Since the glamour of black and white TV, fashion on-screen has always been a major visual element for viewers, sometimes with audiences tuning in just to see the clothes. Whether you love the fashion, the characters, or both, you are not alone. Not wanting to spoil the entire list for anyone, here are a few of the most fashionable black women to ever grace the small screen — and a few non-brown honorable mentions.

It’s not easy getting to the top. Or heck, near the top for that matter. And before some of these celebs could do very big things, they had to pay their dues and do what they needed to for experience, and of course, money. When you’re trying to hustle in Hollywood, nobody’s too good to do a little somethin’ somethin’ in a music video to pay the rent. Especially when you’re a so-called “model.” Check out these 10 celebrities who got face time in music videos before they could move to the big screen.

Boris Kodjoe – “Red Light Special”

Before he met and married Nicole Ari Parker and had two kids, had a defunct TV show, and was named one of People‘s “Most Beautiful People In The World,” Kodjoe was a prostitute.

In a music video. Ha! I had you fooled didn’t I? But seriously, the former model-turned-actor showed up in the TLC video, “Red Light Special” to lick T-Boz’s foot and make the boa look on a man fierce! I also wasn’t mad at the ab action and striptease he tried to pull near the end of the video. I can’t see Kodjoe doing this now, but it wouldn’t hurt for him to get back out there and drop it like it’s hot in a video. What else does he really have going on?

When we see some people play a character in movies or television shows we think, “They’re really good at what they do.” But then there are others who might also be good at what they do because they tend to always play similar roles or they have similar character traits that make us say, “I wonder if this is how they are in real life.”

Check out these actors who seem to put a dose of their true selves into their work…

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Bizzy Blanco

Hey loves, weekend wrap-up time! I’ve got to admit, our celebrity “friends” have been pretty quiet this weekend but there are some things out there I want to tell you guys about.  Enjoy!

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That’s right, folks. The NY Post’s Page Six is reporting that BET 106^th & Park’s Rocsi Diaz and singer Bruno Mars are an item and have been for some time.  That sounds like a “different” pairing, huh? Well, according to Page Six’s sources, it’s possible that Rocsi and Bruno have been dating since as far back as December when Bruno was a guest on the #1 video countdown show and Rocsi caught his eye.  Allegedly, the two were spotted doing a little shopping in Paris and Milan…and yes, Bruno is currently on tour in Europe.  You know a new couple alert is nothing without a couple of tweets and Rocsi is no exception: On October 8^th, she tweeted, “Happy Birthday @BrunoMars…Hope you have the best birthday ever!!”  Get the scoop here..

- Drenna Armstrong

More on Madame Noire

• Mind Your Manners! Behavior That Will Get You the Side Eye in Public and Private
• 7 Things Some Women Have GOT to Stop Doing in Public
• Matches Made in Heaven: 6 Celebrity Couples We Would Love to See
• 10 Things ‘Natural’ Women Wish People Would Stop Assuming
• Celebs Who We Didn’t Know Were Black
• 14 Signs He’s Just Not That Into You

By Dreux Dougall

When scripted African-American shows started drowning in a sea of reality TV, there was little doubt that a life preserver was needed to save black programming from these murky waters.  It was a huge relief when Stacy Littlejohn responded to this crisis by creating the hit show “Single Ladies.” One of the most popular scripted shows on VH1, “Single Ladies” drew an audience of 3.3 million viewers  for its recent season finale. Littlejohn led the show to stunning success as executive producer and head writer as well, penning the intimate conversations between Val, Keisha, April, and their friends. Through vividly depicting their wild adventures, Littlejohn kept us glued to the tube every Monday night. The Atlanta Post sat down with Stacy to discuss what inspired her to tell these characters’ stories, how she got into television, and what we can look forward to during “Single Ladies: Season 2.” Plus, this 15-year industry veteran shares advice for upcoming writers just starting out. Here’s what Littlejohn had to share with The Atlanta Post audience.

Let’s start at the beginning. Where are you from originally?
I’ve lived all over — in Hayward, in Oakland — but mostly just the Bay area.

