Niecy Nash

Niecy Nash was sitting in her grandmother's St. Louis living room at the tender age of five when she first saw Lola Falana on television. From that initial glimpse at the luminous, elegant black actress, Niecy knew she would become a glamorous performer as well—and that's exactly what she's done.

Throughout her school years, she put most of her time and energy into improving her skills. Niecy continued her education at Cal State Dominguez Hills, where she majored in theater. When she graduated, Niecy was married and pregnant with her first child. She considered her situation—as a young mother trying to break into show biz—a circumstance, not a setback. She would let nothing stand in the way of her dream.

Soon after giving birth to her son, Niecy called a casting director she had once auditioned for and said, "I don't know if you remember me. I'm Niecy Nash, I'm broke, I've got a baby, and I need a job." He invited her to audition for his new movie, which led to her first paid acting job, in a scene opposite Whoopi Goldberg in Boys on the Side. Since then, Niecy has appeared in many feature films, recently costarring in Malibu's Most Wanted, alongside Jamie Kennedy, Anthony Edwards and Taye Diggs, and Cookie's Fortune, with Glenn Close, Julianne Moore and Liv Tyler. Her numerous television credits include recurring roles on Presido Med, That's Life, Popular and City of Angels and guest-starring roles on The Bernie Mac Show, NYPD Blue, One on One, Judging Amy and That's So Raven.

Niecy is also an accomplished stand-up comedian and singer. Recently she and Ronda Noel started a production company called Noel Nash Entertainment with an eye toward producing television and feature-film projects. She is also the frontperson for M.A.V.I.S. (Mothers Against Violence in Schools), which was founded by her mother in 1993 after Niecy's younger brother was tragically shot and killed on his high school campus.

Niecy has been both a successful actress and mother for the last twelve years. She now has three adoring children who have been included in every step of her struggle in the business, accompanying Niecy on countless auditions and callbacks. When asked what her hobbies are, Niecy says, "motherhood"—to her, that's her greatest success in life.