When you’re having fun – and you’re famous – time flies. We’re keeping track of the latest and greatest of your favorite stars, but we’re not forgetting where they came from. Check out our gallery of your favorite stars and their transitions through Hollywood!
This week: It’s comeback season for these folks who got their start in the music industry. We have throwbacks from the ’80s, ’90s, and ’00s and you won’t believe what some of these folks are up to now.
Sheryl Lee Ralph is a Connecticut native with Jamaican roots, a long performing resume – and a gorgeous smile. She is most recognizable as Deena Jones in the Broadway hit Dreamgirls. Ralph later went on to hold down starring roles in the TV series Designing Women and Moesha.
Today the 56 year old actress, singer and HIV/AIDS activist is still working steadily. She can be seen on Ray Donovan playing Claudette, the ex-girlfriend of the just-released-from-jail-patriarch-with-a-past Mickey Donovan. In fall 2013, Ralph will star opposite Tia Mowry-Hardrict on the NickMom comedy Instant Mom.
Ah-dorbs. And this here is a little foreshadowing for a role this actor would have in the future. Doesn’t he totally look like the type to marry his college sweetheart Linda in 1999 and have three children, Djanai, Djaeda and Djordan?
Marion Pooch Hall‘s career started with commercials and modeling and in 2001, Hall nabbed his first acting role.
Pooch Hall’s breakout role to date has been playing NFL player Derwin Davis in BET’s hit TV series The Game from 2006-2012.
Last year, Hall announced that he began work on a new project – namely playing Daryl, the half-brother to the title character in the Showtime’s newest drama Ray Donovan.
Back in 1989, a 16 year old Special Ed (nee Edward Archer) was the Youngest In Charge with the release of his debut album of the same name.
Today, the 41 year old still got it made. Here, Special Ed is relaxing at the 2013 Atlanta Bike and Car Show. He’s also in the studio and performing live, most recently celebrating ROCKSTEADY’s 36th Anniversary at Central Park.
Syleena Johnson broke onto the R&B scene in 1999 with a now hard to find album titled Love Hangover. She received much acclaim for 2001’s Chapter 1: Love, Pain & Forgiveness but the album didn’t sell enough to be considered a commercial success.
In 2013, the almost 37-year-old (and sister of Chad Ochocinco Johnson) stars on R&B Divas Atlanta. She just opened up to Iyanla Vanzant about her childhood and bullying mother in the season premiere of Fix My Life.
Tell Me who might this little key tickler be? A pint-sized Amel Larrieux, of course.
The female half of neo-soul pioneers Groove Theory has stayed under the radar since their self-titled album was released in 1995, spawning much adored classics Tell Me and Keep Tryin‘. Larrieux left the group in 1999 to go independent.
Looking fab at 40, Larrieux’s newest addition to her discography – Ice Cream Everyday – drops August 27, 2013. It has been 7 years since her last studio album but if the just released single Afraid is any indication, it was worth the wait.
Related: 90’s Girl Groups We Love
If you can’t quite place this fresh faced girl…
Then this will help. Yep, this lass is Ola Ray, the co-star in Michael Jackson’s 1983 Thriller. Before her appearance in the mega hit, she was a Playboy Playmate. The video was the highlight of her career, aside from a few bit roles in ’80s sitcoms.
In 2009, she sued Michael Jackson for unpaid royalties from her role in his video, just a few months before he died. It wasn’t until 2012 that the case was settled by Jackson’s estate.
Now it seems Ray is pursuing a singing career. In June of 2013, she released this ‘tribute’ video to the King of Pop.
Connecticut native Kendra C. Johnson played Mo’Nique’s coworker and friend in the 2006 comedy Phat Girlz.
The editrix (of PLUS Model Magazine) and actor currently plays the role of Auntie Linda on Tyler Perry’s new OWN series Love Thy Neighbor.
Rochelle Aytes debuted on the big screen in the 2004 Wayans brothers film White Chicks. She later went on to play recurring roles in TV series including Desperate Housewives, Detroit 1-8-7 and The Forgotten.