You originally had plans to be a lawyer. Tell us about the moment you decided to be a writer instead.
That moment came in college. I had wanted to be a criminal defense lawyer. But then I realized I might be defending people who have actually killed someone or done really bad things. For whatever reason that really stopped me in my tracks. I have a very heavy conscience. From that moment on I realized, “I don’t want to do this anymore!” Then I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I took a semester off and tried to refocus.

I realized that as a little kid I used to watch a lot of television. I used to watch “Perry Mason,” who was a criminal defense lawyer. And I thought, “Wait a minute! Was it that I wanted to be a lawyer like Perry, or was it that I like the way the shows were written?” I used to be really impressed when I saw the way things were written on TV shows.

When I looked around the TV landscape, I didn’t see a lot of black shows that I could be proud of. I thought, “Maybe I could do that, maybe I can write some shows,” and that’s kind of how it happened. It was all these maybes, maybes, maybes — that turned into, “Alright, let me stop saying maybe. Let me just try it!”

I got internships at TV stations and realized that is what I was destined to do. I started writing and it was very natural for me. It was fun and something I became passionate about quickly.

(Black Enterprise) — When it came to choosing someone who could bring VH1 new original content, all fingers pointed towards Stacy Littlejohn. The veteran TV writer/producer beat out a slew of other scribes to pen one of the summer’s most talked about shows, Single Ladies. “We were all kind of in competition of who can bring back the most interesting content to [VH1],” says Littlejohn, who has written for hit shows such as All of Us, Moesha, and One on One. “I guess I won!” She did more than that as a reported 1.8 million viewers tuned in to the entertainment news based cable network last week to watch the series premiere. With social media circles abuzz about the show, BlackEnterprise.com spoke with Littlejohn to get her personal tips on getting a show idea from pitch to the airwaves.

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In a two hour long romantic comedy, the drama of being a single woman was captured in a somewhat, over-the-top production. Three friends, Valerie, Keisha, and April, are considered the single ladies who are a part of the who’s who in the Atlanta social scene.

Valerie (Stacey Dash) is the brokenhearted boutique owner who decides to give her boyfriend of five years an ultimatum to marry her. To her surprise he leaves her only to end up proposing to his new girlfriend of three months, played by actress Lauren London.

In rebound mode, she ends up having a one night stand with a customer, who happens to be a younger white guy. A few days after this sexual encounter, she invites her ex- boyfriend over for closure. He admits that he was never in love with her. Somehow between the hurt, anger, and tears she ends up having sex with him.

The good girl boutique owners’ world is turned around when she finds herself in a close call Maury Povich type situation and thinks she’s pregnant but unsure of whom the father may be.

While Valerie is considered the good girl, Keisha is just the opposite. Played by actress Lisa Raye, she is the video vixen who has a hobby of robbing the rich men that she meets on video sets. But her thieving ways catch up with her as another video vixen begins to blackmail her and she falls in love with one of her victims.

April is somewhat different from the other ‘single ladies’ because of her status and the fact that she’s white.  Not only is she married to one successful black man, she is having an affair with another black man, the married Mayor, played by rapper Common.

Although somewhat predictable, the show had its teaching moments if you looked at the struggles associated with being a successful single woman; but these lessons came mainly from Stacey Dash’s character, Valerie; and trust me you had to look hard.

If you’re looking for a profound drama about the woes of being a single lady, this show may not be for you; but if you’re looking for something to quench your need for television (and to support black actresses), this show may do just that.

The familiar cast line-up probably helped the show out more than the script. Besides Lauren London, Stacey Dash, and Lisa Raye, other special appearances included Kim Porter, Kandi Burruss, Eve, Common, Pilar Sanders, and rapper Camron.

Still it may be too early to tell if it’s worth watching. I’ll more than likely give it a second try next week.

Madame Noire caught up with the wonderful LisaRaye at Monday’s premiere event for Omarosa’s new show The Ultimate Merger. The two share TV One as a network for their shows. Madame Raye’s show is called: LisaRaye/The Real McCoy. It airs on Thursdays at 9pm. Check out her sweet and sassy interview with us, in which she shares advice on how you must love yourself, be a good businesswoman and network….

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