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Paula Jai Parker
Paula Jai Parker
Born	August 19, 1969 (age 55); Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Education	Howard University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1992–present
Spouse	Forrest Martin (m. 2004)
Children	1

Paula Jai Parker (born August 19, 1969)^[1] is an American actress. She is best known for her supporting roles in the films Friday (1995), Sprung (1997), Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998), Phone Booth (2002), Hustle & Flow (2005), and Idlewild (2006). Parker is also known for her voice of Trudy Proud in the Disney Channel animated comedy series, The Proud Family (2001-2005), which she reprised in the 2005 TV Movie The Proud Family Movie, and its 2022 reboot, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.

Early life

Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio,^[1] Parker went to Shaker Heights High School but then graduated from Cleveland Heights High School due to racism in Shaker. For college she moved to Washington, D.C. to study at Howard University.^[2] After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, she moved to New York City and played a number of clubs. From 1992 to 1993, she performed on the FOX comedy program The Apollo Comedy Hour, filmed live at the legendary Apollo Theater, and later was cast member on the short-lived sketch show, Townsend Television.^[3]

Career

In 1995, Parker made her film debut in the F. Gary Gray urban comedy Friday. In the same year, she earned a Cable ACE Award for her role in the HBO anthology presentation, Cosmic Slop.^[4] Later that year, Parker returned to television in the WB sitcom, The Wayans Bros. opposite Shawn and Marlon Wayans. Throughout the 1990s, she appeared in several short-lived shows, including CBS sitcom The Weird Al Show (1997), and David E. Kelley's ABC comedy-drama, Snoops (1999).^[2]

During the 1990s, Parker had supporting roles in a number of films. She has appeared in the 1995 horror anthology Tales from the Hood, Spike Lee's Million Man March drama Get on the Bus (1996), the urban comedy Sprung (1997), the Jada Pinkett Smith starring romantic comedy Woo (1997), and the Frankie Lymon biography, Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998). In the early 2000s, Parker co-starred in 30 Years to Life, High Crimes, Phone Booth, and My Baby's Daddy.^[2] In 2004, she played a role in the comedy-drama, She Hate Me, and appeared as Ruth Brown in biographical film Ray. Her breakthrough was in the 2005 independent drama Hustle & Flow starring Terrence Howard. She later was cast opposite Howard in musical film Idlewild (2006).^[5]

From 2001 to 2005, Parker voiced the matriarch Trudy Proud in the Disney Channel animated comedy series, The Proud Family^[6] and its 2005 film The Proud Family Movie. She also played the iutstanding role of Billie Holiday on the episode of Touched by an Angel in 2000, and later guest-starred on The Shield, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, My Name Is Earl, and The Mentalist. She co-starred in the 2007 thriller film Cover starring Aunjanue Ellis, and in later years worked in low-profile independent movies.^[5]

From 2013 to 2014, Parker had a recurring role in the HBO series True Blood during the show's seventh and final season. In 2014, she was cast as one of five leads on the TV One reality series, Hollywood Divas.^[7] In 2015, Parker was cast in the recurring roles on the Amazon drama Hand of God, as well as Freeform series, Recovery Road.^[8] In August 2016, she released an extended play album entitled "Paula Jai & Friends", which featured the single "Going Down".

Personal life

Parker married Forrest Martin in 2004. The couple met on the set of Hustle & Flow, where Forrest, who had just graduated with a Master of Fine Arts, was working as an intern.^[9] She almost passed on shooting the critically acclaimed movie and only took the part at the urging of her manager.^[10] They have one son.^[11]

Discography

Paula Jai & Friends (2016)

