Simbi Khali (born April 28, 1971), sometimes credited as Simbi Kali Williams, is an American actress and singer best known for her role as

Nina Campbell Henrietta "Nina" Sylvia Campbell (born 9 May 1945) is an English interior designer and businesswoman, whose clients include the Duke and Duchess of York, Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart and the Capital Hotel in Knightsbridge. She is known for her hea ...

on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

sitcom ''

3rd Rock from the Sun ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' is an American television sitcom created by Bonnie and Terry Turner, which originally aired from January 9, 1996, to May 22, 2001, on NBC. The show is about four Extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrials who are on an e ...

''. Her credits include the television show ''

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Aus ...

'' and the feature films ''

Vampire in Brooklyn ''Vampire in Brooklyn'' is a 1995 American dark comedy horror film directed by Wes Craven. It stars Eddie Murphy, who produced and wrote with his brothers Vernon Lynch and Charles Q. Murphy. The film co-stars Angela Bassett, Allen Payne, Kadee ...

'', ''

A Thin Line Between Love and Hate ''A Thin Line Between Love and Hate'' is a 1996 American comedy thriller film. It tells the story of Darnell Wright (Martin Lawrence), a ladies' man who finds himself stalked by one of his obsessed lovers: Brandi (Lynn Whitfield), an attractive ...

'', and '' Plump Fiction''. On stage, Khali has appeared in ''Colored Museum, For Colored Girls...'', ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict ...

'', and ''

Troilus and Cressida ''Troilus and Cressida'' ( or ) is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1602. At Troy during the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida begin a love affair. Cressida is forced to leave Troy to join her father in the Greek camp. M ...

''. She also had a career in voice acting, most notably Varesh Ossa in the video game '' Guild Wars Nightfall'', and Amanda in the video game '' Detroit: Become Human''.

Early life

Khali was born in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

, the youngest of five girls and two boys. When she was two, Khali's family moved to Chicago's South Side. Khali started singing at a young age. She became interested in theatre at Chicago's

ETA Creative Arts Foundation ETA Creative Arts Foundation, founded in 1971, is an African-American theatre and art museum in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates ...

. At age 15, she went to live in Alabama with her sister, Hamidah Elmore, and experienced her first "onstage rush" in a high school talent show. For her junior and senior years of high school, she moved to Washington, DC, to live with her mother Amerah Shabazz. She transferred to the

Duke Ellington School of the Arts The Duke Ellington School of the Arts (established 1974) is a high school located at 35th Street and R Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C., and dedicated to arts education. One of the high schools of the District of Columbia Public School syst ...

, where she committed to acting. Khali won admission to the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of bo ...

and graduated in 1993 with a degree in acting.

Career

At a performance during her senior year at

Cal Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of bot ...

, she was spotted and signed by a talent agent. That summer, she performed as part of a

Ben & Jerry's Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc., trading and commonly known as Ben & Jerry's, is an American company that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet. Founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, the company went from a single ice cream ...

troupe that visited hospitals and other charities, passing out samples of ice cream. It paid well and gave her time to audition, leading to her first job in the FOX sitcom ''

''. From 1993 to 1997, she played Sheneneh's vocal best friend in ''Martin''. From 1996 to 2001, she played

in the

sitcom ''

''. She was initially cast a recurring character, but was bumped to a main character in season 3. In 2016, Khali's career, performances, character portrayals and other accolades were officially recognized and commended by the Mississippi legislature.

Personal life

Khali initially met actor

Cress Williams Cress Williams (born July 26, 1970) is an American actor, known for his roles in ''Prison Break'' and '' Close to Home''. His most recent roles include Mayor Lavon Hayes on The CW series ''Hart of Dixie'' and the title character on The CW's ''Bla ...

at a

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

club in 1994, then again in the fall of 1999 while filming the BET movie ''Masquerade''. Within a month they were engaged, and they married in Malibu in the fall of 2000. They divorced amicably in 2011. They have two children: son Jory Holmes Khali Williams and daughter Courtney CoCo Khali Williams.

Filmography

Television

Film

Video games

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khali, Simbi 1971 births African-American actresses American television actresses Living people Actors from Jackson, Mississippi Actresses from Mississippi Actresses from Chicago 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American film actresses American stage actresses 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people