Niecy Nash was born Carol Denise Ensley in Palmdale, California on February 23, 1970. She developed an interest in show business at a very early age after seeing the fabulous Lola Falana on TV. But she first earned a B.A. at California State University before embarking on a career in Hollywood, starting out as a standup comic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Known for always wearing a trademark flower in her hair, Niecy made her big screen debut in Boys on the Side in 1995, which led to her landing support roles in such movies as Cookie\u2019s Fortune<\/em>, The Bachelor<\/em> and Malibu\u2019s Most Wanted<\/em>. The glamorous actress subsequently appeared in such blockbusters as Spiderman 2<\/em>, Guess Who and Code Name: The Cleaner<\/em> and Reno 911!: Miami<\/em>, the screen version of the hit television series where she co-stars as Deputy Raineesha Williams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking of TV, Niecy is also recognized for playing Benita, the late Bernie Mac\u2019s sister on The Bernie Mac Show. Here, she talks about her work in G-Force<\/em>, the Disney family comedy featuring a mix of animation and live-action which is currently the #1 movie at the box office. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kam Williams<\/strong>: Hi Niecy,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Niecy Nash<\/strong>: Hi baby, how are ya?<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: Great. Thanks so much for the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NN<\/strong>: You\u2019re more than welcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: Do you have one of your trademark flowers in your hair right now, early in the morning, as we speak?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NN<\/strong>: [Laughs] I\u2019m gonna tell you the truth that I do not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: How did you come to wear a flower all the time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NN<\/strong>: When I started out in the \u201chome makeover\u201d genre, I was the only black woman doing that type of TV show. But I wasn\u2019t na\u00efve enough to think I was going to remain the only one. So I decided to come up with a way of setting myself aside. It started out as branding, but now I\u2019m a little tied to it, because if I go out without a flower, my fans get upset. <\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: What varieties of flowers do you wear?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NN<\/strong>: Oh, roses, orchids, a little bit of everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: Do florists and fans help you out?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NN<\/strong>: Not so much florists, but fans definitely do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: W.C. Fields once said, \u201cNever work with children or animals,\u201c because you\u2019ll be upstaged. What interested you in doing G-Force<\/em>, in spite of that age-old Hollywood maxim?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NN<\/strong>: But you have to work with Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney. So, if it comes down to that, hey! I actually auditioned for him, and he hired me right away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: Tell me a little about your character, Rosalita.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NN<\/strong>: She\u2019s a woman who owns the pet store where the hamsters live. She\u2019s funny and speaks a form of broken Spanish I like to call \u201cSpanglish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: How hard was it to act opposite invisible animated characters?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NN<\/strong>: In a way, it was a little similar to doing a voiceover, but they made it as easy as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: How, by having a stand-in read their lines?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NN<\/strong>: Yeah, and we played with stuffed animals a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: What is G-Force<\/em>\u2019s message?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NN<\/strong>: I\u2019d have to say that the underlying message is that you are what you believe you are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: Is this movie just for kids?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NN<\/strong>: No, I think adults are going to love it, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: The last time we spoke was before Bernie Mac died. You played his sister on his show and you were also in the movie Guess Who<\/em> with him. How were you affected by his passing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NN<\/strong>: Bernie Mac was one of the most authentic and most generous people I\u2019ve had the privilege of working with in this business. Most people are only familiar with the Bernie they saw on camera, but just as impressive was the real Bernie, this amazing man you\u2019d meet off camera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: And how did you feel about the death of Michael Jackson?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NN<\/strong>: Michael Jackson was a man who sacrificed his childhood to give us music that would last forever. So, there has to be some level of respect for his family\u2019s privacy. Most people, if they should, God forbid, drop dead today, there are some things that they wouldn\u2019t want their family, their friends, or anybody to know about them. Therefore, when you look at Michael\u2019s passing through that personal lens, it should make you a little more forgiving in the pursuit of the sort of information the tabloids are seeking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: Is there any question no one has ever asked you, that you wish someone would?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NN<\/strong>: No one has ever asked me that. [Laughs] I can\u2019t think of one. Reporters are thorough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: Here are some of the questions I got from celebrities when I asked them that. The Tasha Smith question: Are you ever afraid?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NN<\/strong>: First of all, I love Tasha Smith. Secondly, I really try to exercise my faith, because I find that fear and faith can\u2019t exist inside of me at the same time. If there\u2019s anything in my life that makes me feel fearful, I attempt to face it and conquer it because I don\u2019t rest in a place of fear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NN<\/strong>: You got that from Columbus? I mean, you get people to come up with some gooooooood questions! This makes me feel forced to come up with one. It\u2019s like, \u201cWait a minute! I know I can think of an interesting question, too.\u201d Let\u2019s see. Am I happy? Yes I am. I live my life believing that any day above ground is a good day. At this stage of the game, I\u2019m a single woman. I would love to be sharing my life with someone special. But still, when I lay my head down at night, I have to say that I love my life. I love the fact that I am able to live my dream and feed my family at the same time. Sometimes, those two don\u2019t work hand-in-hand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: When I saw you on The View recently, you talked about having a new boyfriend here in New Jersey. What happened to that relationship?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NN<\/strong>: We\u2019re still really good friends, but we stopped seeing each other simply because of our locations. It\u2019s really difficult to date with 3,000 miles between us. Somebody needed to move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW: How do you balance raising three kids with your career?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NN<\/strong>: I thank God almost every day for my mother. She helps me a great deal, because I did not want a nanny or someone I didn\u2019t know in my home helping me with my children. Fortunately, my mother is able to help me maintain it all. She retired early and sold her house to move in with us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: \u201cRealtor to the Stars\u201d Jimmy Bayan was wondering, where in L.A. do you live?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NN<\/strong>: In the Valley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: The Laz Alonso question: How can your fans help you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NN<\/strong>: My fans can help me remaining supportive. It\u2019s difficult for African-Americans to stay on television. If you\u2019re a fan, you need to follow that person, support the work they do, send a letter or an email to let the studios and the industry know that you\u2019re paying attention, and what you want more of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: Where can you\u2019re fans contact you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n NN<\/strong>: I have my own site, www.niecynash.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n