Yvette Reneé Wilson (March 6, 1964 – June 14, 2012) was an American comedian and actress. She was known for her role as Andell Wilkerson, the owner of the local restaurant and hangout on the

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, ...

sitcoms ''

Moesha ''Moesha'' (, ) is an American television sitcom that aired on UPN from January 23, 1996, to May 14, 2001. The series stars Contemporary R&B, R&B singer Brandy Norwood, Brandy as Moesha Denise Mitchell, an African-American teenager living with ...

'' (1996–2001); and restaurant owner and Nikki's (played by

Mo'Nique Monique Angela Hicks (née Imes; born December 11, 1967), known mononymously as Mo'Nique, is an American comedian and actress. She debuted as a member of The Queens of Comedy and earned recognition as a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian. In 2 ...

) best friend on its spinoff ''

The Parkers ''The Parkers'' is an American television sitcom created by Ralph Farquhar, Sara V. Finney and Vida Spears. The series ran for five seasons from August 30, 1999, to May 10, 2004, on UPN. It stars Mo'Nique, Countess Vaughn, Mari Morrow, Dorien Wi ...

'' (1999–2004). She had appeared in many comedy films such as ''

House Party 3 ''House Party 3'' is a 1994 American comedy film, directed by Eric Meza and written by Takashi Bufford. It stars Kid 'n Play, Bernie Mac, Gilbert Gottfried, TLC, Angela Means, Immature and Michael Colyar, with a special appearance by Tisha Ca ...

'', '' ''Friday'''', and on

Russell Simmons Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. He has p ...

' ''

Def Comedy Jam ''Def Comedy Jam'' is an HBO television series produced by Russell Simmons, Stan Lathan, and Bob Sumner. The series was hosted by Martin Lawrence and Joe Torry in its first six seasons, Mike Epps in its seventh season, and D. L. Hughley in its ...

''. She was also known for her role as Rita in the 1995

F. Gary Gray Felix Gary Gray (born July 17, 1969) is an American director and producer. Gray began his career as a director on numerous critically acclaimed and award-winning music videos, including "It Was a Good Day" by Ice Cube, " Natural Born Killaz" by ...

film ''

Friday Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO 8601-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth ...

''. Wilson died from cervical cancer at the age of 48.

Early life

Before she started her career in the entertainment business, Wilson attended

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

and majored in

communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

s. In 1991 she was a contestant on the game show

Supermarket Sweep ''Supermarket Sweep'' is an American television game show. Teams of contestants answer trivia questions before competing in a timed race to gather grocery items from the aisles of a supermarket. The original show was broadcast on ABC from Dece ...

. Wilson first entered comedy when she lost a bet and had to perform as a stand-up comedian at a friend's club. She decided to make a living off comedy and never turned back.

Career

Her big break came with ''

Thea Thea may refer to: * Thea (name), a given name * Ancient Greek term for goddess, including an alternative spelling of Theia * ''Thea'', the former name of the tea plant genus, now included in ''Camellia'' * Thea, a village in the multiple unit Mess ...

'', a short-lived sitcom from 1993 to 1994. ''Thea'' was cancelled after 19 episodes but the show helped her get a role in ''

''. In addition, Wilson also had a minor role in the 1995 comedy movie ''

'' as Smokey's blind date and appeared in films such as ''

Poetic Justice Poetic justice, also called poetic irony, is a literary device with which ultimately virtue is rewarded and misdeeds are punished. In modern literature, it is often accompanied by an ironic twist of fate related to the character's own action, h ...

'', starring

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

, and the film parody ''

Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood #REDIRECT Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood {{R from other capitalisation ...

''. In 1995, she got the most important role of her career: Andell Wilkerson, a supporting character on the sitcom ''

'', which starred one of her castmates from ''Thea'', R&B singer

Brandy Norwood Brandy Rayana Norwood (born February 11, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, model and actress. Born into a musical family in McComb, Mississippi, Norwood was raised in Carson, California, beginning her career as a backing vocalist ...

. Wilson's Andell character was the owner of The Den, a local teen hot spot on the show. In 2000, she left ''Moesha'' for its spin-off ''

'', where she also played Andell Wilkerson, who was the best friend of

's character Nikki Parker. After ''The Parkers'' ended, she went on to appear in shows like

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 ...

's ''

'' and

Fox Network Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC (commonly known as Fox; stylized in all caps) is an American commercial broadcast television network serving as the flagship property of Fox Corporation and operated through Fox Entertainment. Fox is based at Fo ...

shows. Wilson final acting role was in 2005's ''Ganked''. She started her own company by the name Tigobitties Inc.

Personal life and death

Wilson had two daughters and two grandchildren.Yvette Wilson’s memorial: a party, not a funeral
The Mississippi Link. She was married to record producer Jerome Harry from 2001 until her death in 2012. Wilson suffered from kidney disease, having survived a kidney transplant and regular dialysis, but eventually died from cervical cancer, which metastasized throughout her entire body. A friend, Jeffrey Pittle, created a website for people to donate money to help with her medical bills and help with transportation costs. Wilson died on June 14, 2012, aged 48.Notice of death at Newsone
/ref> She was cremated, with no funeral services held.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Yvette 1964 births 2012 deaths 20th-century African-American actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century African-American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Los Angeles African-American female comedians African-American comedians American film actresses American television actresses Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from cervical cancer in the United States San Jose State University alumni American women comedians Place of death missing Comedians from Los Angeles 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians 21st-century African-American people