Lauren London is most known for her breakout role as NewNew in T.I.’s 2006 film, ATL. Although she may seem like an overnight success, the 28-year-old L.A. girl says she encountered a lot of rejection before became the big-time television actress we see before us today. In her recent interview with Vibe Vixen, The Game actress opened up about her early years in the industry, being a single mom  and why she refuses to take mess off of anyone.

On facing a lot of rejection during the early years of her career:

“Starting my career, there was a lot of rejection going on. I remember my dad telling me that if you let that define you, they’ll basically make you nothing. You have to define yourself. Every time you hear a no, it’s one step closer to a yes. Jobs come and go, so I don’t get too down on myself. You have to stay self-motivated. If you wait for someone else to motivate you, you’ll be waiting for a long time. You have to really be your own cheerleader. Even if you don’t feel all that way in the moment, tell yourself that you’re enough.”

On maintaining her privacy: 

“I was always a private person. My business is my business. I have a small group of friends, and I just like the simple things out of life. My privacy is something that I value. I’m also socially awkward.”

On finding out she was pregnant: 

“The public was the last thought. Most of my thoughts were on my family and inner circle. It was mostly how is this affecting Lauren as a person and is Lauren ready to completely put herself to the side and be a mother. My priorities were changing. My career was last.”

“Before ATL, people didn’t know about me. I auditioned for ATL and no one cared who I was. I was a regular girl in L.A. who auditioned and got the role. No one knew I was doing it and I did it. No one gave me that. I did that. They can’t take what they didn’t give. God has the last say, so I just trust that. Is it an uphill battle? Yes. But isn’t everything? I’m not starving.”

Thoughts on marriage: 

“I think it’s awesome when it’s done right. I don’t think anyone is supposed to be alone, you know. Having a partner and having somebody that is with you through the ups and downs is awesome. I’m all about connection. If I connected with someone and met a nice guy maybe, but I just haven’t ran into that yet.”

On lessons from her mom that she plans to pass down to her son:

“Being resilient. No matter what, never giving up on your dreams. It sounds cliché but it’s so real. She grew up struggling, but she was always very positive, no matter how bad things came. We kept a positive outlook because your perception is everything. It is your reality. That is something I want to pass down to my child. My mom was very into inner beauty. She would say all the time, “Being cute is cute, but who are you on the inside?”

On lessons she’s still learning:

“[To have] faith and thicker skin. Not letting what people have to say about me matter so much.”

On constantly being scrutinized by the media: 

“I’m not going to front. I’m not a lover, I’m a fighter. I will forget that I am Hollywood and get Holly-hood [Laughs].”

Lil Wayne is a walking, talking, breathing baby factory. Well, not really. He only has four children. But when you take he fact that all four children are by different women into consideration, it just seems like he’s reproduced way more times than he actually has. One thing most people have to admit about the “High School” rapper is that he doesn’t make headlines to often for having “baby mama drama.” Instead he attracts media attention for how well his children’s mothers get along. Lauren London, however, says that she’s sick of talking about it because it’s not as big of a deal as people make it out to be. The Game actress the cover girl for an upcoming issue of Jet and during her interview, with the mag, she expressed her frustration over people’s infatuation with the relationships she has with her son’s siblings and their mothers.

“People like to make it into this big thing, but it’s really not. There’s peace and love and my son knows his siblings. We all get along. We all clearly keep getting along. I’m tired of talking about it. What else do you want me to say?” The Game actress told the magazine.

She also says she’s pretty “blunt” when it comes to untrue things being said about her.

“I’m very blunt and honest. I have a very loyal heart. If I love you, I ride for you if I don’t f*** with you, I don’t f*** with you…If you want the truth, call me.”

What do you think? Are people making a big deal about all of this?