Fast forward to 2013. Aytes (also a trained ballet dancer) can be seen in the new ABC drama Mistresses, playing the lead role of April, a recent widow raising two daughters. Later this year, she will also star in VH1’s made for TV original movie TLC Biopic. (photo credit: ABC)
Jason George was studying for his MFA at Temple University when he went to an open casting call on a whim. It netted him his first TV role as lifeguard Michael Bourne on the NBC soap Sunset Beach.
He nabbed a role in the film version of Barbershop in 2002. George went to play opposite Eve on the UPN comedy series of the same name. You’ve seen him here and there in guest roles on many ABC series. In 2010, he landed on Grey’s Anatomy as Dr. Ben Warren.
Jason Winston George‘s latest project is embracing the role of Dominic Taylor on the new ABC series Mistresses. In real life, he is a married father of one.
Knight Rider was the first regularly recurring role for the then 25 year old Peter Parros.
However, Parros is most widely recognized for playing Dr. Ben Harris from 1997-2009 on the soap As The World Turns.
Today, Parros is part of the cast of the salaciously over-the-top new OWN series The Haves And The Have Nots. He plays the role of David Harrington.
You probably know John Richard Schneider III from his stint as Bo Duke on the hit 70’s TV series The Dukes of Hazzard. He went on to star in several movies, play lead roles in musicals (including Chicago) and launch a career as a successful country music artist.
This season, he stars as Jim Cryer – the patriarch with a wandering eye in The Haves and the Have Nots.
Just from the first few notes, every 80’s baby recognizes the alluring, mysterious intro to “Sign Your Name” and the crisp drumstroke prelude to “Wishing Well,” two of the hit singles from the 1987 release “Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D’Arby.”
For the Harlem-born artist, followup projects never saw the same success as his debut, but that didn’t keep him from trying. Now known as Sananda Maitreya (he legally changed his name in 2001), the husband and father of two lives in Milan. In the spring of 2013, Maitreya released his latest album, “Return to Zooathalon.” (Photo Credit: Facebook)
Jackée Harry plays 227‘s Sandra Clark, the pretty (and feisty) young thing living in the colorful apartment complex.
Harry is shown here at last year’s Lupus LA Hollywood Bag Ladies Luncheon in Beverly Hills, Calif.
The Sister, Sister actress currently plays sister-in-law to the president on Byron Allen‘s The First Family and will join the second-generation reboot of Boy Meets World.
Janet Hubert plays The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s Vivian Banks, the no-nonsense aunt to her streetwise nephew Will Smith.
Hubert has caused quite a stir since her untimely departure from the show in 1993. Since, she’s nabbed roles on Gilmore Girls, The Bernie Mac Show, Tyler Perry’s House of Payne and more.
In March, the Chicago native spoke with The Grio about her beef with talk show host Wendy Williams, as well as her willingness to attend a cast reunion.
Kim Fields plays Living Single‘s Régine Hunter, the witty maneater amongst a group of dynamic New York City women.
Fields has kept busy with guest appearances on Kenan & Kel, The Steve Harvey Show, Meet the Browns and more. She most recently nabbed a role in 2012’s What To Expect When You’re Expecting, starring Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Rock and others.
Fields is shown here at Bravo’s What Happens Live last May.
Phylicia Rashad plays The Cosby Show‘s Clair Huxtable, a.k.a. just about everyone’s favorite television mother.
In February, Rashad was honored during the Inaugural aTVfest presented by Savannah College of Art and Design for her outstanding achievement in television.
Rashad has kept a steady stream of jobs since her time on The Cosby Show, with roles in For Colored Girls, NBC’s Do No Harm, FOX’s The Cleveland Show and more.
Jasmine Guy plays A Different World‘s Whitley Gilbert, the self-important Southern Belle learning her life lessons at Hillman College.
Guy has kept a recurring role on the CW’s The Vampire Diaries since 2009. She has also appeared in television shows such as Drop Dead Diva, That’s So Raven, The Parkers and more.
Brandy plays the title character Moesha, the intelligent teenager with a sharp tongue and independent mindset.
