Cleo King (born August 21, 1962) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles on television, particularly ''

Mike & Molly ''Mike & Molly'' is an American television sitcom created by Mark Roberts for CBS. It aired from September 20, 2010 to May 16, 2016. The series stars Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy as the eponymous Mike and Molly, a couple who meet in a Ch ...

'' (2010–2016).

Early life

King was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, and was the youngest of seven children. She graduated from

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

and later moved to New York to pursue an acting career, first appearing in theatre productions.

Career

In the mid-1990s, King moved to Los Angeles, California, and began appearing on television shows such as ''

The Wayans Bros. ''The Wayans Bros.'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on The WB from January 11, 1995, to May 20, 1999. The series starred real life brothers Shawn Wayans, Shawn and Marlon Wayans, comedian John Witherspoon (actor), John Withe ...

'', ''

Living Single ''Living Single'' is an American television sitcom created by Yvette Denise Lee that aired for five seasons on the Fox network, from August 22, 1993, to January 1, 1998. The show centers on the lives of six New York City friends who share perso ...

'', ''

Malcolm & Eddie ''Malcolm & Eddie'' is an American television sitcom that premiered August 26, 1996, on UPN, and ran for four seasons, airing its final episode on May 22, 2000. This series starred Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Eddie Griffin in the lead roles. The ...

'', ''

Murphy Brown ''Murphy Brown'' is an American television sitcom created by Diane English that premiered on November 14, 1988, on CBS. The series stars Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news presenter, news anch ...

'', and '' Any Day Now''. She also appeared on ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'' as a nurse. King has appeared in a number of films, playing small parts, include ''

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...

'' (1999), ''

Dude, Where's My Car? ''Dude, Where's My Car?'' is a 2000 American stoner comedy film directed by Danny Leiner. The film stars Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott as two best friends who find themselves unable to remember where they parked their vehicle after a ...

'' (2000), '' Bubble Boy'' (2001), ''

The Life of David Gale ''The Life of David Gale'' is a 2003 crime thriller film directed and co-produced by Alan Parker, written by Charles Randolph, co-produced by Nicolas Cage, and starring Kevin Spacey as the title character, a college professor and longtime acti ...

'' (2003), ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. It is based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others, and p ...

'' (2006), '' Pineapple Express'' (2008), ''

The Hangover ''The Hangover'' is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips, and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. It is the first installment in ''The Hangover'' trilogy. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, H ...

'' (2009), ''

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

'' (2010), and '' Transformers: Age of Extinction'' (2014). She guest-starred on more than 50 shows, including ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...

'', ''

Ally McBeal ''Ally McBeal'' is an American legal comedy-drama television series created by David E. Kelley that originally aired on Fox from September 8, 1997, to May 20, 2002. It revolves around Calista Flockhart in the title role as a lawyer working ...

'', '' Six Feet Under'', ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White House, where t ...

'', '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', ''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

'', and ''

Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 28, 2006, to April 14, 2010. It is based on the Colombian telenovela ''Yo soy Betty, la fea' ...

''. From 2001 to 2002, King had a recurring role as Helene Parks in the Fox drama series ''

Boston Public ''Boston Public'' is an American drama (film and television), drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. Set in Boston, the series centers on Winslow High School, a fictional public high sc ...

'', created by David E. Kelley. In 2003, she co-starred in the short-lived CBS drama ''

The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire ''The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire'' is an American drama television series created by David E. Kelley that aired on CBS from September 24 to October 22, 2003. The show offers the typical quirkiness and eccentric humor that have become ...

'', also created by Kelley. In 2006, she played Aunt Lou in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

drama series '' Deadwood'' during its third and final season. In 2009, King had the recurring role as Neeta, the nanny of Jax Teller's son in the FX drama series, ''

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American Action film, action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX (TV channel), FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008, to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-k ...

''. In 2010, King was cast in the series regular role as grandmother Rosetta "Nana" McMillan in the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

sitcom ''

'', even though she is only seven years older than Reno Wilson (who played her grandson, Carl). In 2017 she appeared regularly in

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

's adaptation of ''

A Series of Unfortunate Events ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' is a series of thirteen Children's literature, children's novels written by American author Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket. The books follow the turbulent lives of orphaned siblings List of A ...

'', which premiered in 2017. That same year she appeared as Mrs. Watkins in the film '' The Bye Bye Man''. On February 22, 2021, King made a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

in season 2, episode 6 of

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

's '' 9-1-1: Lone Star.'' She portrayed Paul Strickland's mother, Cynthia Strickland.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Cloe king meal plan
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Cleo American television actresses American film actresses Living people Actresses from St. Louis University of Missouri alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 20th-century African-American actresses 21st-century African-American actresses 1962 births