Essence Uhura Atkins (born February 7, 1972) is an American actress. She began her career appearing on television sitcoms, before her regular role on the African-American prime-time drama '' Under One Roof'' (

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 ...

, 1995). Atkins is best known for her roles on television comedies. From 1997 to 1999, she starred as Tasha Yvette Henderson in

The WB The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...

sitcom ''

Smart Guy ''Smart Guy'' is an American sitcom television series centering on the exploits of child prodigy T.J. Henderson ( Tahj Mowry), who moves from being an elementary school student in the fourth grade to a high school student in the tenth grade, at ...

''. She later went to star as Dee Dee Thorne in

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that operated from 1995 to 2006. It was originally a joint venture between Chris-Craft Industries (later sold to News Corporation)'s subsidiary, United Television, ...

sitcom ''

Half & Half ''Half & Half'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeffrey Klarik and executive-produced by Yvette Lee Bowser through her Sister Lee Productions banner that aired on UPN from September 23, 2002, to May 15, 2006 (related to the come ...

'' (2002–2006), Suzanne Kingston-Persons in TBS sitcom '' Are We There Yet?'' (2010–2013) and as Ashley Wayne in

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

sitcom '' Marlon'' (2017–2018). In film, Atkins has appeared in ''

How High ''How High'' is a 2001 American stoner comedy film directed by Jesse Dylan in his feature film directorial debut and written by Dustin Lee Abraham. In the film, Method Man and Redman portray two cannabis users who are visited by the ghost ...

'' (2001), ''

Deliver Us from Eva ''Deliver Us from Eva'' is a 2003 American romantic comedy film starring LL Cool J and Gabrielle Union, revolving around LL's character, Ray, being paid to date a troublesome young lady named Eva (Union). It is considered by many as a modern upd ...

'' (2003), '' Dance Flick'' (2009), ''

A Haunted House ''A Haunted House'' is a 2013 American satirical horror comedy film directed by Michael Tiddes and written and produced by Marlon Wayans. The film stars Wayans alongside Essence Atkins, Cedric the Entertainer, Nick Swardson, David Koechner an ...

'' (2013), '' A Haunted House 2'' (2014), and '' The Noel Diary'' (2022).

Career

Atkins began her career as a teenager guest starring on NBC sitcom ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...

'' in 1986. The following years she spent playing guest roles on sitcoms include ''

Family Matters ''Family Matters'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC for eight seasons from September 22, 1989, to May 9, 1997, then moved to CBS for its ninth and final season from September 19, 1997, to July 17, 1998. A spin-of ...

'', before landing co-leading role opposite

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor. A pioneer for black actors in the entertainment industry, Jones is known for his extensive and acclaimed roles on stage and screen. Jones is one of the few perfor ...

and

Vanessa Bell Calloway Vanessa Bell Calloway ( Bell; born March 20, 1957) is an American actress. Beginning her career as a dancer, Bell Calloway became known for her film roles as Princess Imani Izzi in the 1988 comedy ''Coming to America'' and its sequel. Since the ...

in the African-American prime-time soap opera '' Under One Roof'' in 1995. The following year, she co-starred with

Keri Russell Keri Lynn Russell (born March 23, 1976) is an American actress. She played the title role in the drama series '' Felicity'' (1998–2002), which won her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama, and later portrayed El ...

in the NBC teen soap opera ''

Malibu Shores ''Malibu Shores'' is an American primetime teen drama/soap opera that aired on Saturday Night at 8:00PM EST from March to June 1996 for ten episodes on NBC. Created by Aaron Spelling and starring Keri Russell and Tony Lucca, the program followed ...

''. One of her television roles was in the ''

Saved by the Bell ''Saved by the Bell'' is an American television teen sitcom created by Sam Bobrick for NBC. The series premiered, in prime time, on August 20, 1989, a Sunday night. Targeted at kids and teens, ''Saved by the Bell'' was broadcast in the United ...

'' spin-off, '' Saved by the Bell: The College Years'' in 1993. She appeared in the pilot, but when

Tiffani-Amber Thiessen Tiffani Amber Thiessen (born January 23, 1974) is an American actress. Her roles as Kelly Kapowski on NBC's ''Saved by the Bell'' (1989–1993) and its spin-off media, and as Valerie Malone on Fox's ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1994–98) establ ...

, a regular from the original, opted to return, Atkins's character was written out. From 1997 to 1999, Atkins starred in the WB sitcom ''

'' as the older sister Tasha Yvette Henderson. From 2002 to 2006 she starred alongside Rachel True in the

sitcom ''

'' playing Dee Dee Thorne, her half-sister. She also had supporting roles in films ''

'' (2001), ''

'' (2003) opposite

Gabrielle Union Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade ( Union; born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on television sitcoms, prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films '' She's All That ...

, and '' Dance Flick'' (2009). From 2010 to 2013, she starred in the TBS sitcom series '' Are We There Yet?'' opposite Terry Crews. Atkins later starred alongside

Marlon Wayans Marlon Lamont Wayans (born July 23, 1972) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for his work with his brother Shawn Wayans on The WB sitcom ''The Wayans Bros.'' (1995–1999) and the comedy films ''Don't Be a M ...

in the parody films ''

'' (2013) and '' A Haunted House 2'' (2014). In 2016, she was cast opposite Wayans in his NBC sitcom '' Marlon''. it was canceled after two seasons in 2018. In 2019, Atkins was cast in a leading role in the

Oprah Winfrey Network The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN, also known as the OWN Network) is an American multinational basic cable television network which launched on January 1, 2011, effectively replacing the Discovery Health Channel, which one month later merged with ...

drama series '' Ambitions'' opposite

Robin Givens Robin Givens (born November 27, 1964) is an American actress and director. Givens played Darlene Merriman in the ABC sitcom '' Head of the Class'' in 1986, and remained on the series for its five year duration. Her troubled marriage to boxer ...

Personal life

In September 2009, Atkins married All-American collegiate football free safety Jaime Mendez. They met Valentine's Day 2008 through the online dating service

Match.com Match.com is an online dating service with headquarters are in Dallas, Texas. The company has offices in Dallas, West Hollywood, San Francisco, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, and Beijing. Match.com is owned by Match Group, which owns several online d ...

. Her ''Half and Half'' co-star

Valarie Pettiford Valarie Pettiford (born July 8, 1960) is an American stage and television actress, dancer, and jazz singer. She received a Tony Award nomination for her role in the broadway production '' Fosse''. She is also known for her role as Deirdre "Big D ...

performed during the reception. They divorced in 2016.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Essence 1972 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American television actresses American film actresses American child actresses Actresses from Brooklyn African-American child actresses 21st-century African-American actresses 20th-century African-American actresses