Tia Mowry

Tia Mowry
Tia at Award Show
Born Tia Dashon Mowry
November 6, 1978
Gelnhausen, West Germany
Residence Agoura Hills, California
Other names Tia Mowry-Hardrict
Education Pepperdine University
Occupation Actress, model, author, businesswoman
Years active 1990–present
Spouse(s) Cory Hardrict (m. 2008)
Children 1
Relatives Tamera Mowry (twin sister)
Tahj Mowry and Tavior Mowry
Website
www.tiaandtameraofficial.com

Tia Dashon Mowry-Hardrict (née Mowry; born July 6, 1978), known by her maiden name Tia Mowry, is a German-born American actress and model. She first gained fame for her teen role as Tia Landry on the ABC/WB sitcom Sister, Sister (opposite her identical twin sister Tamera Mowry). From 2006 until 2012, she portrayed medical student Melanie Barnett Davis on the CW/BET comedy-drama series The Game. She is also notable for starring in the television movie Twitches and its sequel Twitches Too. Since September 2013, Mowry has starred in Nickelodeon's Nick at Nite show Instant Mom.

Family and early life

Mowry was born in Gelnhausen in then-West Germany. Her mother, Darlene Renee Mowry (née Flowers), managed her children's careers when they were in the group Voices, and also worked as a security guard. Her father, Timothy John Mowry, was in the U.S. Army at the time of her birth, and later became a custody officer/jailer with the City of Glendale Police Department, when the family moved to California.[1][2][3]

Her father, who is Caucasian, has English ancestry, and her mother is of Afro-Bahamian descent.[4] Her parents met in high school, in Miami, Florida. Both joined the U.S. Army, and both would eventually reach the rank of Sergeant.[5] Her family is "close-knit" and "very spiritual",[2] as the sisters became born-again Christians when they were eight.[6]

Tia is two minutes younger than her twin sister, Tamera.[7] Tamera was born first, at 4:30pm, followed by Tia at 4:32pm. She also has two younger brothers, actor Tahj Mowry and Tavior Mowry, who plays college football for University of California, Davis.

Career

Mowry and her sister began entering pageants and talent shows while their family was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. At age 12, they convinced their mother to move to California with them so they could pursue acting. She agreed, on the condition that they land an acting job within the first month of their stay. In 1990, their family moved to California permanently, settling in Los Angeles, and she and her sister began appearing in commercials and small roles.

She is well known for playing Tia Landry, a twin separated at birth and reunited with her sister as a teenager in the show Sister, Sister. The series was developed for them after a producer spotted them on the set of Full House, a show on which their brother made regular appearances. Sister, Sister was initially on ABC but was cancelled by the network after two years and picked up by The WB, where it ran for another four years. During its run, they appeared on an episode of their brother Tahj Mowry's show Smart Guy. They also did voice-over work for the Kids' WB cartoon series Detention.

After the show ended, both Mowry and her sister studied psychology at Pepperdine University. She also went to Europe to study humanities and Italian for a period.[8] Both she and her sister appeared in the Rob Schneider comedy film The Hot Chick, playing cheerleaders. Mowry also did voiceovers for the Bratz cartoon series as the voice of Sasha. In 2005, Mowry and her sister both starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Twitches and reprised their roles in its sequel, Twitches Too and before co-starred in the 2000 movie Seventeen Again. Tia also appeared on an episode of her sister's television show, Strong Medicine, in January 2006, playing the role of Keisha, the twin sister of Tamera Mowry's character, Dr. Kayla Thornton. Mowry has a starring role in the BET television series The Game as Melanie Barnett. Mowry has been nominated for a Teen Choice Award and a NAACP Image Awards for best actress in a comedy.

In the Blue's Clues episode "Blue's Birthday", Mowry and her sister make a cameo appearance as two of the celebrities wishing Blue a happy birthday. Their only line is said in unison: "Happy Birthday, Blue!"

Beginning in July 2011, the Style Network began airing Tia & Tamera, a reality show which follows the day-to-day lives of the twins; Tia being pregnant and Tamera planning her wedding.

Mowry and her sister are both singers. They have showcased their vocal abilities on episodes of Sister Sister, including covers of "You Can't Hurry Love", "Amazing Grace" and "I'm Going Down", which Tamera performed. They also sang the theme song during season five and six.

In May 2012, Mowry published her first book, Oh, Baby: Pregnancy Tales and Advice from One Hot Mama to Another, about her pregnancy and being a working mother.[9] In May 2012, Mowry stated via her Twitter account that she would not be returning to The Game, for a sixth season. In August 2013 it was announced that she was cast in the lead role in a new Nick at Nite comedy series Instant Mom alongside Michael Boatman and Sheryl Lee Ralph.

