Holly Robinson Peete

Holly Robinson Peete
Born Holly Elizabeth Robinson
(1964-09-18) September 18, 1964
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater Sarah Lawrence College
Occupation Actress, talk show host, author
Years active 1969–present
Notable work
Spouse(s) Rodney Peete (m. 1995)
Children 4
Parent(s)

Holly Elizabeth Robinson–Peete (born September 18, 1964) is an American actress and singer. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Judy Hoffs on the Fox TV police drama 21 Jump Street, Vanessa Russell on the ABC sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, and Dr. Malena Ellis on the NBC/WB sitcom For Your Love. She also served as one of the original co-hosts of the CBS daytime talk show The Talk.

After graduating from high school, Peete entered Sarah Lawrence College in New York. She majored in Psychology and French. After she graduated in 1986, she considered attending graduate school and perhaps working in languages for the U.S. State Department. However, she decided to give an acting career a chance. Within a short time, Peete found roles on a television series and in two films.

Peete's children's book, My Brother Charlie, won her an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in March 2011.[1]

In March 2016, a reality series debuted entitled For Peete's Sake, documenting the everyday lives as her family.

Early life

Peete was born in Mount Airy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Dolores and Matt Robinson (the original Gordon on Sesame Street). Her mother was a school teacher, in public relations, and later a personal talent manager, and her father a producer/writer. She has an older brother named Matthew Thomas III. She attended Greene Street Friends School in nearby Germantown.[2] In 1974, her family moved to California.[3][4] Peete graduated from Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, California, where her classmates included Rob Lowe. Peete graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a degree in psychology and French.[5] Peete studied abroad for a year at the Sorbonne, and is fluent in French.[5] While there she sang in Paris nightclubs, including a memorable performance with jazz legend Lionel Hampton at the Hotel Meridian Jazz Club.[6][7][8]

Career

In 1969, she made her first television appearance by playing a little girl named Sally on the very first episode of Sesame Street. She recalls that when she was six years old, she kept blowing her line, saying "Hi, Daddy", instead of "Hi, Gordon", his character's name. She ended up with just an appearance where she walked down the street with Big Bird.[9] At the age of 11, Holly worked for the children's show Kidsworld as a celebrity correspondent; she interviewed many actors and actresses for the program. As an actress, she has appeared on the TV series 21 Jump Street (1987–1991), Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (1992–1997), For Your Love (1998–2002), and Like Family (2003–2004). She was featured in the video for the 1990 hit single "Whip Appeal" by Babyface as the sultry radio host at the beginning of the video.[10] In 1992 she portrayed Diana Ross in The Jacksons: An American Dream. Robinson most recently starred on the UPN comedy Love, Inc.. The show lasted just one season, and was canceled after the WB/UPN merger.

Robinson has also had a limited career as a singer and recording artist, including the introductory song to 21 Jump Street.[9] She contributed a variety of songs to the soundtrack of the film Howard the Duck. (She appeared as a musician/singer in a minor role in the film.) She recorded the theme song "We Got Our Love" for the 1988 film Three for the Road. She and Dawnn Lewis, along with R&B quartet En Vogue, performed the theme song for the first season of Hangin' with Mr. Cooper.

In 2006, she won, along with fellow writer Daniel Paisner, the Quills Award in Sports for the book Get Your Own Damn Beer, I'm Watching the Game!: A Woman's Guide to Loving Pro Football. Peete and her daughter Ryan Elizabeth co-wrote a children's book My Brother Charlie, which was released in March 2010.

In 2010, she participated in The Celebrity Apprentice 3, playing for her own charity, the HollyRod Foundation,[9] which provides support for families with Parkinson's disease or autism. She set an "Apprentice" record for the most money made on a single task, and finished as the runner-up to winner Bret Michaels.

Robinson began co-hosting The Talk, a CBS daytime talk show, on October 18, 2010.[11] In this forum, Robinson was known for expressing herself through her ethnicity and being especially vocal about African American issues and, since her son Rodney is affected by it, autism.[12] In April 2011, Robinson hosted a weekly series on The Talk promoting autism awareness.[13]

After serving on The Talk for its first season, Robinson along with Leah Remini were released from the show. Failure to ever disclose why the two were let go brought on a great deal of audience criticism of the show, as well as protests from the stars' fans.[14][15]

Robinson hosted the 42nd NAACP Image Awards, alongside Wayne Brady, on March 4, 2011.[16]

The Peete family star in a reality TV series on OWN, entitled For Peete's Sake.[17] The series follows the lives of Peete and her husband Rodney as they juggle career choices with their family life.[18]

Personal life

On June 10, 1995, Robinson married Rodney Peete, a National Football League quarterback. He proposed by surprising Holly during an episode of Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. Together, they have four children: daughter Ryan, son Rodney, Jr. (twins born in 1997), son Robinson (born 2002), and son Roman (born 2005). Rodney Jr. was diagnosed with autism at age 3.[19] One of her closest friends is Terry Ellis of the pop R&B group En Vogue.

