# Monica Calhoun

Monica Calhoun (born July 29, 1971) is an American film and television actress. Calhoun is best known for her roles in the films Bagdad Cafe (1987), The Players Club (1998), The Salon (2005), The Best Man (1999), and its sequel The Best Man Holiday (2013). She has also appeared in the films Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993) and Love & Basketball (2000). Calhoun has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award and one NAACP Image Award.

## Biography
### Early life and education

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Calhoun is the daughter of Lorine Calhoun. She moved to California in the late 1970s, and began acting while in sixth grade. Calhoun attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.

### Career

Calhoun made her acting debut in the 1985 TV film Children of the Night as Wanda. She portrayed Phyllis, the daughter of CCH Pounder's character, in Bagdad Cafe (1987). Calhoun was the only actor in Bagdad Cafe to return for the television series, albeit the character's name was changed to Debbie. The televised adaptation lasted two seasons before being cancelled.
She portrayed Rebbie Jackson in the 1992 biopic miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream. In 1993, she had a minor role in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit and acted in the Disney Channel film The Ernest Green Story alongside Morris Chestnut. Calhoun received an Emmy Award nomination for her performance in the CBS Schoolbreak Special "Different Worlds: A Story of Interracial Love" (1993). Calhoun co-starred with actor Flex Alexander in the short-lived series, Where I Live, and appeared in Pacific Station.
Calhoun guest starred in several sitcoms including The Wayans Bros., A Different World and The Jamie Foxx Show, the latter as Jamie Foxx's sister. She appeared as Linda, one of the daughters of Donald Thornton in television film The Ditchdigger's Daughters (1997). Calhoun played the role of Ebony, a stripper, in Ice Cube's directorial debut The Players Club (1998).
She appeared in the lead role, Reese Delaware, in Intimate Betrayal (1999). In Love & Basketball (2000), she portrayed Kerry, a girlfriend of the basketball playing protagonist. In 2002, Calhoun appeared in Trois 2: Pandora's Box as psychologist Dr. Mia DuBois and portrayed Wet in Civil Brand. Calhoun played Rachel in the Western Gang of Roses (2003).
Calhoun portrayed Mia, the wife of Morris Chestnut's character, in The Best Man (1999). She received an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture in 2000 for her performance. She returned in its sequel The Best Man Holiday (2013). In the latter, Mia is terminally ill and dies at the end of the film.
She played the role of Brenda in 2007's The Salon starring Vivica Fox. In 2009, Robert Townsend directed Calhoun in Diary of a Single Mom, Season I, II and III (2008–10). Calhoun appeared as Patricia Tresvant, Ralph's mother in The New Edition Story miniseries which aired on the BET network in January 2017.

## Personal

Calhoun gave birth to a son in 2000. Her son is blind.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1985 | Children of the Night | Wanda | TV movie |
| 1987 | Bagdad Cafe | Phyllis | |
| 1989 | Heart and Soul | Janet | TV movie |
| 1991 | She Stood Alone | Eliza Hammond | TV movie |
| 1993 | The Ernest Green Story | Minnijean Brown | TV movie |
| 1993 | Jack the Bear | Sondra | |
| 1993 | Younger and Younger | Jaime-Lee | |
| 1993 | Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit | Classroom Kid | |
| 1996 | Rebound: The Legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault | Evonne | TV movie |
| 1997 | The Ditchdigger's Daughters | Linda | TV movie |
| 1997 | Damn Whitey | Young Woman | Short |
| 1998 | The Players Club | Ebony | |
| 1998 | Park Day | Tamala Davis | |
| 1999 | The Best Man | Mia Morgan | |
| 1999 | Intimate Betrayal | Reese Delaware | TV movie |
| 2000 | Love & Basketball | Kerry | |
| 2000 | Nature Boy | Maria Cole | TV movie |
| 2001 | Faux Pas | - | |
| 2002 | Turnaround | Cammy | |
| 2002 | Civil Brand | Wet | |
| 2002 | Trois 2: Pandora's Box | Dr. Mia DuBois | |
| 2003 | Love Chronicles | Maya | |
| 2003 | Gang of Roses | Rachel | |
| 2004 | Justice | Sharice | |
| 2005 | The Salon | Brenda | |
| 2005 | Friends and Lovers | Debra | Video |
| 2013 | The Best Man Holiday | Mia M. Sullivan | |
| 2016 | Everything But A Man | Vanessa | |
| 2016 | No Regrets | Nina Thomas | |
| 2020 | Leroy | Joey | |
| 2023 | Deadly Entanglement | Deidra | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1989 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Vonette | Episode: "15 and Getting Straight" |
| 1990–91 | Bagdad Cafe | Debbie | Main Cast |
| 1992 | The Jacksons: An American Dream | Rebbie Jackson | Episode: "Part 1 & 2" |
| 1992 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Carol | Episode: "Different Worlds: A Story of Interracial Love" |
| 1993 | A Different World | Yolanda | Episode: "Homey, Don't Ya Know Me?" |
| 1993 | Where I Live | Kaiya | Episode: "Big Mon on Campus" |
| 1994 | Sweet Justice | Kara | Episode: "Fourth Quarter" |
| 1995 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Temple Baham | Episode: "What About Your Friends" |
| 1996 | The Wayans Bros. | Vanessa | Episode: "Unbrotherly Love" |
| 1997 | Good News | Cynthia Porter | Episode: "Try a Little Tenderness" |
| 1998 | The Jamie Foxx Show | Kim | Episode: "Swing Out Sister" |
| 2000 | Malcolm & Eddie | Helena | Episode: "Moving Violations" |
| 2003 | NYPD Blue | Denise Woodson | Episode: "I Kid You Not" |
| 2003 | Strong Medicine | Paige Wheeler | Episode: "Coming Clean" |
| 2006 | Grey's Anatomy | Mrs. Wood | Episode: "Break on Through" |
| 2006 | Everybody Hates Chris | Charlotte | Episode: "Everybody Hates Funerals" |
| 2007 | Dirt | Chelle | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2008 | Cold Case | Phoebe Curtis (1989) | Episode: "Triple Threat" |
| 2009–11 | Diary of a Single Mom | Ocean | Main Cast |
| 2017 | The New Edition Story | Patricia Tresvant | Episode: "Part 1 & 2" |
| 2022 | The Best Man: The Final Chapters | Mia Sullivan | Recurring Cast |