Mo\u2019Nique Imes was born on December 11, 1967 in Baltimore which is where she started her showbiz career as a stand-up comedienne on a dare a couple of decades ago. From there, she gained visibility and immense popularity with performances on \u201cShowtime at the Apollo,\u201d HBO\u2019s \u201cDef Comedy Jam,\u201d \u201cApollo Comedy Hour\u201d HBO\u2019s \u201cSnaps,\u201d BET\u2019s \u201cComic View,\u201d The Montreal Comedy Festival and Uptown Comedy Club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her big break arrived in 1999 when she landed a starring role on the television series, \u201cThe Parkers.\u201d During the show\u2019s five-year run, Mo\u2019Nique earned numerous awards, including four NCAAP Image Awards as the Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series. Her film credits include Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, Two Can Play That Game, Hair Show, Three Strikes, Baby Boy, Beerfest, Phat Girlz, Soul Plane, Irish Jam, Domino and Shadowboxer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a voluptuous role model for Rubenesque females Mo-Nique wrote the best-selling book \u201cSkinny Women Are Evil,\u201d as well as an equally-funny follow-up entitled \u201cSkinny Cooks Can\u2019t Be Trusted.\u201d She also created, produced and emceed \u201cMo\u2019Nique\u2019s F.A.T. Chance,\u201d America\u2019s first, full-figured, reality beauty pageant. Struck by the skyrocketing number of women behind bars, she brought her act to a prison to tape a comedy special called \u201cI Coulda Been Your Cellmate\u201d which aired on TV before later being released on DVD. Then, she delved further into the issue as the host of \u201cMo\u2019Nique: Behind Bars\u201d for the Oxygen television network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here, she talks about \u201cThe Mo\u2019Nique Show,\u201d her new late-night talk<\/p>\n\n\n\n
show on BET, and about her Oscar-worthy performance in Precious, Lee Daniels\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
spellbinding screen adaptation of Sapphire\u2019s novel, \u201cPush.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kam Williams: Hi Mo\u2019Nique, thanks so much for the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mo\u2019Nique: Hey Kam! Thank you, baby!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KW: Congratulations on the new TV show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M: Thank you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KW: How would you describe the format? How are you dividing the time among monologues, interviews, and musical and other performances?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M: I can\u2019t give you those numbers, baby, because the show is so unpredictable. We\u2019re just having a great time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KW: What interested you in doing a talk show?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M: Well, I\u2019ve always wanted to do a talk show. That was the whole focus from the very beginning. First, I thought it\u2019d be like Oprah Winfrey, but the comedienne in me wouldn\u2019t let me do that. So, when my husband [Sidney Hicks] and I spoke with Loretha Jones [BET\u2019s President of Programming], we said, \u201cWe want to do late-night. We want to have a party.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KW: Speaking of partying, you were recently spotted in Manhattan partying at Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson\u2019s Sugar Bar with Lee Daniels, Andre\u2019 Leon Talley and some other folks. Did you have fun?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M: I had a blast, Kam. When you go to the Sugar Bar, the kid in you truly comes out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KW: When you mentioned Oprah, it reminded me that I told my readers I\u2019d be interviewing you. And one of them, Laz Lyles, was wondering how much it means to you to have Oprah personally get behind the film in such a strong way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M: It was a pleasure. She\u2019s a powerhouse. She\u2019s Oprah Winfrey. You know what that means. So, when she said, \u201cI dig this,\u201d I was very appreciative of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
KW: Attorney Bernadette Beekman asks, how do you do it? You\u2019re already a mother, actress, author and comedienne, and now adding late night TV host. So, she wants to know how you keep sane and healthy and how you manage to juggle everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M: There is a great group of people that surrounds me, starting with my husband, who is my business partner and executive producer of the talk show. With our assistants and our staff in our home, we have a great team. So please believe me, I\u2019d love to say, \u201cOh honey, I\u2019m a superwoman!\u201d But I\u2019m so far from being a superwoman. It\u2019s all the people who surround us are what make Mo\u2019Nique work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
