# Holly Robinson Peete

Holly Elizabeth Robinson Peete (born September 18, 1964) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Judy Hoffs on the Fox police drama 21 Jump Street, Vanessa Russell on the ABC sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, and Dr. Malena Ellis on the NBC/The WB sitcom For Your Love. She also served as one of the original co-hosts of the CBS Daytime talk show The Talk. She is also known for her portrayal of Diana Ross in the 1992 miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream, which also aired on ABC.
A children's book by Peete, My Brother Charlie, won her an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in March 2011.

## Early life

Peete was born Holly Elizabeth Robinson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Dolores and Matt Robinson (the first Gordon on Sesame Street). Her mother was a school teacher, in public relations, and later a personal talent manager, and her father a producer/writer. She has an older brother named Matthew Thomas Robinson III. She attended Greene Street Friends School in nearby Germantown. In 1974, her family moved to California. Peete graduated from Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, California, where her classmates included Rob Lowe and Yvette Lee Bowser. Peete graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1986 with a degree in psychology and French. Peete studied abroad for a year at the Sorbonne, and is fluent in French. While there she sang in Paris nightclubs, including a performance with jazz musician Lionel Hampton at the Hotel Meridian Jazz Club.

## Career

She made her first television appearance on Sesame Street. She recalls that when she was six years old, she kept blowing her line, saying "Hi, Daddy", instead of "Hi, Gordon", his character's name. She ended up with just an appearance where she walked down the street with Big Bird. At the age of 11, Holly worked for the children's show Kidsworld as a celebrity correspondent; she interviewed many actors and actresses for the program. As an actress, she has appeared on the TV series 21 Jump Street (1987–1991), Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (1992–1997), For Your Love (1998–2002), and Like Family (2003–2004). She was featured in the video for the 1990 hit single "Whip Appeal" by Babyface as the sultry radio host at the beginning of the video. While on Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, in 1992, she portrayed Diana Ross in The Jacksons: An American Dream. Robinson most recently starred on the UPN comedy Love, Inc.. The show lasted just one season, and was canceled after the WB/UPN merger.
Robinson has also had a limited career as a singer and recording artist, including the introductory song to 21 Jump Street. She contributed a variety of songs to the soundtrack of the film Howard the Duck. (She appeared as a musician/singer in a minor role in the film.) She recorded the theme song "We Got Our Love" for the 1987 film Three for the Road. She and Dawnn Lewis, along with R&B quartet En Vogue, performed the theme song for the first season of Hangin' with Mr. Cooper.
In 2006, she won, along with fellow writer Daniel Paisner, the Quills Award in Sports for the book Get Your Own Damn Beer, I'm Watching the Game!: A Woman's Guide to Loving Pro Football.
In 2010, she participated in The Celebrity Apprentice 3, playing for her own charity, the HollyRod Foundation, which provides support for families with Parkinson's disease or autism.
Robinson began co-hosting The Talk, a CBS daytime talk show, on October 18, 2010. In this forum, Robinson was known for expressing herself through her ethnicity and being especially vocal about African American issues and, since her son Rodney is affected by it, autism. In April 2011, Robinson hosted a weekly series on The Talk promoting autism awareness.
After serving on The Talk for its first season, Peete along with Leah Remini were released from the show. Failure to ever disclose why the two were let go brought on a great deal of audience criticism of the show, as well as protests from the stars' fans. Sharon Osbourne, Peete's former co-host on The Talk, reasoned why the two former hosts were released from the program in a guest appearance on The Howard Stern Show, criticizing both Peete and Remini. In early 2021, Osbourne was later embroiled in a scandal for her remarks made on The Talk to Sheryl Underwood, leading to Osbourne's termination from the program. During Osbourne's scandal and termination, both Peete and Remini took to social media to reproach Osbourne over her behaviors, additionally pointing out that they were on the receiving end of similar behaviors by Osbourne. Osbourne responded with threats of defamation lawsuits against both women, but ultimately did nothing.
Peete hosted the 42nd NAACP Image Awards, alongside Wayne Brady, on March 4, 2011.
The Peete family starred in a reality TV series on OWN, entitled For Peete's Sake from 2016 to 2017. The series followed the lives of Peete and her husband Rodney as they juggle career choices with their family life. This was followed by a similar Hallmark Channel reality series Meet the Peetes, which also ran for two seasons from 2018 to 2019.
In 2023, Peete competed in season nine of The Masked Singer as "Fairy". After besting Malin Akerman as "Squirrel" and Lele Pons as "Jackalope" on "Sesame Street Night", she was eliminated on "Country Night" alongside Alexa Bliss as "Axolotl". Peete also made some references to her father's work on Sesame Street.

