# Monique Coleman

Adrienne Monique Coleman (born November 13, 1980) is an American actress and dancer. She is best known for her role as Taylor McKessie in the High School Musical movies.

## Early life and education

Adrienne Monique Coleman was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina. She started her acting career in theater and television at a young age in Columbia, South Carolina. She trained at the Workshop Theater School of Dramatic Arts where she performed in over fifteen plays. Coleman went to Heathwood Hall Episcopal School. She later attended The Theater School at DePaul University in Chicago, earning her BFA in Acting in 2002.

## Career

Coleman's first lead role was in the independent film Mother of the River (1995) directed by Zeinabu irene Davis. Two years later, Coleman appeared as Young Donna in The Family Channel movie The Ditchdigger's Daughter, for which she was nominated for a Young Artists Award of Hollywood. During her sophomore year of high school, Coleman wrote, directed, produced, and starred in a one-person play titled "Voices from Within." In Chicago, Coleman appeared in stage productions of Noises Off, Polaroid Stories, The Real Thing, and The Colored Museum.
In 2005, Coleman acted alongside James Earl Jones in the Hallmark TV Movie The Reading Room. She received a 2006 CAMIE Award for the role and represented the film at the NAACP Image Awards. Coleman has had several other guest appearances on television, including Boston Public, Gilmore Girls, Malcolm in the Middle, Strong Medicine, 10-8: Officers on Duty, Married to the Kellys, and Veronica Mars.

### Disney Channel

In 2006, Coleman starred in High School Musical, portraying Taylor McKessie, the best friend of the new girl at school, Gabriella Montez (played by Vanessa Hudgens). She had previously worked on the Disney Channel as a recurring guest star in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. In the summer of 2006, Coleman took part in the first Disney Channel Games. She was also the host of 3 Minute Game Show: High School Musical Edition, which aired on the Disney Channel in 2007. That year, Coleman recorded a song called "Christmas Vacation" for the compilation album Disney Channel Holiday. She later appeared in High School Musical 2 (2007) and High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008), reprising her role as Taylor McKessie.

### Dancing with the Stars

Coleman competed in the Fall 2006 third edition of the reality dance competition show Dancing with the Stars. She was paired with professional partner Louis van Amstel. The pair appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show before they were eliminated from the competition on November 1, 2006. Coleman and van Amstel finished fourth in the competition. She was the final female contestant in that season's competition.
| Week | Dance / Song | Judges' Score | Judges' Score | Judges' Score | Status |
| Week | Dance / Song | Inaba | Goodman | Tonioli | Status |
| 1 | Foxtrot / "Baby Love" – The Supremes | 6 | 6 | 7 | Safe |
| 2 | Mambo / "Bop to the Top" – Ashley Tisdale feat. Lucas Grabeel | 9 | 8 | 9 | Safe |
| 3 | Jive / "The Heat Is On" – Glenn Frey | 9 | 9 | 9 | Safe |
| 4 | Waltz / "If I Were a Painting" – Kenny Rogers | 8 | 8 | 8 | Bottom two |
| 5 | Rumba / "So Nice" – Bebel Gilberto | 9 | 9 | 9 | 1st Place |
| 6 | Samba / "ABC" – The Jackson 5 | 9 | 7 | 7 | No Elimination Due to Sara Evans's withdrawal |
| 7 | Quickstep / "Luck Be a Lady" – Frank Sinatra | 9 | 9 | 9 | Bottom two |
| 7 | Pasodoble / "The Reflex" – Duran Duran | 9 | 9 | 9 | Bottom two |
| 8 | Tango / "Somebody's Watching Me" – Rockwell | 8 | 8 | 8 | Eliminated |
| 8 | Cha Cha Cha / "Ghostbusters" – Ray Parker Jr. | 9 | 10 | 10 | Eliminated |

## Philanthropy

In 2010, Coleman worked with DoSomething.org to produce a video tutorial for the series "Do Something U." Coleman's video focused on teaching young people the best way to utilize social media to spread ideas and actions.