KW: Laz also asks, was it hard for you not to take you character home with you at the end of the day when you were shooting Precious?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M: It wasn\u2019t hard at all. We left it on the stage. When Lee said \u201cCut!\u201d that\u2019s what it was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KW: Schoolteacher Erik Daniels says he really enjoyed I Coulda Been Your Cellmate, your stand-up show shot inside a women\u2019s prison. He\u2019s curious about whether you\u2019ve stayed in touch with any of the inmates you met.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M: Tell him, that to my surprise, when I was at the Sugar Bar the other night, I bumped into a woman who was in that prison when I was there. We hugged so tight, and she introduced me to her son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KW: Erik also wants to know if you have plans to do something like that again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M: I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll do another one, because I think it was special in the moment for all of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KW: Marcia Evans says that she wants you to know that this fan of yours gained more respect for you after your opening up to Oprah about the sexual and emotional abuse that happened to you. Just let her know that I\u2019m so proud of her stepping up. She goes on to say, \u201cI want Monique to know that she has probably healed some women by sharing her truth. Monique you are looking beautiful!\u201d I guess she didn\u2019t exactly have a question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M: Well, tell that baby, thank you very much!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KW: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M: [Laughs] No!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KW: The Tasha Smith question: Are you ever afraid?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M: No.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KW: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M: Have you ever seen a light bulb when it\u2019s at its brightest but getting ready to burn out?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KW: Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M: That\u2019s how I feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KW: I can understand, between the new TV show and the movie. I was totally blown away by your performance when I saw Precious. And I\u2019ve never heard so much Oscar-buzz so far in advance of a picture\u2019s release. Everybody\u2019s been talking about your Academy Award -worthy performance since last January when the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. How do you feel about all the buzz?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M: You know what? I\u2019m excited about any buzz. I was excited when Lee Daniels first called me up. Just for the movie\u2019s message to be told, that\u2019s where the real excitement comes in for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KW: Bookworm Troy Johnson wants to know, what was the last book you read?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M: Oh my God, I love Troy for that question. I just completed Diahann Carroll\u2019s \u201cThe Legs Are the Last to Go.\u201d Kam, after reading that book in three days, I have such respect for that woman. Oh my God! That book will blow you away, because she\u2019s so brutally honest about who she is. It\u2019s incredible!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0060763272?ie=UTF8&tag=thslfofire-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0060763272<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n KW: The music maven Heather Covington question: What music are you listening to? <\/p>\n\n\n\n M: The last thing I listened to was Whitney Houston at about 6 this morning. I\u2019m also listening to Maxwell a lot, but I\u2019m really excited right now for Whitney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW: What is your favorite dish to cook?<\/p>\n\n\n\n M: Kam, my favorite dish to cook is macaroni and cheese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW: The Laz Alonso question: How can your fans help you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n M: By realizing that they\u2019re not my fans, but my bosses. I want them to know that I\u2019m just as excited as they are when they ask for an autograph or take a picture with me, because I\u2019m still that little girl who used to practice in the mirror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW: Speaking of mirrors, when you look in the mirror, what do you see?<\/p>\n\n\n\n M: [Laughs] I see somebody, baby, that\u2019s full of life. I see somebody that still has a lot more growing to do and is willing to take it on. I see somebody that the universe said to her, \u201cWe\u2019re going to give you this and see how you deal with it.\u201d I see somebody who has an incredible husband, amazing kids and great people around her. So, when I look in that mirror, I be like, \u201cFor real?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n KW: The Flex Alexander question: How do you get through the tough times?<\/p>\n\n\n\n M: Bless my brother Flex\u2019s heart. Fortunately, I don\u2019t have no tough times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW: Thanks again, Mo\u2019Nique and I\u2019m expecting to be congratulating you on your Oscar, the next time I speak to you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n M: Thank you so much, Kam. Bless your heart, sugar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To order a copy of Mo\u2019Nique\u2019s book, \u201cSkinny Women Are Evil,\u201d visit: http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B001PO6A0Y?ie=UTF8&tag=thslfofire-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001PO6A0Y<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n To order a copy of Mo\u2019Nique\u2019s book, \u201cSkinny Cooks Can\u2019t Be Trusted,\u201d visit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0061121053?ie=UTF8&tag=thslfofire-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0061121053<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n To order a copy of Mo\u2019Nique\u2019s DVD, I Coulda Been Your Cellmate, visit: http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B000MQ4WL0?ie=UTF8&tag=thslfofire-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000MQ4WL0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n