Mo'Nique

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Mo'Nique (born Mo'Nique Imes on December 11, 1967 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American comedian and actress.

She is known professionally by her first name.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Launch of career

Shortly after graduating from high school, Mo'Nique was dared to perform, and after her performance received a positive reception, decided to pursue comedy full time. She initially worked comedy clubs as well as performances in high school and at universities before moving on to open for touring R&B musicians like Keith Sweat and Bobby Brown.

[edit] Television roles

Her big break came in 1993 when she played the role of Mark Curry's neighbor and friend "Sonia McDowell" on the ABC sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper which ran from 1992 to 1997.

Mo'Nique was subsequently featured on a number of leading black stand-up venues, including stints on Showtime at the Apollo, Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam and BET's Comic View.

She is perhaps best known for the role of Nicole 'Nikki' Parker on the UPN television series The Parkers. The show ran from 1999 to 2004.

Mo'Nique also became notable after she and several other female African-American comedians went on tour in 2001 as The Queens of Comedy. The show was filmed and subsequently broadcast on the Showtime cable network and released on DVD.

She was also named host of Showtime at the Apollo. She is currently the host and executive producer of Mo'Nique's Fat Chance, a beauty pageant for plus-sized women, on the Oxygen cable network.

[edit] Film and video career

Mo'Nique has had a number of supporting roles in film, primarily in films aimed at urban audiences. Her roles have included 3 Strikes, Tyrese's debut film Baby Boy, Two Can Play That Game, starring Morris Chestnut, Vivica A. Fox and Anthony Anderson; Half Past Dead, and Garfield: The Movie, in which she voiced a CGI character.

In 2005, Mo'Nique provided a cameo in the Tony Scott bounty hunter thriller Domino, co-starring Keira Knightley and Mickey Rourke. In 2006, Mo'Nique was the cast as the lead in Phat Girlz-–a comedy about an aspiring plus size fashion designer struggling to find love and acceptance. Unfortunately for Mo’Nique, her first foray as lead actress in a motion picture was met with a resounding critical and box office thud.

Mo'Nique was featured in soul singer Anthony Hamilton's video "Sista Big Bones", the second single from his Ain't Nobody Worryin' album. She plays the role of a big boned woman who Anthony secretly admires because she has always loved herself.

[edit] Personal life

Mo'Nique has two teenage sons from a previous relationship. She has also been romantically linked with singer Gerald Levert. She married Mark Jackson on Christmas Day 1997 and appended his surname to hers professionally, but they separated after four years of marriage and divorced in 2001.

In 2006, she married her childhood friend Sidney Hicks. She and Hicks have twins, Jonathan and David, born on October 3, 2005

[edit] Books

Mo'Nique is the author of the best-selling book Skinny Women Are Evil.

[edit] Airliner scuffle

In 2006, Mo'Nique had a scuffle with flight attendants over a hair dryer stored in an overhead bin on a United flight set to depart Chicago, and was ejected from the plane. United booked her on the next flight. She blamed the incident completely on racism by United's flight attendants and called for a boycott by black passengers.[1]

[edit] Filmography

[edit] TV Appearances

[edit] External links

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