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Lauren London on the big or small screen like that in a big role, and that probably has a lot to do with the fact that she has a three-year-old son at the house that she’s a doting mom to. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably already know that the gorgeous actress brought her son into the world with the help of rapper Lil Wayne. The shock over their choice to procreate together (more or less, the fact that she wanted to get down with the get down with him) has come and gone, and clearly, London is back to work, but it doesn’t mean people don’t have questions about it all. Well, really, just Wendy Williams does.

While on The Wendy Williams Show with Brandy and Jay Ellis to promote season 6 of The Game, in the short time that London was on the couch, Williams asked the actress about her new character, Keira Whitaker, a child star who is a “hot a** mess” on the show, but she really spent more time inquiring about her “baby’s father” (Wayne) and how having the baby at a time when her career was hot might have affected it after she had him. She made it the central topic after London brought him up as a reason why she doesn’t engage in after-hour shindigs with the cast. Here was their exchange, which starts around the 2:55 mark in the video below:

Wendy: Lauren’s baby’s father is the rapper Lil Wayne, and you two are no longer together, right?

London: No. We’re great friends though.

Wendy: You’re friend’s And you co-parent?

Lauren: Yes, of course.

Wendy: And is it difficult being a single parent in Hollywood?

Lauren: I think it’s difficult being a single parent period. For me, with my job, luckily I can bring him to work–

Wendy: –Cause I remember early in your career you were in a few projects and then you fell off the map. Then you had the baby. Do you feel as though you lost traction?

Lauren: You know what…No, because life happens. As an actor, your depth as an actor comes from life experience. And I think it just gave me life experience.

Wendy: How is Lil Wayne doing health wise?

Lauren: He’s great! His album comes out today! He’s really good.

Wendy: More money for you, girl…

Lauren: I make my own though.

Wendy: Isn’t that nice?

Lauren: Yes, my mother taught me well.

So glad to see that London handled such a line of questioning with class, because she could have been mum about it all, or acted a fool. Much respect, because we know how Wendy’s mouth can get. Check out their interaction below and let us know your thoughts!

By the way, did you check out the season premiere?

Source: WENN

With the premiere of Season 6 of BET’s hit television show The Game swiftly approaching, fans are rather curious as to what can be expected this season, especially considering that the show lost one of its main stars, Melanie Barnett-Davis(Tia Mowry-Hardrict) and Derwin Davis (Pooch Hall) has been reduced to a mere accessory character. The show’s resident mama’s boy, Malik El Debarge Wright aka Hosea Chanchez recently chatted it up with Shadow and Act, discussing the forthcoming season and what fans can look forward to.

On Season 5 issues being smoothed out this season:

“Season 5 ended with a lot of the characters being in limbo. Melanie and Derwin moved away. My character was dealing with the crash of his substance abuse problems and his relationship issues, Mom and Dad issues. There were a lot of open ended storylines, which will get worked out in this season.”

On his role as Malik:

“He is a very emotionally charged individual. I know that everyone may see a hot headed person, but it really stems from him being this sensitive and caring guy that really does not know how to express himself in the right way.  In this season, you will get to see this character get fleshed out way differently than before.”

“Malik runs through women, and you really don’t get to see the character of a man until you see him with a woman. That’s just the way it is, and not just a fly by day and night woman, a woman that he really loves. You also get to see the character of a man when you watch how a man behaves with his mother. So with Malik, if you look at how he behaves with women and his mother, you will see his character.”

“Dude takes a lot of energy. He is so opposite than me in so many ways. I have to get in the mind set of being on all the time. The guy is on all the damn time. Early on in this role, I prepared for him by watching tapes of Dieon Sanders, Bo Jackson, Terrell Owens. Now, with this character it’s like being on auto pilot. So it’s like retraining something that is already there. I don’t have to study as much as I used to for this role.”

Source: Getty Images

From Essence

Even a Hollywood starlet like Lauren London battles with the challenges of being a single, working mother.

The new star of BET’s The Game says juggling her work life and raising her 4-year-old son Cameron Carter (dad is rapper Lil’ Wayne) has its challenges. “It’s not easy but I’m not the first to do it,” she told ESSENCE at their sixth annual Black Women in Hollywood luncheon. “I know I can do it; there’s a lot of mothers that work. I got the blueprint from my mother who was a working mom, so I just get it done.”