Brandy star continued to rise long after Moesha‘s end with several musical projects– including last year’s Two Eleven— and a handful of television roles.
The bride-to-be is currently a cast regular on BET’s hit dramedy The Game.
Marla Gibbs plays The Jefferson’s Florence Johnston, the wisecracking housekeeper who kept George on his feet.
After The Jeffersons, Gibbs took the lead in the ’80s sitcom 227 with the aforementioned Jackée Harry. The 81-year-old actress has landed roles on television shows such as The Hughleys, Lincoln Heights, House of Payne and most recently, The First Family.
Jill Marie Jones plays Girlfriends‘ Toni Childs, the self-centered– yet sensitive– gal pal of three women navigating love and life in Los Angeles.
Post-Girlfriends, Jones scored roles in The Perfect Holiday, The Longshots, TBS’s Gillian in Georgia and more.
The beautiful Texas native is shown here at ESSENCE magazine’s 2013 Black Women In Hollywood Awards Luncheon in Beverly Hills, Calif. to honor Mara Brock Akil.
Raven-Symoné plays The Cosby Show‘s Olivia Kendall, the adorable add-on who held her own in a full house.
What hasn’t Raven done since The Cosby Show? The 27-year-old actress has built a multi-million dollar empire with several television roles (That’s So Raven, The Great State of Georgia), musical projects, merchandising and more.
Diva then, diva now.
The cast of Roots…
1977: LeVar Burton (as Kunta Kinte)
2013: As host and executive producer of PBS’s Reading Rainbow, Burton scored several Emmy awards for the long-running children’s series beginning in 1983. Post-Roots, he also landed a regular spot on Star Trek: The Next Generation and lent his voice to various cartoon projects. The 55-year-old actor is pictured here at the 17th annual Art Directors Guild Awards for Excellence in Production Design in Beverly Hills.
“My life could’ve turned out much differently and that is the biggest surprise to me—that I am still here 35 years later and still vital,” he said in a recent interview with EBONY.com. “Roots really was only the beginning for me. That’s rare.”
1977: Leslie Uggams (as Kizzy Reynolds)
2013: Uggams made her way to the Today show in New York City earlier in February. In addition to television and film, the Tony award-winning actress has appeared in Broadway shows across the nation such as Blues in the Night, King Hedley II and 2012’s Thoroughly Modern Millie.
1977: Ben Vereen (as Chicken George)
Now: The 66-year-old actor has enjoyed a successful career in film, television and stage with roles in Chicago, Wicked, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Idlewile, to name a few. Vereen, shown here at the 2012 Soul Train Awards, recently wrapped production on the animated film Khumba (2013).
1977: John Amos (as Toby)
2012: In 2012, Amos took on the role of Pastor Nelson in the Tyler Perry-directed comedy Madea’s Witness Protection; he’s shown here at the New York premiere. He’s stayed active with film and television spots such as The West Wing, Coming To America, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Men in Trees and more.
Amos will appear in PBS’s Pioneers of Television on Feb. 5 to discuss the impact and legacy of Roots.
1977: Cicely Tyson (as Binta)
Now: From King and A Lesson Before Dying to Hoodlum and The Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Tyson has certainly earned her title as a Hollywood legend.
In 2012, the 79-year-old actress landed a role in the drama thriller Alex Cross and recently finished production on The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia, starring Abigail Spencer and Chad Michael Murray. Tyson is shown here at the National Domestic Workers Alliance Honors in Washington D.C.
1977: Louis Gossett Jr. (as Fiddler)
Now: Gossett’s career has spanned over five decades with roles in An Officer and a Gentleman, The Josephine Baker Story, Jasper, Texas and more. He is shown here waving to the crowds at the Hollywood Christmas Parade on Hollywood Blvd in Los Angeles in November.
1991: Charles S. Dutton as the hardworking Baltimore resident, Roc Emerson. The role led to an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in 1994.
2013: Dutton is shown here attending the 2013 Hip Hop Inaugural Ball at the Harman Center for the Arts in Washington D.C. Over the course of his career, the 61-year-old actor has nabbed roles in Rudy, Low Down Dirty Shame, A Time To Kill, The Obama Effect, the critically-acclaimed drama LUV and more.