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Cosmic Slop	Tang	TV movie
1995	Friday	Joi
1995	Tales from the Hood	Sissy Johnson
1996	Don't Be a Menace to South Central	Drunk Party Girl
1996	Get on the Bus	Jamilia
1997	Sprung	Adina
1998	Always Outnumbered	Melodie	TV movie
	Woo	Claudette
	Why Do Fools Fall in Love	Paula King
1999	The Breaks	Ann
2001	30 Years to Life	Stephanie
2002	High Crimes	Gracie
2002	Phone Booth	Felicia
2003	Love Chronicles	Sara
2004	My Baby's Daddy	Rolonda
	She Hate Me	Evelyn
	Ray	Ruth Brown
	Konsequenz	Baby	Short
2005	Hustle & Flow	Lexus
	The Proud Family Movie	Trudy Parker-Proud (voice)	TV movie
	Animal	Reecy	Video
2006	Idlewild	Rose
2006	The Genius Club	Tatiana
2007	Cover	Monica Wilson
2010	Confessions of A Lonely Wife	-
2011	King of the Underground	Elizabeth Gayle
2013	When a Woman's Fed Up	Laticious
	Life of a King	Gina Sanders
	Pastor Shirley	Pastor Shirley
2014	4Play	Linda
	Patterns of Attraction	Desiree Stewart
	Act of Faith	Shartruce
	Assistant Motives	Joyce Miller
	You Me & Her	Karen	Short
2015	The Summoning	Angela
2016	Last Call at Murray's	Danice
	She's Got a Plan	Rhonda
	Echo Park Blues	CeCe McCoy	Short
2017	The White Sistas	Jordan White
2018	Taco Shop	Eve
2018	Hey, Mr. Postman!	Ms. Kelly
2020	Blinders	Evelyn
2022	A Miracle Before Christmas	Martha
2023	Kings of L.A.	Mason
	Sasha Lanes	Ashanti
	The Furry Fortune	June

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992-93	The Apollo Comedy Hour	Herself	Main Cast
1993	Townsend Television	Herself	Main Cast
1994	Soul Train	Herself/Guest Host	Episode: "CeCe Peniston/Outkast/Tashan"
1994	Roc	Jill	Episode: "No Place Like Home"
1995	Pointman	Udia	Episode: "Silent Auction"
1995-96	The Wayans Bros.	Mia	Guest: Season 1, Recurring Cast: Season 2
1997	Riot	Lisa	Episode: "Homecoming Day"
	The Parent 'Hood	Sabrina	Episode: "Wendell and I Spy"
	The Weird Al Show	Val Brentwood-Gal Spy	Main Cast
	Cosby	Tanya	Episode: "The Two Hilton Lucases"
1998	NYPD Blue	Cara Wilson	Episode: "Speak for Yourself, Bruce Clayton"
1999	Snoops	Roberta Young	Main Cast
2000	Touched by an Angel	Billie Holiday	Episode: "God Bless the Child"
2001-05	The Proud Family	Trudy Parker-Proud (voice)	Main Cast
2003	Gadget & the Gadgetinis	Jeanette Sir (voice)	Episode: "The General's Daughter"
2004	The Shield	Desirae	Episode: "Cracking Ice"
2005	Lilo & Stitch: The Series	Trudy Parker-Proud (voice)	Episode: "Spats: Experiment #397"
2005	CSI: Miami	Deana Walters/D-Nasty	Episode: "Shattered"
2006	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Julia Beltran	Episode: "Toe Tags"
2007	Side Order of Life	Stargell Grant	Recurring Cast
2008	My Name Is Earl	Sylvia	Episode: "Orphan Earl"
2009	Fear Itself	Patty Orwell	Episode: "Something with Bite"
2010	The Mentalist	Astrid	Episode: "Red Sky at Night"
2010	Fish Hooks	Yolanda (voice)	Episode: "Hooray for Hamsterwood"
2011	Funny or Die Presents	Paula	Episode: "Episode #2.6"
2012	Let's Stay Together	Sherry Steele	Episode: "Inspect Me, Inspect Me Not"
2012	The Exes	Amelia	Episode: "How Holly Got Her Groove Back"
2012-19	Family Time	Lori	Guest: Season 1, Recurring Cast: Season 2-7
2013	The Soul Man	Drew	Episode: "Bride and Prejudice"
2013-14	True Blood	Karen	Guest: Season 6, Recurring Cast: Season 7
2014	Front Seat Chronicles	Rachel	Episode: "See You in Court"
2014-16	Hollywood Divas	Herself	Main Cast
2015	Hand of God	Ida Congdon	Recurring Cast: Season 1
2016	Recovery Road	Margarita Jean-Baptiste	Recurring Cast
	Ray Donovan	Sylvie Starr	Recurring Cast: Season 4
	How To Get Away with Murder	Yvonne	Episode: "It's About Frank"
2017	NCIS: Los Angeles	Ellie	Episode: "Forasteira"
2019	9-1-1	Judith Spivey	Episode: "Triggers"
2019	Black Jesus	Teresa	Recurring Cast: Season 3
2019-22	Crown Lake	Headmistress Catherine Merriweather	Recurring Cast: Season 1-2, Main Cast: Season 3
2019-23	A House Divided	Stephanie Sanders	Main Cast
2020	Criminal Minds	Captain Vivian Paige	Episode: "Under the Skin"
	Insecure	Sheryl	Episode: "Lowkey Feelin' Myself"
	Etheria	Karen	Episode: "You Me & Her"
2021	Them	Hazel Emory	Recurring Cast: Season 1
	Queen Sugar	Celine	Recurring Cast: Season 6
	Colin in Black & White	Aunt Zora	Episode: "Crystal"
2022	Celebrity Family Feud	Herself/Contestant	Episode: "Episode #9.2"
	All Rise	Charlene Addison	Episode: "It Ain't Over Till It's Over"
	American Gigolo	Diamond	Episode: "The Escape Wheel"
2022-	The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder	Trudy Parker-Proud (voice)	Main Cast

