Monica Calhoun (born July 29, 1971)[3] is an American film and television actress. Calhoun is best known for her roles in the films Bagdad Cafe, The Players Club,[4] The Salon, The Best Man,[5] and its sequel The Best Man Holiday. Calhoun has been nominated for an Emmy Award and one NAACP Image Award.
Monica Calhoun | |
---|---|
Born | [1] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | July 29, 1971
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1985–present |
Known for | Mia Morgan – The Best Man, The Best Man Holiday Ebony – The Players Club |
Height | 5 ft 4.5 in (163.8 cm)[2] |
Children | 1 |
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,[1] Calhoun is the daughter of Lorine Calhoun.[6] She moved to California in the late 1970s, and began acting while in sixth grade.[7] Calhoun attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.[8]
Calhoun made her acting debut in the 1985 TV film Children of the Night as Wanda.[9] She portrayed Phyllis, the daughter of CCH Pounder's character, in Bagdad Cafe (1987).[10] Calhoun was the only actor in Bagdad Cafe to return for the television series,[11] albeit the character's name was changed to Debbie.[12] The televised adaptation lasted two seasons before being cancelled.
She portrayed Rebbie Jackson in the 1992 biopic miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream.[13] In 1993, she had a minor role in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit[14] and acted in the Disney Channel film The Ernest Green Story alongside Morris Chestnut.[15] Calhoun received an Emmy Award nomination for her performance in the CBS Schoolbreak Special "Different Worlds: A Story of Interracial Love" (1993).[16] Calhoun co-starred with actor Flex Alexander in the short-lived series, Where I Live, and appeared in Pacific Station.
Calhoun guest starred in several sitcoms including The Wayans Bros., A Different World and The Jamie Foxx Show, the latter as Jamie Foxx's sister.[17] She appeared as Linda, one of the daughters of Donald Thornton in television film The Ditchdigger's Daughters (1997).[18] Calhoun played the role of Ebony, a stripper,[19] in Ice Cube's directorial debut The Players Club (1998).
She appeared in the lead role, Reese Delaware, in Intimate Betrayal (1999).[20] In Love & Basketball (2000), she portrayed Kerry, a girlfriend of the basketball playing protagonist.[21] In 2002, Calhoun appeared in Trois 2: Pandora's Box as psychologist Dr. Mia DuBois[22] and portrayed Wet in Civil Brand.[23] Calhoun played Rachel in the Western Gang of Roses (2003).[24]
Calhoun portrayed Mia, the wife of Morris Chestnut's character, in The Best Man (1999).[25] She received an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture in 2000 for her performance.[26] She returned in its sequel The Best Man Holiday (2013).[27] In the latter, Mia is terminally ill and dies at the end of the film.[28]
She played the role of Brenda in 2007's The Salon starring Vivica Fox.[29] In 2009, Robert Townsend directed Calhoun in Diary of a Single Mom, Season I, II and III (2008–10).[30] Calhoun appeared as Patricia Tresvant, Ralph's mother in The New Edition Story miniseries which aired on the BET network in January 2017.[31]
Calhoun gave birth to a son in 2000. Her son is blind. [32][33][34]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1985 | Children of the Night | Wanda | TV movie |
1987 | Bagdad Cafe | Phyllis | |
1989 | Heart and Soul | Janet | TV movie |
1991 | She Stood Alone | Eliza Hammond | TV movie |
1993 | The Ernest Green Story | Minnijean Brown | TV movie |
Jack the Bear | Sondra | ||
Younger and Younger | Jaime-Lee | ||
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit | Classroom Kid | ||
1996 | Rebound: The Legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault | Evonne | TV movie |
1997 | The Ditchdigger's Daughters | Linda | TV movie |
Damn Whitey | Young Woman | Short | |
1998 | The Players Club | Ebony | |
Park Day | Tamala Davis | ||
1999 | The Best Man | Mia Morgan | |
Intimate Betrayal | Reese Delaware | TV movie | |
2000 | Love & Basketball | Kerry | |
Nature Boy | Maria Cole | TV movie | |
2001 | Faux Pas | - | |
2002 | Turnaround | Cammy | |
Civil Brand | Wet | ||
Trois 2: Pandora's Box | Dr. Mia DuBois | ||
2003 | Love Chronicles | Maya | |
Gang of Roses | Rachel | ||
2004 | Justice | Sharice | |
2005 | The Salon | Brenda | |
Friends and Lovers | Debra | Video | |
2013 | The Best Man Holiday | Mia M. Sullivan | |
2016 | Everything But A Man | Vanessa | |
No Regrets | Nina Thomas | ||
2020 | Leroy | Joey | |
2023 | Deadly Entanglement | Deidra |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1989 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Vonette | Episode: "15 and Getting Straight" |
1990–91 | Bagdad Cafe | Debbie | Main Cast |
1992 | The Jacksons: An American Dream | Rebbie Jackson | Episode: "Part 1 & 2" |
CBS Schoolbreak Special | Carol | Episode: "Different Worlds: A Story of Interracial Love" | |
1993 | A Different World | Yolanda | Episode: "Homey, Don't Ya Know Me?" |
Where I Live | Kaiya | Episode: "Big Mon on Campus" | |
1994 | Sweet Justice | Kara | Episode: "Fourth Quarter" |
1995 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Temple Baham | Episode: "What About Your Friends" |
1996 | The Wayans Bros. | Vanessa | Episode: "Unbrotherly Love" |
1997 | Good News | Cynthia Porter | Episode: "Try a Little Tenderness" |
1998 | The Jamie Foxx Show | Kim | Episode: "Swing Out Sister" |
2000 | Malcolm & Eddie | Helena | Episode: "Moving Violations" |
2003 | NYPD Blue | Denise Woodson | Episode: "I Kid You Not" |
Strong Medicine | Paige Wheeler | Episode: "Coming Clean" | |
2006 | Grey's Anatomy | Mrs. Wood | Episode: "Break on Through" |
Everybody Hates Chris | Charlotte | Episode: "Everybody Hates Funerals" | |
2007 | Dirt | Chelle | Episode: "Pilot" |
2008 | Cold Case | Phoebe Curtis (1989) | Episode: "Triple Threat" |
2009–11 | Diary of a Single Mom | Ocean | Main Cast |
2017 | The New Edition Story | Patricia Tresvant | Episode: "Part 1 & 2" |
2022 | The Best Man: The Final Chapters | Mia Sullivan | Recurring Cast |