Tisha Campbell

**Tisha Campbell** (born October 13, 1968) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and raised in New Jersey, she made her screen debut appearing in the 1986 rock musical comedy film *Little Shop of Horrors*, and later starred on the short-lived NBC musical comedy drama *Rags to Riches* (1987–1988). She is best known for her role as Gina Waters-Payne in the FOX comedy sitcom *Martin*.

## Life/Career

Born in Oklahoma City, OK, and raised in New Jersey, she attended Washington Academy of Music. Her mother, Mona (née Raye) Shockley (now known as Mona Washington), was a nurse, talent manager, gospel singer, and vocal coach. Her father, Clifton Campbell, was a factory worker and singer, and as a chess master, works with underprivileged children on both the east and west coast. Her parents encouraged her love for music.

Tisha has an older brother, three younger brothers, and a younger sister.

Tisha made her screen debut appearing in the 1986 rock musical comedy film *Little Shop of Horrors*, and later went to star on the short-lived NBC-TV musical comedy drama series *Rags to Riches* (1987–1988).

Campbell has appeared in films including School Daze (1988), *Rooftops* (1989), *Another 48 Hrs.* (1990), *Boomerang* (1992), and *Sprung* (1997). She received Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female nomination for her performance in the 1990 comedy film *House Party*, and later starred in its two sequels; *House Party 2* (1991), and *House Party 3* (1994).

On television, Campbell starred as Gina Waters-Payne in the Fox comedy series *Martin* from 1992 to 1997 and as Janet "Jay" Marie Johnson-Kyle in the ABC comedy series *My Wife and Kids* (2001–2005) opposite *Damon Wayans, Sr.*, for which she received NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series. She later had regular roles on *Rita Rocks* (Lifetime, 2008–2009), *The Protector* (Lifetime, 2011), and *Dr. Ken* starring comedian/actor ken Jeong (ABC, 2015–2017)

## Personal life

On August 17, 1996, Campbell married actor Duane Martin. The couple has two sons. In February 2018, Campbell-Martin filed for divorce after 22 years of marriage.

In November 1996, Campbell left the FOX series *Martin* during its final season, citing "intolerable" working conditions. In January 1997, Campbell filed a lawsuit against co-star Martin Lawrence on the counts of sexual harassment and abuse both on and off set. By April 1997, Campbell had settled the lawsuit, and returned to appear in the last two episodes of the series.

## References

1. ↑ A Brief History, Newark Arts High School. Archived from the original on April 19, 2008. Retrieved on August 10, 2008.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Tisha Campbell-Martin profile. *Internet Movie Database (IMDb.com)*. Retrieved on May 10, 2020.
3. ↑ Dr. Ken Series Premiere Date Announced. *ABC Go*. Archived from the original on September 4, 2015. Retrieved on May 10, 2020.
4. ↑ Happy 15th Anniversary To The Martins, simplytisha.com; accessed February 2, 2016.
5. ↑ Aiello, McKeena (February 22, 2018). Tisha Campbell-Martin Files for Divorce From Husband Duane Martin. NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group. Retrieved on May 10, 2020.
6. ↑ Tisha Campbell Files Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Martin Lawrence. Johnson Publishing Company (January 27, 1997). Retrieved on March 15, 2018.
7. ↑ Martin Lawternce Ends Sitcom, 'Martin', In Fifth Season. Johnson Publishing Company (April 28, 1997). Retrieved on March 15, 2018.

## External links

* Tisha Campbell-Martin at AllMovie
* Tisha Campbell article at *Wikipedia*