1993: Ella Joyce fulfills her wifely duties as Eleanor Emerson.
2013: Joyce is no stranger to the theater stage with credits that include Fences, Medea and the Doll, Steppin’ into Tomorrow. The seasoned actress followed up her role in Roc with television series such as My Wife and Kids and TV One’s Belle’s. Joyce will also make an appearance in Tyler Perry’s Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor, out March 29.
1991: After a handful of small roles in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s, Rocky Carroll (top left) lands the role of Joey Emerson, Roc’s sly younger brother.
2012: Carroll is pictured here at a photo call during the 52nd Monte Carlo TV festival back in June. The 49-year-old actor has stayed quite active in the acting business with roles in television series such as Chicago Hope, The Agency, The Game, and NCIS.
1979: After several appearances on Good Times and What’s Happening!!, Debbi Morgan stars as Elizabeth Harvey in Alex Haley’s Roots: The Next Generations.
2013: The 56-year-old actress’ credits post-Roots include The Jesse Owens Story, Eve’s Bayou, a recurring spot on Soul Food: The Series and her role as Dr. Angie Hubbard on All My Children, to name a few. Morgan is shown here at the 2013 BET Honors in Washington, D.C.
1969: A young James Earl Jones in his Great White Hope days…
2013: Jones’ career has spanned nearly 60 years with brilliant stage roles that include Othello, Hamlet, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and films that include Star Wars, Field of Dreams, The Hunt for Red October and more.
Jones is pictured here with Angela Lansbury at a Driving Miss Daisy photo call in Sydney, Australia. The pair will reprise the roles of Hoke Colburn and Daisy Werthan in Driving Miss Daisy on March 1.
Then: With a style all their own, Chris “Mac Daddy” Kelly and Chris “Daddy Mac” Smith— better known as Kris Kross– hit the music scene in 1992 with their smash single “Jump, which sat at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for eight weeks.
2013: The duo recently reunited at Atlanta City Hall to help announce So So Def Recording’s All-Star Anniversary Concert to celebrate 20 years of chart-topping hits. They were joined by acts such as Jagged Edge, Da Brat, Xscape and more in late February.
On May 1, 2013, Chris Kelly was found dead in his Atlanta home.
‘90s: Remember this Family Matters cutie?
2013: After picking up a handful of roles here and there (Baywatch, The Bernie Mac Show), Naya Rivera landed a dream role on Fox’s wildly popular musical series Glee in 2009.
The 26-year-old actress is shown here at the FOX All-Star Party in Pasadena, CA earlier this month.
1998: Lee Thompson Young becomes a star within a star on the Disney Channel series, The Famous Jett Jackson.
2012: Over the years, Young has landed roles in Friday Night Lights, Scrubs, the short-lived FlashForward and most recently, TNT’s Rizzoli & Isles.
Allen Payne as our leading man, Jason Alexander
Photo by Jackson/McHenry Company
2012: Payne’s string of films in the mid-‘90s and early-2000s (The Tuskeegee Airmen, Double Platinum) eventually led to a starring role in the TBS dramedy Tyler Perry’s House of Payne. The 44-year-old actor is pictured here at the screening of South LA: Angel City in Hollywood back in November.
Photo by Paul A. Hebert/Getty Images
Jada Pinkett Smith as Jason’s beautiful love, Lyric
Photo by Jackson/McHenry Company
2012: Pinkett was a Hollywood favorite from the beginning and after Jason’s Lyric, the budding actress continued to pick up roles in blockbuster hits such as The Nutty Professor, Set It Off, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Madagascar and more. Most recently, the wife and mother of two made a push to end human trafficking, even speaking to Congress back in July.
