Mo'Nique Biography
Summary
"Mo'Nique" (born "Monique Imes" on December 11, 1967 in Woodlawn, Maryland) is an African American comedian, actress, and reality television host. She is also the main host of the BET Awards.
Career
Television roles
She is best known for the role of Nicole 'Niki' Parker on the UPN television series "The Parkers". The show ran from 1999 to 2004. Mo'Nique was subsequently featured on a number of leading stand-up venues, including stints on "Showtime at the Apollo", "Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam", and "Thank God You're Here".
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. She can currently be seen hosting "Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School" on "VH1", where she recently crowned Saaphyri as the winner.
Her 2007 documentary "Mo'Nique Behind Bars" focuses on women who are incarcerated. Mo'Nique touches on the common factors that bring many women into the penal system while interviewing women one-on-one. In the interviews, she does not shy away from the facts of what happened or excuse the actions of the inmates but she attempts to help the women see the worth they still hold. The documentary was in conjunction with the filming of a comedy special at the Ohio Reformatory for Women also known as "The Farm".
Mo'Nqiue now has a regular role in the hit television series, "Ugly Betty". She plays L'Amanda, the weekend secretary for MODE.
Film and video career
Mo'Nique has had a number of supporting roles in film, primarily aimed at urban audiences. She has had roles in "Beerfest", " 3 Strikes", "Two Can Play That Game", "Half Past Dead", and "Garfield: The Movie", in which she voiced a CGI character. She also appeared in "Baby Boy" and "Soul Plane".
In 2005, Mo'Nique played a significant role in the Tony Scott bounty hunter thriller "Domino", co-starring Keira Knightley and Mickey Rourke. In 2006, Mo'Nique was cast as the lead in "Phat Girlz", a comedy about an aspiring plus size fashion designer struggling to find love and acceptance. The film is considered to be successful because it made its 3 million production budget back in its first weekend of release. The movie has since made under $10,000,000 in the U.S. and grossed over 14 million worldwide.
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 beautiful plus sized woman whom Anthony secretly admires because she has always loved herself.
Mo'Nique hosted the 2003 and 2004 BET Awards and appeared as the host again for the 2007 BET Awards. She tore down the house in 2004 and 2007 with openings impersonating Beyonce's famous 'Crazy in Love' dance and her dances from 'De Ja Vu'.
Personal life
Mo'Nique was born in December 11, 1967 in Woodlawn, Maryland. She is one of four children born to Steven Imes Jr. and Alice Imes. Mo'Nique graduated from Milford Mill High School in Baltimore, Maryland. She got her start in comedy when her brother dared her to perform at an open mike night and she was a big hit. Not long after she realized this was the path she wanted to pursue and would quit her job at the phone company in Baltimore.
She married Mark Jackson on December 25, 1997 and appended his surname to hers professionally to be known as Monique Imes-Jackson, but they separated after four years of marriage, and divorced 2001. With Mark she has sons Mark Jr(adopted from Mark's previous relationship) and Shalon(1990). Her oldest son was in a singing group with R&B singer Mario. In 2006, she married her childhood friend Sidney Hicks. She and Hicks have twins, Jonathan and David, born on October 3, 2005.
Always outspoken, Mo'Nique is not shy when talking about the unique arrangement she has with Sidney Hicks. She and her husband have an open marriage, as she mentioned in a profile in "The New York Times" (... more) . 'We have an agreement that we'll always be honest, and if sex happens with another person, that's not a deal breaker for us, that's not something where we'll have to say, 'Oh God, we've got to go to divorce court because you cheated on me.' Because we don't cheat.'
Books
Mo'Nique is the author of the best-selling book "Skinny Women Are Evil". She also released a 2006 cookbook called "Skinny Cooks Can't Be Trusted".
Airliner scuffle
In 2006, Mo'Nique had a dispute with flight attendants over a hair dryer stored in an overhead bin on a United Airlines flight set to depart Chicago. She was then 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 African-American passengers.
Filmography
"3 Strikes" (2000)
"Queens of Comedy" (2001)
"Two Can Play That Game" (2001)
"Half Past Dead" (2002)
"Soul Plane" (2004)
"Hair Show" (2004)
"Shadowboxer" (2005)
"Domino" (2005)
"Phat Girlz" (2006)
"Beerfest" (2006)
"Farce of the Penguins" (2007) (voice)
"Steppin': The Movie" (2007)
"This Christmas (2007)
Upcoming:
"The Better Man (film)" (2008)
Television Work
"The Parkers" (1999-2004)
"It's Showtime at the Apollo" (host from 2002-2006)
"The Proud Family(voice) (2002) - 1 Episode
"Good Fences" (2003)
"The 3rd Annual BET Awards" (2003)
"Pryor Offenses" (2004)
"The 4th Annual BET Awards" (2004)
"Mo'Nique's Fat Chance" (2005-2006) (limited run)
"Nip/Tuck" (2006) - 1 episode
"Thank God You're Here" (2007) - 1 episode
"Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School" (2007-present)
"The 7th Annual BET Awards" (2007)
"The Boondocks" (2007) - Season 2, Episode 1
"The Game" (2007) - Season 2, Episode 1
"Ugly Betty' (2007) - 1 Episode (L'Amanda)
External links
(Mo'Nique Interview on Self Confidence with Al Sharpton on AskDoctorv.com)
(Comedienne Monique Takes Flavor of Love Girls to Charm School)
(Booted from flight, comedian accuses) - 'Airline's actions won't fly with Mo' (Daily News, July 2006)
(Interviews with reality stars on Vh1, MTV, and SciFi)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Mo'Nique.