## Personal life

On June 10, 1995, Robinson married Rodney Peete, a National Football League quarterback. He proposed by surprising Holly during an episode of Hangin' with Mr. Cooper on October 7, 1994. They have four children: twin boy and girl born in 1997, and sons born in 2002 and 2005.
One of their twins was diagnosed on the Autism spectrum at age three in 2000. Robinson played baseball for Sierra Canyon School (2017-2019).
After her father was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, Robinson and her husband co-founded the HollyRod Foundation, which is dedicated to help find a cure for the disease, as well as for autism, and assist those living with the conditions.
In September 2012, Nestle's Carnation Breakfast Essentials announced they had teamed up with Robinson, featuring her as the spokesperson for the brand. On October 4, 2012, Robinson was inducted as an honorary member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1979 | Dummy | Genettia Lang | TV movie |
| 1986 | Howard the Duck | K.C., Cherry Bomb | |
| 1998 | Killers in the House | Jennie Sawyer | TV movie |
| 1999 | After All | Michelle Troussaint | TV movie |
| 2004 | Earthquake | Heaven | TV movie |
| 2007 | Matters of Life and Dating | Nicole Banning | TV movie |
| 2007 | Football Wives | Jackie Jameson | TV movie |
| 2010 | Speed-Dating | Gayle | |
| 2012 | 21 Jump Street | Officer Judy Hoffs | |
| 2015 | Angel of Christmas | Yvette Collins | TV movie |
| 2017 | Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland | Raymone Bain | TV movie |
| 2017 | Christmas in Evergreen | Michelle Lansing | TV movie |
| 2018 | Christmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa | Michelle Lansing | TV movie |
| 2019 | Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy | Michelle Lansing | TV movie |
| 2019 | A Family Christmas Gift | Amanda | TV movie |
| 2020 | The Christmas Doctor | Dr. Zoey | TV movie |
| 2020 | Christmas in Evergreen: Bells Are Ringing | Michelle Lansing | TV movie |
| 2021 | Our Christmas Journey | Lena | TV movie |
| 2022 | The Journey Ahead | Madeline | TV movie |
| 2022 | Holiday Heritage | Micah | TV movie |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1969 | Sesame Street | Herself | Episode 47 |
| 1987–91 | 21 Jump Street | Officer Judy Hoffs | Main Cast |
| 1989–90 | Booker | Officer Judy Hoffs | Episode: "The Pump" |
| 1991 | Gabriel's Fire | Jackie Tate | Episode: "Belly of the Beast" |
| 1992 | The Jacksons: An American Dream | Diana Ross | Episode: "Part I & II" |
| 1992–97 | Hangin' with Mr. Cooper | Vanessa Russell | Main Cast |
| 1993 | It's Showtime at the Apollo | Herself | Episode: "Episode #6.14" |
| 1994 | Soul Train | Herself/Guest Host | Episode: "Prince/Nona Gaye/For Lovers Only" |
| 1994 | An Evening at the Improv | Herself/Host | Episode: "Episode #15.25" |
| 1997 | Pacific Blue | Gina Galindo | Episode: "Soft Targets" |
| 1997 | Touched by an Angel | Vanessa Hamilton | Episode: "Smokescreen" |
| 1998–2002 | Hollywood Squares | Herself/Panelist | Recurring Guest |
| 1998–2002 | For Your Love | Malena Ellis | Main Cast |
