# Nia Peeples

Virenia "Nia" Peeples (born December 10, 1961) is an American R&B and dance music singer and actress. Peeples is known for playing Nicole Chapman on the TV series Fame; Pam Fields on the drama Pretty Little Liars; Karen Taylor Winters on The Young and the Restless; Sydney Cooke on Walker, Texas Ranger; and as Grace's mom, Susan, on The Fosters.

## Early life

Peeples was born December 10, 1961, in Hollywood, California, the daughter of Elizabeth Joan (née Rubic), a flamenco dancer, and Robert Eugene Peeples. She was raised in West Covina. Her maternal grandparents were immigrants from the Philippines. Her father, who was originally from Mississippi, was of Scottish, English, and Irish ancestry. Peeples attended UCLA during which time she performed as Liberace's opening act in Las Vegas on weekends.

## Personal life

Peeples used to live in Topanga Canyon and Malibu, California, and has one son Christopher (b. 1989 with ex-husband Howard Hewett) and one daughter Sienna (b. 1998) with her former husband, Lauro Chartrand.
She operates an internet based organization called Elements of Life, which promotes fitness, inspiration, healthy lifestyle changes and emotional well-being. She worked with business coach Amy Applebaum on its development.

## Career
### Music

Peeples started her career as part of the performance group The Young Americans. In 1988 she hit #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart with "Trouble", which climbed to #35 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her most successful pop single is "Street Of Dreams", which hit #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1991. She made a music video in 1986 for "All You Can Dream", directed by Alan Bloom and conceptualized by Keith Williams, for the purposes of promoting the values of UCLA. On February 4, 2009, Peeples presented Debbie Allen with a Lifetime Achievement Award at The Carnival: Choreographer's Ball 10th anniversary show. Peeples also attends and performs at the annual live Fame Reunion concerts overseas.

### Acting

Notably, Peeples portrayed performing arts student Nicole Chapman on the hit TV series Fame. In 1987, she was in the movie North Shore as Kiani. She also hosted the short-lived American version of Top of the Pops in 1987, a weeknight dance music program called The Party Machine with Nia Peeples (1991), and portrayed Texas Ranger Sydney Cooke in the CBS hit series Walker, Texas Ranger from 1999 to 2001. In 2004, she appeared in the Andromeda episode "The Spider's Stratagem", as arms smuggler and love-interest Rox Nava. Peeples joined the cast of The Young and the Restless in 2007, playing the role of Karen Taylor, and was released from the role in the spring of 2009. In 2010, she was cast in ABC Family's TV series Pretty Little Liars, based on the book series by Sara Shepard. Peeples was featured on the July 7, 2013 episode of Celebrity Wife Swap, in which she traded places with singer Tiffany.

## Discography
### Albums

* Nothin' But Trouble (1988) – US #97
* Nia Peeples (1991)
* Songs of the Cinema (2007)

### Singles

| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Year | Single | US | US R&B | US Dan | AUS | CAN | Album |
| 1988 | "Trouble" | 35 | 71 | 1 | — | — | Nothin' But Trouble |
| 1988 | "High Time" | — | — | 10 | — | — | Nothin' But Trouble |
| 1989 | "I Know How (To Make You Love Me)" | — | — | 28 | — | — | Nothin' But Trouble |
| 1991 | "Street of Dreams" | 12 | 73 | — | 74 | 23 | Nia Peeples |
| 1992 | "Kissing the Wind" | 76 | — | — | 86 | 76 | Nia Peeples |
| 1992 | "Faces of Love" | 88 | — | — | — | 59 | Nia Peeples |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. ||||||||

