Meet The Cast Of Todd Tucker's New Show, 'Hollywood Divas' Airing Wednesday, October 8th at 10PM/ET On TV One
Hollywood Divas follows actresses Elise Neal (The Hughleys), Golden Brooks (Girlfriends), Paula Jai Parker (Hustle and Flow), Countess Vaughn (The Parkers) and Lisa Wu (Real Housewives of Atlanta) as they go through life attempting to stay alive in the crazy world of the entertainment industry.
"TV One's audience has a passion for programming that reveals the private stories behind the public lives of Black artists," said Proctor. "The Hollywood Divas' willingness to share their, experiences with inequality and obstacles when it comes to the Hollywood merry-go-round is the foundation of this series. How these women are personally affected by this phenomenon and how they individually handle the pressure, is where the Hollywood Diva stories begins."
"We are excited to be a part of the TV One family on this groundbreaking series about the lives of Black Actresses in Hollywood," remarked executive producers Carlos King and Todd Tucker. "Our goal is to continue the success of capturing compelling stories about women from all walks of life."
Meet the ladies !!
Countess Vaughn
"Countess Vaughn began her performing career at the age of three singing at church. At age nine, she sang "I'll Be There" to win the Star Search junior vocalist champion and overall junior champion. Vaughn started her acting career on 227, followed by roles in Thea, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper and Roc. Outside of television, she performed in the off-Broadway musical Mama and I Want to Sing! Part 3. In 1998, Vaughn was honored with an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance in Moesha. In 1992, Vaughn released her first album, Countess, featuring a variety of songs, including dance music and R&B. The album's lead single, a cover of James Brown's "It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World," charted in the top-100 of the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. She starred in (and also sang the theme song for) the UPN sitcom, The Parkers, from 1999 until the show ended in 2004. In 2011, Vaughn made her return to television on the BET sitcom Let's Stay Together."
"Countess Vaughn has struggled with image and self-esteem issues for years and believes that her physical appearance has limited the type of parts she lands. In an attempt to revitalize her career, she turns to extreme cosmetic surgery in hopes that with a new body, the roles will soon follow."
Golden Brooks
"Golden Brooks is best known for her portrayal of the character Maya Wilkes on the sitcom Girlfriends. She also directed an episode titled Hustle & Dough, and wrote a 2007 episode titled Snap Back, which featured guest star Erykah Badu. Brooks won the Black Reel Awards for the film Motives and also starred in Beauty Shop, Something New and the independent film The Inheritance. Most recently Brooks appeared on the CW series, Hart of Dixie."
"After co-starring on a long running series, Golden Brooks has been hit with the reality that the game has changed. As a classically trained actress, Golden feels that reality stars do not take the craft seriously and are stealing roles from real actresses, such as herself."
Elise Neal
"Known for her starring roles in the television series KVille, Ant Farm, The Cape, The Hughleys, All of Us and TV One's Belles, Elise Neal made her film debut in John Singleton's Rosewood. Her other film credits include Scream 2, Money Talks and Love Ranch. Neal shines in her work in indie features including Restaurant, 1982, The Undershepherd, an ABFF best picture winner, and of course the powerhouse Oscar nominated Hustle and Flow, which also won the Sundance Audience Award."
"Elise Neal has learned that sometimes you have to forge your own way in Hollywood and in doing so, you might not make many friends along the way. Nearing 50 with looks that rival most 20 year-olds, Elise reignites her sexy dance troop to show the world that she is a triple threat."
Lisa Wu
"Lisa Wu shot to fame with her role on Bravo's The Real Housewives of Atlanta. She owns her own real estate firm, Hartwell & Associates, a jewelry line called Wu Girls, a baby clothing line, Hart 2 Hart Baby, and juggles a budding acting, modeling and writing career. She recently wrapped production on First Impression, a film also starring Lamman Rucker and Lisa Arrindell Anderson, and is currently working on Atlanta Undercover."
"Lisa Wu is in a constant battle to get the world to recognize her as more than just a former cast member of a hugely successful reality show franchise and the ex-wife of singer/songwriter Keith Sweat and retired NFL player Ed Hartwell. Having landed small roles and produced several stage plays and films, Wu still struggles to earn respect."
Paula Jai Parker
"Comedian Paula Jai Parker began her career on the FOX comedy program The Apollo Comedy Hour, filmed live at the legendary Apollo Theater. She left the show after one year to pursue a film career, taking memorable roles in the F. Gary Gray urban comedy Friday and earned a Cable ACE Award for her role in the HBO anthology presentation, Cosmic Slop. Parker returned to television for the WB television series The Wayans Bros. opposite Shawn and Marlon Wayans. Throughout the 1990s, she appeared in several short-lived shows, including The Weird Al Show and David E. Kelley's Snoops. Between television projects, she appeared in a number of films, including the Million Man March docudrama Get on the Bus, Sprung, Why Do Fools Fall in Love, 30 Years to Life and She Hate Me. She has also voiced characters on the popular animated series The Proud Family."
"Paula Jai Parker believes that she was shunned from Hollywood after marrying a production assistant she met on-set thereby resulting in her going from being a gainfully employed actress to homelessness. Paula, now the primary breadwinner of the family, must start from scratch in order to turn her professional life around and support her family."