| 1999 | Jeopardy! | Herself/Celebrity Contestant | Episode: "1999-A Celebrity Jeopardy! Game 2" |
| 1999–2001 | Intimate Portrait | Herself | Recurring Guest |
| 2001 | Strong Medicine | Halle Ellis | Episode: "Donors" |
| 2001–02 | One on One | Stacey | Recurring Cast: Season 1 |
| 2002 | Fillmore! | Joelle Fillmore (voice) | Episode: "Cry, the Beloved Mascot" |
| 2003 | Ripley's Believe It or Not! | Herself | Episode: "Episode #4.17" |
| 2003–04 | Like Family | Tanya Jones | Main Cast |
| 2005–06 | Love, Inc. | Clea | Main Cast |
| 2008 | Who Are You Wearing | Herself | Episode: "Holly Robinson Peete" |
| 2010 | The Celebrity Apprentice | Herself | Main Cast: Season 9 |
| 2010–11 | The Talk | Herself/Co-Host | Main Cast: Season 1 |
| 2010 | Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? | Herself | Episode: Season 5, Episode 48 |
| 2011–14 | Mike & Molly | Christina | Recurring Cast: Season 2-3 |
| 2012 | RuPaul's Drag U | Herself/Guest Professor | Episode: "Dangerous Curves" |
| 2012 | Say Yes to the Dress | Herself | Episode: "NFL Brides" |
| 2013 | Blue | Holly | Episode: "In the Running" |
| 2014 | Instant Mom | Mrs. Kimberley Phillips | Episode: "Distant Mom" |
| 2014-16 | Celebrity Name Game | Herself/Celebrity Player | Recurring Guest |
| 2015 | David Tutera's Celebrations | Herself | Episode: "Family Fundraiser for Autism" |
| 2015 | Wife Swap | Herself | Episode: "Margaret Cho/Holly Robinson-Peete" |
| 2015 | Celebrity Family Feud | Herself | Episode: "Rob Gronkowski vs. Holly Robinson Peete/Bill Engvall vs. Keke Palmer" |
| 2015 | Real Husbands of Hollywood | Herself | Episode: "Broad Talk" |
| 2016 | Kocktails with Khloé | Herself | Episode: "Khloé Kardashian Spills the O.J." |
| 2016 | Chicago Fire | Tamara Jones | Recurring Cast: Season 4-5 |
| 2016–17 | For Peete's Sake | Herself | Main Cast |
| 2018–19 | Meet the Peetes | Herself | Main Cast |
| 2018–21 | Morning Show Mysteries | Belinda "Billie" Blessings | Main Cast |
| 2019 | Hollywood Medium | Herself | Episode: "Lala Kent, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Holly Robinson Peete" |
| 2019 | Uncensored | Herself | Episode: "Tisha Campbell" |
| 2020 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Detective Rachel Wilson | Episode: "The Longest Night of Rain" |
| 2021 | American Housewife | Tami Gaines | Recurring Cast: Season 5 |
| 2022 | People Puzzler | Herself | Episode: "Now Ya Tell Me" |
| 2022 | A Black Lady Sketch Show | Herself | Episode: "Save My Edges, I'm a Donor!" |
| 2023 | Name That Tune | Herself/Contestant | Episode: "Bring the Funny" |
| 2023 | Queens Court | Herself/Host | Main Host |
| 2023 | The Masked Singer | Herself/Fairy | Season 9 contestant |
| 2023 | The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder | Dr. Kathleen Lord (voice) | Episode: "BeBe" |
| 2024 | Lego Masters: Celebrity Holiday Bricktacular | Herself | Season 3 contestant |

### Music Video

| Year | Title | Artist | Role |
| 1990 | Whip Appeal | Babyface | Radio Announcer |
| 2003 | Dance with My Father | Luther Vandross | Herself |
    Note: She was credited as Holly Robinson until 1997.