Photo courtesy of the Associated Press
Bokeem Woodbine as Jason’s troubled brother, Joshua Alexander
Photo by Jackson/McHenry Company
2012: Woodbine is pictured here at the Hollywood premiere of his most recent film, Total Recall—starring Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel and Bryan Cranston. The husband and father has enjoyed a longstanding career that includes roles in Dead Presidents, Life, TNT’s SouthLAnd and more.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images
Suzzanne Douglas as Jason and Joshua’s mother, Gloria
2012: In 1995, Douglas played wife and mother to four rambunctious children in the family sitcom The Parent ‘Hood. Since the show wrapped in 1999, the 55-year-old Image Award winning actress has kept busy with several television series and was most recently cast in the musical, In This House.
Photo courtesy of Wire Images
Forest Whitaker as Jason and Joshua’s father, Maddog
Photo by Jackson/McHenry Company
2012: Whitaker is shown here at the PeaceEarth foundation fundraising gala in London in November. There’s no question that this Hollywood vet has had a successful career (before and after Jason’s Lyric) while directing Waiting to Exhale and starring in films such as Light It Up, American Gun and, of course, his Academy Award-winning role in The Last King of Scotland. Up next: the action-drama The Last Stand with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images
Anthony “Treach” Criss as Lyric’s sinister brother, Alonzo
Photo by Jackson/McHenry Company
2012: Less than a year after the release of Jason’s Lyric, Treach and the good fellas of Naughty by Nature dropped their fourth album Poverty’s Paradise, winning best rap album at the 1996 Grammy Awards. More than a decade later, Treach is still busting rhymes on the mic while booking television and film roles.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images
Eddie Griffin as Joshua’s tag-a-long buddy, Rat
Photo by Jackson/McHenry Company
2012: Shortly after wrap on Jason’s Lyric, Griffin landed the title role on UPN’s sitcom Malcolm & Eddie, alongside Malcolm-Jamal Warner. The funnyman added John Q, Undercover Brother, Norbit and other projects to his acting résumé, and will tackle a lengthy, multi-city comedy tour in 2013.
Lisa Nicole Carson as Marti, the quote-keeping friend to Lyric and Alonzo’s lover.
2012: Carson’s film credits post-Jason’s Lyric included Devil in a Blue Dress, Love Jones and Eve’s Bayou. In 1997, the Brooklyn native played prosecutor Renee Raddick on the Golden Globe Award-winning dramedy Ally McBeal and landed a recurring spot on NBC’s ER. In 2000, reports surfaced that the actress was being “cared for by family” due to mental health issues and was eventually treated in a mental health facility. But by 2012, Carson looked happy and well while reprising her role as Raddick on NBC’s series finale of Harry’s Law.
1988: Dean Big Brother Almighty, better known as Giancarlo Esposito, stars in Spike Lee’s classic ‘80s film, School Daze.
2012: Esposito hit the slopes at the Deer Valley Celebrity Skifest in Park City, Utah earlier in December. The 54-year-old actor kept quite busy this year with appearances in ABC’s One Upon a Time, NBC’s Revolution and the crime thriller Alex Cross.
1996: Shar Jackson joins the cast of the popular ‘90s series Moesha as the title character’s best friend, Niecy Jackson.
2012: Jackson is shown here at the premiere of “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2” in Los Angeles. In addition to playing mother to four children, Jackson starred in the action feature One Blood over the summer.
1985: Geoffrey Owens tries to find his place in the Huxtable family as Elvin Tibideaux on the classic sitcom The Cosby Show.
2012: In August, Owens attended the press launch for the New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC) with fellow actress Linda Kuriloff. Earlier this year, he received rave reviews for his role in David Mamet’s crime mystery play Race.
1985: Sheila E. plays herself in Krush Groove, based on the early days of Def Jam Records.
2012: Sheila was a beauty in blue at VH1 Divas 2012, featuring Kelly Rowland, Ciara, Keri Hilson and others. This past summer, the famed drummer traveled the world for a series of concerts in France, Holland, London, San Diego, Washington D.C., New York City and more. Sheila will reportedly release new music in 2013.
1998: 15-year-old Robert Ri’chard lands the well-mannered role of Bobby on Nickelodeon’s Cousin Skeeter, also starring Meagan Good.
2012: Ri’chard has kept busy with several television and movie parts over the years, including a current recurring role on The CW’s The Vampire Diaries.
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