In 2015, Mowry starred in the Cooking Channel series Tia Mowry at Home.[10]

Personal life

Mowry met actor Cory Hardrict at the bus stop. They dated for six years; became engaged on Christmas 2006,[11] and married on April 20, 2008 in California.[12] On January 11, 2011, People announced that Mowry and Hardrict were expecting their first child; Mowry made the announcement herself on 106 & Park. The pregnancy was documented on the show Tia & Tamera featuring her sister, Tamera Mowry, on the Style Network.[13] The couple welcomed their first child, a son, Cree Taylor, on June 28, 2011.[14][15][16]

Mowry is the head coach of the Entertainment Basketball League celebrity team. She coaches the Atlanta team whose players include her husband, Cory Hardrict, and ex co-star, Pooch Hall.[17] She recently coached at the battle of the sexes game in Chicago against the Sky of the WNBA.[18]

Mowry became vegan as a New Year's resolution. She says, "I heard such great things about it. I’m absolutely enjoying it."[19] She attributes fellow actress Alicia Silverstone's book "The Kind Diet" for helping her with the change. Mowry also posed for a PETA campaign promoting veganism.[20]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2000 Seventeen Again Sydney Donovan Television film
2002 The Hot Chick Venetia
2005 Bratz: Rock Angelz Sasha Voice
Direct-to-video
2005 Twitches Alex Fielding / Artemis
2006 Bratz Genie Magic Sasha Voice
Direct-to-video
2006 Bratz: Passion 4 Fashion – Diamondz Sasha Voice
Direct-to-video
2007 Twitches Too Alex Fielding / Artemis
2010 The American Standards Kate
2010 Double Wedding Deanna Warren Executive producer
Television film
2012 The Mistle-Tones Holly
2013 Baggage Claim Janine

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1991 Dangerous Women Judith Ann Webb Unknown episodes
1992 Full House Denise Episode: "The Devil Made Me Do It"
1992 True Colors Rene Episode: "In a Flash"
1994 The All-New Mickey Mouse Club Herself 1 episode
1994–99 Sister, Sister Tia Landry 119 episodes
1995 Are You Afraid of the Dark? Janice Robinson Episode: "The Tale of the Chameleons"
1995 The Adventures of Hyperman The bad Emma Voice
Episodes: "Have a Hyper Christmas!"
"The Good, the Bad and the Emmas"
1996 All That Herself
1997 Smart Guy Rochelle Episode: "Brother, Brother"
1998 Blue's Clues Herself Episode: "Blue's Birthday"
1999 Detention Lemonjella LaBelle Voice
13 episodes
2005 Love, Inc. Kim Episodes: "Hope & Faith"
"The Honeymooners"
2005–07 Bratz Sasha Voice
2006–09, 2011–12 The Game Melanie Barnett Davis Lead Role (Seasons 1-5) 99 Episodes
2015 CHRISJayify Herself Episode: "Drugs Are Bad"
2011–13 Tia & Tamera Herself Executive producer
2013–present Instant Mom Stephanie Phillips Main Role/Producer
2015–present Tia Mowry at Home Herself

Awards and nominations

NAACP Image Awards

Teen Choice Awards

People's Choice Awards

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards

Young Artist Awards

References

  1. ↑ "Interviews". Archived from the original on August 1, 2008. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Tia, Tamera And Tahj Mowry Keep Laughter In The Family With Hit TV Shows 'Sister, Sister' And 'Smart Guy'. Findarticles.com (March 1, 1999). Retrieved on 2011-07-05.
  3. ↑ Tia Mowry Biography (1978–). Filmreference.com. Retrieved on 2011-02-05.
  4. ↑ During an appearance on The Wendy Williams Show in 2010, it was stated that for years, the Mowrys believed that they had Italian ancestry on their father's side; however, after researching their family tree on Ancestry.com, they discovered that their father has English ancestry.
  5. ↑ Double Devotion – Today's Christian. Web.archive.org (January 9, 2008). Retrieved on 2011-07-05.
  6. ↑ TV's tantalizing twins: Tia and Tamara Mowry shared 'Sister Sister' sitcom, schoolwork and singing. Findarticles.com. Retrieved on 2011-07-05.
  7. ↑ "Is It True What They Say About Twins?". Jet magazine. April 30, 2001. p. 28.
  8. ↑ "Shows – The Game – Cast – Tia Mowry"
  9. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/dp/1583335285
  10. ↑ Elavksy, Cindy (April 30, 2015). "Celebrity Extra". King Features. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  11. ↑ Tan, Michelle. (January 21, 2007) Sister, Sister Star Tia Mowry Is Engaged – Engagements, Tia Mowry. People.com. Retrieved on 2011-07-05.
  12. ↑ Wihlborg, Ulrica (April 20, 2008). "Tia Mowry Gets Married". people.com. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
  13. ↑ Hammel, Sara (January 11, 2011). "Tia Mowry Gets Married". People. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  14. ↑ Sister, Sister's Tia Mowry Is Pregnant!. Usmagazine.com. Retrieved on 2011-07-05.
  15. ↑ Actress Tia Mowry Reveals Her Baby's Gender – Moms & Babies. UsMagazine.com (August 25, 2009). Retrieved on 2011-02-05.
  16. ↑ Blog Archive » Cory Hardict & Tia Mowry Decided On A Name For Their Little Boy. Media Outrage (June 30, 2011). Retrieved on 2011-07-05.
  17. ↑ E-League Atlanta Roster. Eleague.ning.com. Retrieved on 2011-07-05.
  18. ↑ Tia Coaches E-League. Wnba.com. Retrieved on 2011-07-05.
  19. ↑
  20. ↑ Ann Oldenburg, "Tia Mowry Wears Nothing But Lettuce for PETA," USA TODAY, June 11, 2013.

External links