### UN Youth Champion

Coleman was appointed a Youth Champion by the United Nations in November 2010. At a ceremony at the UN headquarters in New York, Coleman was presented with a letter of recognition of her role by Assistant Secretary-General Jomo Kwame Sundaram of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. In presenting the letter, Mr. Sundaram said Coleman would work "to raise awareness about the challenges young people face and will highlight the positive contribution they make to their communities." Coleman said receiving the designation of Youth Champion was "beyond an honor" and she would use her position to promote global efforts to achieve the anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

## Personal life

In February 2012, Coleman married Walter Jordan. The pair divorced in February 2022.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | On Line | Jessie | Short film |
| 2008 | High School Musical 3: Senior Year | Taylor McKessie | |
| 2008 | Order | - | Direct-to-video |
| 2014 | Free the Nipple | Roz | |
| 2015 | Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List | Girl-Robin | |
| 2016 | Distortion | Woman | Short film |
| 2017 | We Are Family | Elise | |
| 2017 | The Outdoorsman | Jen | |
| 2018 | Broken Star | Annie | |
| 2019 | Real.Live.Girl | Sam | Short film |
| 2020 | Witness Infection | Rose | |
| 2020 | GraceLand | - | Short film |
| 2020 | The Little Death | Camille | Short film |
| 2021 | Phobias | Natalie | |
| 2021 | Pawns | Veronica Barrett | Short film |
| 2022 | Give Me an A | Megan | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1995 | Mother of the River | Dofimae | Television film |
| 1997 | The Ditchdigger's Daughters | Young Donna | Television film |
| 2003 | Strong Medicine | Tanya | Episode: "Misdiagnosis Murder" |
| 2003–2004 | Boston Public | Molly | Recurring role (season 4) |
| 2004 | Gilmore Girls | Andy | Episode: "The Nanny and the Professor" |
| 2004 | 10-8: Officers on Duty | Maya Barnes | Episode: "Love Don't Love Nobody" |
| 2004 | Married to the Kellys | Waitress | Episode: "Chris And Mary Fight" |
| 2004 | Malcolm in the Middle | Andrea | Episode: "Malcolm Visits College" |
| 2004 | Method & Red | - | Episode: "Kill Bill Volume 3" |
| 2005 | Veronica Mars | Gabrielle Pollard | Episode: "Lord of the Bling" |
| 2005–2006 | The Suite Life of Zack & Cody | Mary Margaret | Recurring role (season 1–2) |
| 2005 | The Reading Room | Leesha | Television film |
| 2006 | High School Musical | Taylor McKessie | Television film |
| 2006 | Dancing with the Stars | Herself | Contestant (season 3) |
| 2007 | High School Musical 2 | Taylor McKessie | Television film |
| 2008 | Million Dollar Password | Herself | 1 episode |
| 2009 | Bones | Becca Hedgepeth | Episode: "The Salt in the Wounds" |
| 2010 | The Cleveland Show | Fontaisha (voice) | Episode: "Our Gang" |
| 2014 | Downtown Girls | Morgan | Episode: "The Inception" |
| 2015 | Stitchers | Solaris | Episode: "Future Tense" |
| 2015 | The Fourth Door | Lain | Main role |
| 2016 | Here We Go Again | Kayla | Recurring role |
| 2017 | Guidance | Katina Howard | Recurring role (season 3) |
| 2019 | I Am Somebody's Child: The Regina Louise Story | Ms. Lewis | Television film |
| 2020 | Celebrity Scene Spotlight | The Passionate Storyteller | Episode: "The Bench Play" |
| 2020 | Steppin' Back To Love | April | Television film |
| 2021 | Family Reunion | Ebony | Episode: “Remember When Jade Thought She Was Grown?” |
| 2021 | A Christmas Dance Reunion | Lucy | Television film |
| 2022 | Greed: A Seven Deadly Sins Story | Zuri Maxwell | Television film |
| 2023 | High School Musical: The Musical: The Series | Herself | 2 episodes |

## Music

* High School Musical, Start of Something New (Concert) Featuring Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, Lucas Grabeel, Ashley Tisdale, Vanessa Hudgens & Drew Seeley (2006)
* Disney Channel Holiday's Christmas Vacation (2007)
* Pop It Rock It 2: It's On, What Time Is It (2007)

## Awards

* 19th Annual Young Artist Awards (1996–1997)
    Best Performance in a TV MOVIE or FEATURE FILM: Young Ensemble – "Ditchdigger's Daughter"
    Best Family TV MOVIE/ PILOT/MINI-SERIES (CABLE) – The Ditchdigger's Daughters, Family Channel
* Character and Morality in Entertainment Awards (CAMIE) 2006 – The Reading Room
* Teen Choice Awards 2006 Award for Choice TV Show: Comedy/Musical – High School Musical
* American Music Award 2007 for High School Musical 2
* Teen Choice Awards 2009 Award for Choice Movie: Music/Dance – High School Musical
* Daytime Emmy Awards 2019 : Outstanding Host ( Nominated)