Not often do we get to see celebrities grow, mature, and blossom right before our eyes. But, some celebs became stars at a young age and we’ve been able to watch them become even bigger successes. Here are 14 black childhood stars then and now!

We’ve covered many people of a wide variety of backgrounds on our site, but it has come to my attention lately that yes, everyone and their mommas…and their momma’s mommas, are of Trinidadian descent. From reality TV stars, to musicians, actors, famous bloggers and more, there are many folks that are American and of Trinidadian descent, or who were born and bred on the island. We thought we would showcase a few folks, and while not everyone is literally a “favorite” of ours, we thought we’d show love anyway. Be ready to click!

Source: watchgmctv.com

Jackée Harry

Everyone’s favorite annoying yet voluptuous TV neighbor from “227,” Jackée Harry has been making a name for herself as an actress since her early days of acting on stage and since her first TV role on the show, “Another World” in the early ’80s. But out of all the things we know about her, including that her ex-husband has a whip-worthy mane of hair, did you know that Harry was of Trinidadian descent? Born Jacqueline Yvonne Harry, her mother is straight from Trinidad and her father was African American. Now that you know, spread the word…

Source: Theybf.com

Alfonso Riberio may not have been able to get a date as Carlton on the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” but in real-life he’s getting ready to have a wife—for the second time. Over the weekend, the 40-year-old actor proposed to his girlfriend Angela Unkrich and he announced the news on his Facebook page, writing:

“I got engaged last night to Angela on Lake Tahoe surrounded by our dear friends and my daughter. Greatest day of my life.”

He also spread the word on Twitter:

“Hey everybody. I got engaged tonight to @angiesue224. Greatest day of my life. @23davidjustice and Vince Coleman to enjoy it with us.”

This will be Alfonso’s second marriage. In 2002, he married Robin Stapler and the couple had a daughter, Sienna, before they split in 2006. Now he resides in LA with his new fiancée Angela. There’s no word yet on when the big day will be or what members of the “Fresh Prince” crew will be invited to the ceremony but the two definitely look happily in love. Congrats!

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Source: mediaoutrage.com

Every actor wants that breakout role that will propel them into the mainstream stratosphere. However, finding that one perfect character can be a blessing and a curse for some actors as they can become typecast and find it difficult for lightning to strike twice. Not only are many asked to play similar characters for the rest of their careers, but even decades after taking on these roles, people still ask them to say memorable catchphrases or do famous dances. These are a few of the many stars who created iconic characters but never quite found the same success again because of said character.

The Carlton Dance was seriously one of the best parts of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and Alfonso Ribeiro recently brought it all back, leading a massive flash mob in Los Angeles.

The former Carlton Banks set it off at Universal Studios City Walk in Hollywood with a slew of eager fans who were trying to break the record for the most people in North America flash mobbing at the same time. Of course, the mob had to start off with Carlton’s favorite Tom Jones classic, “It’s not Unusual,” they also broke out “Apache” and did the “jump on it” dance Carlton and Will performed during the hilarious male strip club episode.

So far there’s no word on whether the group actually broke the flash mob record but they clearly had a good time regardless. Check out the clip.

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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