Terri J. Vaughn Biography

While studying in her senior year at California State University, Terri J. Vaughn was encouraged by a friend to participate in the 'Miss Black California Pageant'. During the competition, she read a passage from Ntozake Shange's 'For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf', which helped her secure a spot in the Los Angeles finals where one of the judges offered her a role in a play he was producing. She subsequently went on a 20-city tour of 'Tellin' It Like It Tiz' and began acting on stage regularly.

In 1993, she made her television debut with a small role in the hit television series 'Living Single', and had an uncredited role in the film 'Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit'. Throughout the decade, she appeared on television series such as 'The Sinbad Show', 'Married... with Children' and 'Family Matters', and had roles in films like 'Friday', 'Black Scorpion' and its sequel 'Black Scorpion II: Aftershock', 'Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood' and 'Carnosaur 3: Primal Species', In 1997, she was cast in the breakthrough role of Lovita Alizé Jenkins-Robinson in the second season of 'The Steve Harvey Show', for which she earned three 'NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series' in 2001-03.

After 'The Steve Harvey Show' ended in 2002, Terri J. Vaughn was cast as Eva Holly on the Showtime drama series 'Soul Food', which earned her another 'NAACP Image Award' nomination. In 2003, she became a series regular on the UPN/The CW sitcom 'All of Us', for which she received a 'BET Comedy Award' nomination in 2004. In 2005, she established the production company, 'Nina Holiday Entertainment' and began producing films such as 'Sugar Mommas', 'A Cross to Bear' and 'Girlfriends' Getaway'. Following a couple of small roles in the films 'Fair Game' and 'Stick It', she bagged supporting roles in 'Dirty Laundry' and 'Daddy's Little Girls' in 2007. In 2009, she was cast in a regular role in the Tyler Perry production 'Meet the Browns'. She made her directorial debut with the comedy film '#DigitalLivesMatter' in 2016. The same year, she appeared in a recurring role in Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, 'Greenleaf'. Most recently, she had another recurring role in the sitcom 'Mann & Wife' in 2017.

Terri Juanita Vaughn was born on October 16, 1969 in San Francisco, California, United States to a secretary and a department-store employee. She was good at studies, and at the same time sang in the church choir. She also did modeling and worked at McDonald's at an early age to support her family. As an ambitious young woman, she had a hard time growing up in San Francisco's Ridgeview Terrace Housing Project as she often became the target of neighborhood bullies. Nevertheless, she was determined to buy her own car and go to college, which she was finally able to achieve by working as an operator and a post-office employee. The jobs helped her pay for her car and enroll at the California State University.

Terri J. Vaughn fell in love with Derrick A. Carolina when both of them were studying at California State University. The couple got married in 1999 when she was 29 years old. They welcomed son Daylen Ali Carolina in October 2001. However, they got divorced in 2005. Later, in an article for essence.com dated April 2012, she wrote that as a "hopeless romantic", she was "in love with the picture of us — security, safety and tradition" which caused her "to stay in an unhealthy relationship much longer than was needed". She began dating former football player Karon Riley in May 2007 and got married to him eight months later on January 19, 2008. Their first child, son Kal'El Joseph Riley, was born on April 21, 2008 in Los Angeles. Her third child and only daughter, Lola Riley, was born in 2014.