These ladies kept the laughs coming on their respective television shows and in their classic movies, but after catching our eye, they seemed to show up less and less on our televisions and on the movie screen. They’re mad talented and while some have been preoccupied with more important things (including motherhood), others have just had a hard time getting a good role in a bias Hollywood. Here are nine women who need a job on TV or in a big career changing film ASAP, because their talents are too great to go to waste. Check it out (and be prepared to click…).
Erika Alexander
Out of all the very bold and beautiful black women who had a role on “Living Single,” nobody was more entertaining to watch on screen in my opinion than Erika Alexander in her role as Maxine Shaw (attorney at law). Maybe it was because of her maneater personality and her hilarious sense of humor, but the lady with the asymmetrical braids and a penchant for stealing Regine’s men and coats might have been just a neighbor, but she stole your attention every time she showed up in that Brooklyn brownstone. She’s done some movies and a lot of guest TV work over the years (including a role on a short-lived program called “Street Time” in 2002), but nothing constant on the silver screen since then. If they can get Tempestt Bledsoe back on TV (“Guys With Kids”), it should be a piece of cake for Erika.
Karen Malina White
White is known for playing Chatty Kathy characters like Charmaine on “The Cosby Show” and “A Different World,” not to mention Nicolette on “Malcolm & Eddie” and the voice of Dijonay on “The Proud Family.” While most fast talking characters I’m not a fan of (like Lovita Jenkins on “The Steve Harvey Show”), White always walked the fine line between funny and being annoying (and she succeeded at not being a typical stereotypical character). It has been a minute since we’ve seen her on television like that, but we’d love for her to come back!
Tamera Mowry-Housley
Sure, Tamera is alongside her sister on their Style reality show, “Tia & Tamera,” but when was the last time we really got the chance to see Tamera flex her acting chops in a movie or on television? And I’m talking aside from the show “Roommates” in 2009 and in a movie seen by few called Things We Do For Love. Tia was able to get back into Hollywood on her own via “The Game,” so can we have Tamera do the same? She’s too funny and fab to just do reality TV.
Lisa Nicole Carson
It’s been a minute since we’ve seen big-haired, big personality having actress Lisa Nicole Carson. She was Nia Long’s homegirl in Love Jones, she played Dr. Benton’s girlfriend on “ER,” and was of course Renee Raddick on “Ally McBeal.” There were reports that Carson can be very erratic and that she was fired from both “ER” and “Ally McBeal,” but even still, we dig Carson and think somebody needs to put her back on TV ASAP!
Jill Marie Jones
Okay, so Toni Childs wasn’t exactly the deepest of characters, but you can’t front, when her character was gone, the show was never the same. That says a lot about the charisma and acting chops of Jill Marie Jones in that role. She was snarky, she was beautiful, and she, like the Maxine Shaws of the world, was another maneater. We haven’t seen homegirl since she did a few episodes of this show called “Gillian In Georgia” that nobody really saw, so it’s time for a comeback.
Tisha Campbell-Martin
So many women play the wives and girlfriends of folks on television, only to be more stale than last month’s Ritz Cracker. But Tisha Campbell-Martin was one of the few women on television when she played Gina on “Martin,” who could hold her own and keep the laughs coming. She continued to prove that she could do that by playing Jay, Damon Wayans’s wife on “My Wife and Kids.” Since then, she’s tried to get back on TV, but her most recent attempt was canceled with the quickness. We’re still rooting for Tisha and think somebody needs to give her a comedy to be on like yesterday.
Cree Summer
Don’t get me wrong, Cree Summer stays employed in these streets. Voice-over roles have been her bread and butter over the years, and that’s all good and dandy, but we love Cree’s personality more than her voice, so we would love to see her get back on the big screen as somebody’s something. Whether she’s somebody’s crazy auntie or older girlfriend with the big hair, I dig me some Cree Cree.
Jennifer Freeman
Last time we actually saw actress Jennifer Freeman, she was doing a couple movies after “My Wife and Kids” and playing the same type of teenager in every movie and show she appeared on. But Freeman is far from a teen nowadays. The 27-year-old actress is now an ex-wife and a mother and it’s time for her to start playing more grown woman roles. Freeman seemed to have a great sense of humor and it would be nice to see her acting on television once again. What about you?
Nia Long
Seriously though! We’ve seen Nia Long on the cover of magazines for being a mom and out in the streets campaigning for President Obama, as well as on a few red carpets just because, but the last time we really saw her was in the 2010 movie, Moozlum. We all know that Nia is more than a pretty face and so it would be great if she could get steady work on a sitcom or in some really good movies. I was really hoping she would get the lead in the movie adaption of the book Addicted, but we’re not counting her out for other big things. We’re hoping that once little Kez gets a bit bigger, she’ll be back in front of the big and/or small screen.
