide popularity never ceases to amaze me. It
opened up and started for me what is now a 13 year blessed career in
television and it made a superstar out of Johnny Depp. I will be forever
indebted to producers Stephen
J. Cannell and Patrick Hasburgh for that shot.
After
101 dramatic episodes of Jumpstreet, I was excited to try comedy and I
gave it a shot in Hangin'
With Mr. Cooper, which also lasted five seasons (actually 4
1/2). It took me a couple of seasons to really get the comedic timing
down-pat. Believe me folks, sitcoms are a lot harder than they seem. I
really enjoyed this new learning experience. Working with Mark
Curry was a pure blast! This show led me to my current project
and my favorite: For
Your Love (Friday, 9:30pm on the WB network).
This
sitcom is such pure joy to work on that I'd do it for free! (Not!) But
seriously though, this is a dream show and I hope it lasts forever!
I only wish more network programmers would give us more shows like For
Your Love - multi-ethnic romantic comedy with humor that can
appeal to everyone, celebrating the things we have in common instead of
highlighting our differences as so many other shows do. It is
possible to be politically correct and funny!
When
I shot the pilot for For Your Love, I was 10 weeks pregnant with twins
- a boy and a girl - Ryan Elizabeth and Rodney Jackson, who are now
almost two and 1/2. I know it's an old cliche, but motherhood
really changes you. According to my husband, so does fatherhood!
Speaking
of whom - I really lucked out in the husband department. I have
been married for four years to Rodney
Peete, an NFL quarterback, and you never know when you meet and
marry someone, what kind of spouse they are going to be in the long run.
Well Rodney passes (pardon the pun!) with flying colors. A great
husband, father and provider, I thank God every day for him.