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1981 | A Single Light | Deaf Girl | TV movie |
| 1984 | Fame | Nicole Chapman | Short |
| 1987 | North Shore | Kiani | |
| 1989 | DeepStar Six | Scarpelli | |
| 1989 | Swimsuit | Maria Detney | TV movie |
| 1989 | Nasty Boys | Serena Cruz | TV movie |
| 1990 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer | Cathy Redding | TV movie |
| 1992 | I Don't Buy Kisses Anymore | Theresa Garabaldi | |
| 1994 | My Name Is Kate | Annie | TV movie |
| 1994 | Improper Conduct | Bernie | |
| 1994 | XXX's & OOO's | Sasha Townes | TV movie |
| 1995 | Deadlocked: Escape from Zone 14 | Allie Thompson | TV movie |
| 1995 | Mr. Stitch | Dr. Elizabeth English | TV movie |
| 1996 | Terminal | Janet Reardon | TV movie |
| 1996 | Bloodhounds II | Nikki Cruise | TV movie |
| 1997 | Tower of Terror | Jill Perry | TV movie |
| 1997 | Odd Jobs | Assassin | TV movie |
| 1998 | Blues Brothers 2000 | Lt. Elizondo | |
| 1998 | Poodle Springs | Angel | TV movie |
| 1998 | Heroes: The Mystique, the Movies, the Men | Special Guest Host | TV movie |
| 2000 | Alone with a Stranger | Beth Jenkins | |
| 2000 | The Riff | Heather Anderson | |
| 2001 | Bruised | Michelle | Short |
| 2002 | Half Past Dead | 49er Six | |
| 2002 | The Chang Family Saves the World | Pearl Empress | TV movie |
| 2005 | Inside Out | Maria | |
| 2005 | Sub Zero | Kelli Paris | Video |
| 2006 | Connors' War | Amanda | Video |
| 2006 | Special Unit | Tara | TV movie |
| 2006 | House Broken | Ms. Hawkhauser | TV movie |
| 2007 | Arwin! | Ms. Hawkhauser | TV movie |
| 2009 | The Outside | Joanne Blakey | |
| 2009 | Citizen Jane | Evelyn | TV movie |
| 2011 | Battle of Los Angeles | Capt. Karla Smaith | Video |
| 2012 | Werewolf: The Beast Among Us | Vodama | Video |
| 2012 | 23 Minutes to Sunrise | Rachel | |
| 2013 | Dante's Hell Animated | Beatrice (voice) | Short |
| 2014 | Lap Dance | Kelly | |
| 2015 | Lavalantula | Olivia West | TV movie |
| 2017 | Alaska Is a Drag | Lucy | |
| 2017 | Mnemosyne | Claudia | |
| 2018 | Mistrust | Kristen Rhodes | |
| 2019 | The Untold Story | Catarina | |
| 2019 | Dying for a Baby | Blanche | TV movie |
| 2019 | Badland Wives | Madam Rosie | TV movie |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1981 | The Music Shoppe | Darcie | Main cast |
| 1983 | Tales of the Gold Monkey | Zita Henriques | Episode: "The Sultan of Swat" |
| 1983 | Hardcastle and McCormick | Waitress | Episode: "Flying Down to Rio" |
| 1983 | Days of Our Lives | Mallory | Regular cast |
| 1983 | General Hospital | Carla Escobar | Regular cast |
| 1983–86 | Fame | Nicole Chapman | Main cast: season 4-6 |
| 1984 | T.J. Hooker | Maria Dominguez | Episode: "Gang War" |
| 1985 | Dance Fever | Herself | Episode: "Don Stroud, Nia Peeples, Nicholas Campbell" |
| 1987–88 | Top of the Pops | Herself/host | Main host: season 24 |
| 1988 | Soul Train | Herself | Episode: "Johnny Mathis/Nia Peeples/Tracie Spencer" |
| 1989 | Matlock | Morgan Gerard | Episode: "The Starlet" |
| 1989–90 | Nasty Boys | Serena Cruz | Main cast |
| 1991 | The Party Machine with Nia Peeples | Herself/hostess | Main host |
| 1992 | Soul Train | Herself | Episode: "Nia Peeples/Eric B. & Rakim" |
| 1993 | The New WKRP in Cincinnati | Sierra Smith | Episode: "Treasure of Sierra Smith" & "Chicago Story" |
| 1993 | Return to Lonesome Dove | Augostina Vega | Main cast |
| 1994 | Highlander: The Series' | Nefertiri | Episode: "Pharaoh's Daughter" |
| 1994 | Touched by an Angel | Angela Evans | Episode: "Fallen Angela" |
| 1994 | ABC Afterschool Specials | Herself | Episode: "I Hate the Way I Look" |
| 1995 | Marker | Lisa | Episode: "The Pilot" & "Snowballs in Hawaii" |
| 1995 | Courthouse | Veronica Gilbert | Main cast |
| 1995 | The Puzzle Place | Herself | Episode: "Gotta Dance" |
| 1997 | Crisis Center | Lily Gannon | Main cast |
| 1997 | Early Edition | Sister Mary | Episode: "Angels and Devils" |
| 1998 | Real Life | Maya | Episode: "Unaired Pilot" |
| 1999–2001 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Sydney Cooke | Main cast: season 7-8 |
| 2002 | Where Are They Now? | Herself | Episode: "Dance" |
| 2004 | Andromeda | Rox Nava | Episode: "The Spider's Stratagem" |
| 2004 | The Division | Sandra Prestiss | Episode: "Zero Tolerance: Part 1 & 2" |
| 2005 | Barbershop | Det. Hahanna | Recurring cast |
| 2007–09 | The Young and the Restless | Karen Taylor | Regular cast |
| 2010–17 | Pretty Little Liars | Pam Fields | Main cast: season 1, recurring cast: season 2-4 & 6, guest: season 5 & 7 |
| 2013 | Celebrity Wife Swap | Herself | Episode: "Nia Peeples/Tiffany" |
| 2014 | Longmire | Adele Chapman | Episode: "Wanted Man" |
| 2016 | Unsung | Herself | Episode: "Howard Hewett" |
| 2017–18 | The Fosters | Susan Mullen | Recurring cast: Season 5 |
| 2020 | Pretty Little Wine Moms Re-Watch | Nia | Episode: "The Pilot" |
| 2020 | Homeward Bound: Surviving the Coronavirus | Nia | Episode: "Wet Suits, Mary Poppins and Pretty Little Wine Moms" |