Music video

Year	Song	Artist
2001	"Girls, Girls, Girls"	Jay-Z

Documentary

Year	Title
2007	Angels Can't Help But Laugh
2008	So You Want Michael Madsen?
2011	Kiss and Tell: The History of Black Romance in Movie
2011	Mama & Me

Awards and nominations

Year	Awards	Category	Recipient	Outcome
1995	CableACE Award	CableACE Award for Best Actress in a Drama	"Cosmic Slop"	Won
2006	Women Film Critics Circle	Women Film Critics Circle Award for Best Comedic Performance	"Hustle & Flow"	Won
2006	Screen Actors Guild Award	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	"Hustle & Flow"	Nominated
2020	Indie Series Awards	Indie Series Award for Best Lead Actress — Drama	"A House Divided"	Nominated

References

^ ^a ^b
Williams, Kam (August 6, 2005). "Exchanging pleasantries with Paula Jai Parker: The Hustle & Flow Interview with Kam Williams". The Baltimore Afro-American. p. B2. ProQuest 2669754977. Paula Jai Parker was born in Cleveland on Aug. 19, 1969. The pretty, butter-pecan performer has been working in Hollywood practically since the day she graduated from Howard University, embarking on a career that has already spanned more than 20 films and 10 TV series. See also:
- McCann, Bob (2010). Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 260. ISBN 978-0-7864-3790-0. See also:
- Krefting, Rebecca (1978). All Joking Aside: American Humor and Its Discontents. Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 319. ISBN 978-1-4214-1429-4.
- "'Black Achievement Night' recognizes Ohio-born talent". Cleveland Call & Post. January 30, 2008. p. 3C. ProQuest 238479747. A Cleveland native, Paula Jai Parker has starred on the big screen in movies including 'Get On the Bus,' 'Why Do Fools Fall in Love,' 'Phone Booth' and 'Hustle and Flow.'
^ ^a ^b ^c Paula Jai Parker Biography. AllMovie. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
^ The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. 2003. p. 1223. ISBN 0-345-45542-8.
^ Moon, Spencer. Reel Black talk: a sourcebook of 50 American filmmakers, p. 169 (1997)
^ ^a ^b "Paula Jai Parker Homeless, 'Blackballed' By Hollywood - Essence.com". Essence.com. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
^ Everything the Hottest Cartoon Voices Can't Live Without, VIBE (August 2003)
^ Tambay A. Obenson (16 May 2014). "TV One Expands 'Diva' Franchise w/ Launch of 'Hollywood D - Shadow and Act". Shadow and Act. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
^ [iaemagazine.com/featured/paula-jai-parker-stars-in-tvone-film-the-summoning/ Award-winning Actress, Paula Jai Parker, Discusses Her Lead In The New TV One Film – The Summoning]
^ (8 August 2005). Happy & In Love, Jet
^ "Paula Jai Parker Bio, Age, Net Worth, Career, Personal Life Facts". TheCelebritysBio. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
^ "PAULA JAI PARKER'S ONEDERFUL SON". Black Celeb Kids. October 2, 2012. Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

