I credit my big break as the day I quit my job at the phone company in Baltimore to pursue my comedy dream wholeheartedly. Another pivotal career break came in 1999 I landed a starring role as Nikki Parker on the hit UPN television series "The Parkers." During the show's five year run, in which I starred as a single mom who attends college with her daughter, I earned numerous awards, including four NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series in 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005, and received nominations all five years of the show's existence. Since then, I have made memorable guest appearances on shows like, "The Game," "Nip/Tuck", "The View", and hosted the popular BET Awards where her opening dance performance brought down the house.
My film credits include Push, Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, Farce of the Penguins, Beerfest, Shadowboxer, Phat Girlz, Domino, Soul Plane, Hair Show, Three Strikes, Baby Boy, and Two Can Play That Game which earned me a NAACP Image Award Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, and the Showtime tele-film Good Fences, opposite Whoopi Goldberg.
My bold and sarcastic stand-up routine also landed me a starring role in the hit stand-up comedy film, "The Queens of Comedy," which was released in 2002 by Paramount Home Entertainment and aired on the Showtime Network. "The Queens of Comedy" also toured the country as a live comedy concert, which was released as an album, of the same title, and went on to earn a GRAMMY nomination for Best Spoken Comedy Album.
For three consecutive years, I was the host of NBC's nationally televised program, "Showtime at the Apollo." I made history as the first female comedienne to serve in that coveted capacity.
I have become a role model for voluptuous women everywhere, proving that you don't have to be a size 0 to be sexy and fabulous. My musings on life are featured in the best-selling book entitled Skinny Women are Evil published by Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster. Released in April 2003, the book quickly became a New York Times bestseller. Sherri McGee McCovey and I released a follow-up called Skinny Cooks Can't Be Trusted for Amistad Press, a division of HarperCollins. We also co-authored the teen fiction series, Beacon Hills High, due in August 2008.
In 2005, I Created, Executive Produced and Hosted the Oxygen television special, "Mo'Nique's F.A.T. Chance," America's first full-figured reality beauty pageant that was the highest-rated show in the history of the cable network. In 2006, the show earned a NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Variety Special, and the third season, shot entirely on location in Paris, France was also a first. My other reality show credits include the VH1 series, "Charm School" which was a ratings winner for the network.
Struck by the increasing numbers of women behind bars, I took my message to the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville, Ohio where I taped my stand up comedy special "I Coulda Been Your Cellmate" for Showtime Television. The special was also released on DVD. The issue of female incarceration also became the subject of the Oxygen documentary, "Mo'Nique: Behind Bars" which I hosted for the network.
The thriving businesswoman that I am brings me to add another dimension to my growing empire with the launch of a daily nationally syndicated radio show for the Radio One network.
In Fall 2005, I experienced motherhood the second time around with the arrival of twin boys, David and Jonathan.