After her father was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, Robinson and her husband co-founded the HollyRod Foundation, which is dedicated to help find a cure for the disease, as well as for autism, and assist those living with the conditions.[9][20]

In September 2012, Nestle's Carnation Breakfast Essentials announced they had teamed up with Robinson, featuring her as the spokesperson for the brand.[21][22] On October 4, 2012, Robinson was inducted as an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.[23]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1986 Howard the Duck K.C., Cherry Bomb
2007 Matters of Life and Dating
2010 Speed-Dating Gayle
201221 Jump Street Judy Hoffs Cameo
2014 Instant Mom Mrs. Kimberley Phillips

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1969 Sesame Street Sally walk-on role (and deleted scene)
1979 Dummy Genettia Lang Movie
1987–1991 21 Jump Street Officer Judy Hoffs Main role (102 episodes)
1992 The Jacksons: An American Dream Diana Ross Miniseries
1992–1997 Hangin' with Mr. Cooper Vanessa Russell Main role (101 episodes)
1998 Killers in the House Jennie Sawyer Movie
1998–2002 For Your Love Malena Ellis Main role (84 episodes)
1999 After All Michelle Troussaint Movie
2002 My Wonderful Life Samika Movie
2003–2004 Like Family Tanya Jones 23 episodes
2004 Earthquake Heaven Movie
2005–2006 Love, Inc. Clea 22 episodes
2009 The Bridget Show Macy Movie
2010 The Celebrity Apprentice Herself 12 episodes; runner-up
2010–2011 The Talk Herself/co-host 59 episodes
2011 The Young and the Restless Herself July 28, 2011 episode
2011–2012 Mike & Molly Christina 12 episodes
2016 Chicago Fire Tamara Jones 2 episodes

References

  1. ↑ "Holly Robinson Peete's Winning Image". Celebrity Baby Scoop. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  2. ↑ "Hangin' with Mrs. Robinson Peete". philly-archives.
  3. ↑ "Holly Robinson Peete Biography – life, family, children, parents, name, story, wife, school, mother – Newsmakers Cumulation". Notablebiographies.com. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  4. ↑ "The Holly Robinson Peete Picture Pages". Superiorpics.com. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  5. 1 2 "SLC Buzz: 2010–2011". Slc.edu. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  6. ↑ "Holly Robinson & Rodney Peete". Womensconference.org. 2010-03-16. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  7. ↑ "Holly Robinson". Luxury Awaits. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  8. ↑ "Holly Robinson Peete | Speaker Profile and Speaking Topics". Apbspeakers.com. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Byrne, Bridget (2003-12-09). "Actress is at Home in TV Role As Busy Mom". Boston.com. Globe Newspaper Company / The New York Times Company. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  10. ↑ Whip Appeal#Video
  11. ↑ Domanick, Andrea (August 11, 2010). "CBS' 'The Talk' to Premiere Oct. 18". Broadcasting and Cable.
  12. ↑ "Rodney and Holly Robinson Peete on their son RJ's autism – Moms & Babies – Moms & Babies - People.com". Celebritybabies.people.com. 2007-05-30. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  13. ↑ Peden, Mike. "Holly Robinson Peete's Autism "Talk"". The Autistic Journalist. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  14. ↑ Nede, Jethro (2011-09-07). "'The Talk' Without Leah Remini and Holly Robinson Peete: What THR Readers Are Saying". The Hollywood Reporter.
  15. ↑ "Holly Robinson Peete Opens Up About Being Fired From The Talk!".
  16. ↑ Seidman, Robert. "Wayne Brady and Holly Robinson Peete to Host '42nd NAACP Image Awards' Friday, March 4 on Fox – Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  17. ↑ "OWN Orders Holly Robinson Peete and Rodney Peete Docuseries". The Hollywood Reporter. 2015-05-06.
  18. ↑ "Holly Robinson Peete and Rodney Peete Star in New OWN Docuseries". Oprah.com.
  19. ↑ Kaplan, Erin Aubry (February 2007). Essence https://web.archive.org/web/20080828024932/http://www.essence.com/essence/lifestyle/voices/0,16109,1606557,00.html. Archived from the original on 2008-08-28. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. ↑ "Ability Magazine: Holly Robinson Pete Interview with Chet Cooper" (2007)". Retrieved 2012-04-03.
  21. ↑ "Breakfast Nutrition - Carnation Breakfast Essentials®".
  22. ↑ Nestle Health Science (20 September 2012). "Holly Robinson Peete and Carnation® Breakfast Essentials™ Offer Moms Solutions to... -- Florham Park, N.J., Sept. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --".
  23. ↑ http://aka1908.com/pdf/HollyRobinsonPeete.pdf

External links

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