External links

Paula Jai Parker at IMDb

[birth_date_&_place-1] Williams, Kam (August 6, 2005). "Exchanging pleasantries with Paula Jai Parker: The Hustle & Flow Interview with Kam Williams". The Baltimore Afro-American. p. B2. ProQuest 2669754977. Paula Jai Parker was born in Cleveland on Aug. 19, 1969. The pretty, butter-pecan performer has been working in Hollywood practically since the day she graduated from Howard University, embarking on a career that has already spanned more than 20 films and 10 TV series. See also:
McCann, Bob (2010). Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 260. ISBN 978-0-7864-3790-0. See also:

Krefting, Rebecca (1978). All Joking Aside: American Humor and Its Discontents. Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 319. ISBN 978-1-4214-1429-4.

"'Black Achievement Night' recognizes Ohio-born talent". Cleveland Call & Post. January 30, 2008. p. 3C. ProQuest 238479747. A Cleveland native, Paula Jai Parker has starred on the big screen in movies including 'Get On the Bus,' 'Why Do Fools Fall in Love,' 'Phone Booth' and 'Hustle and Flow.'

[2] McCann, Bob (2010). Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 260. ISBN 978-0-7864-3790-0. See also:

[3] Krefting, Rebecca (1978). All Joking Aside: American Humor and Its Discontents. Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 319. ISBN 978-1-4214-1429-4.

[4] "'Black Achievement Night' recognizes Ohio-born talent". Cleveland Call & Post. January 30, 2008. p. 3C. ProQuest 238479747. A Cleveland native, Paula Jai Parker has starred on the big screen in movies including 'Get On the Bus,' 'Why Do Fools Fall in Love,' 'Phone Booth' and 'Hustle and Flow.'

[AM-2] Paula Jai Parker Biography. AllMovie. Retrieved February 12, 2024.

[3] The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. 2003. p. 1223. ISBN 0-345-45542-8.

[slop1-4] Moon, Spencer. Reel Black talk: a sourcebook of 50 American filmmakers, p. 169 (1997)

[bbl-5] "Paula Jai Parker Homeless, 'Blackballed' By Hollywood - Essence.com". Essence.com. Retrieved 9 July 2015.

[proud1-6] Everything the Hottest Cartoon Voices Can't Live Without, VIBE (August 2003)

[7] Tambay A. Obenson (16 May 2014). "TV One Expands 'Diva' Franchise w/ Launch of 'Hollywood D - Shadow and Act". Shadow and Act. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.

[8] [iaemagazine.com/featured/paula-jai-parker-stars-in-tvone-film-the-summoning/ Award-winning Actress, Paula Jai Parker, Discusses Her Lead In The New TV One Film – The Summoning]

[married1-9] (8 August 2005). Happy & In Love, Jet

[10] "Paula Jai Parker Bio, Age, Net Worth, Career, Personal Life Facts". TheCelebritysBio. Retrieved 29 June 2020.

[11] "PAULA JAI PARKER'S ONEDERFUL SON". Black Celeb Kids. October 2, 2012. Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

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