Aside from her family, London says she finds inspiration from women in the industry like The Game’s creator Mara Brock Akil, a mom of two. “Just working with Mara continues to inspire me to meet the goals that I continue to make for myself,” she said.

Yes, women are definitely finding a way to keep their family’s heads above water. For more with Lauren, including what she thinks about her new character on The Game, head over to Essence.

Are you a single, working mom?  Do you have family support or are you doing it alone? How do you make it work?

Source: Twitter.com

We talk all the time about parents of blended families learning to be civil toward one another. Well, if ever there were a shining example of how to do this, it’s Lil Wayne’s baby mamas, all four of them (Sarah Vivian, not pictured above.) Recently, these women gathered together for Reginae’s 14th birthday at an Atlanta skating rink. We don’t know quite what to say about this photo, so we’re leaving it up to you: caption the thoughts of these three women and even the fourth one if you so choose. We know you all are quite the comedians, so we look forward to reading what you have to say.

Source: Getty Images

If ensemble casts are your thing, you should definitely be checking for the upcoming flick “Baggage Claim.” A few months back we told you how Paula Patton snagged the lead role, which was originally thought to be going to Taraji P. Henson, in the film about a 35-year-old flight attendant who is the oldest person in her family to not be married and who is insanely jealous of her little sister’s recent engagement. Well now we know who will be playing the part of the little sister, none other than Miss “New New” herself, Lauren London.

In an interview with The Life Files, Lauren talked about her new role in the Fox film which is slated to hit theaters next spring, saying:

“Paula is great, we were destined to play sisters… Its our dynamic.  Between shooting Baggage Claim and prepping for The Game, everything is moving at the speed of life… Its a good time, I’m excited to share these new characters with the world.”

Lauren and Paula are just the tip of the celebrity iceberg when it comes to the names attached to this flick. Taye Diggs, Derek Luke, Adam Brody, Jill Scott, and Octavia Spencer are all said to be a part of the cast along with aspiring actress Lala Anthony who will play Paula’s energetic coworker and accomplice. Lauren’s old boo-thang Trey Songz has a part in the film too as a “hot shot record producer with plenty of ‘swag.’”  Interesting…

“Baggage Claim” is based on a novel of the same name by David E. Talbert who is also writing, directing, and producing this film adaptation. Let’s hope the acting comes through. What do you think about this cast so far?

rhymeswithsnitch.com

Remember the days when people would handle their business in the bedroom (or the living room, the bathroom, the car…you get my drift) and you never heard about? Or if you did, it was kind of by happenstance?  Yep, those days are long gone and the celebs are the ones that seem to talk the most since they have the spotlight. Let’s check out the blabbermouths!

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In the African American community, Christianity is definitely the most common religion. Though you don’t see it much, there are blacks who practice other religions, including Judaism. Here are 15 famous faces who are proudly black and Jewish.

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Lauren London

Actress Lauren London has a Jewish father.

Source: The Q Side Tumblr

From NecoleBitchie

Although she doesn’t do many interviews, [Lauren London] recently caught up with Quddus for his web segment ‘The Q Side’ for a little record shopping fun followed by a brief chat. Dressed in a hat, that was covered in all of Tupac’s tattoos, she dished on how she felt about her new role on BET’s The Game (she was brought on as a replacement for Tia Mowry) and how she maintains her faith in Hollywood. She also spoke on her rumored relationship with Trey Songz and Lil Wayne.

Peep a few highlights and the video below:

On her new role on BET’s ‘The Game’
How cool is that? I’ve never done that before, I’ve done guest spots on TV but for me to have that schedule is so different and new. I’m excited. I get to learn a lot about myself in this experience.

Check out what Lauren had to say about Trey Songz and Lil Wayne on Necole Bitchie.com.

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