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 TV police drama "21 Jump Street", Vanessa Russell on the ABC sitcom "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper", and Dr. Malena Ellis on the NBC/WB sitcom "For Your Love". She also served as one of the original co-hosts of the CBS Daytime talk show, "The Talk". After graduating from high school, Peete entered Sarah Lawrence College in New York. She majored in Psychology and French. After she graduated in 1986, she  considered attending graduate school and perhaps working in languages for the U.S. State Department. However, she decided to give an acting career a chance. Within a short time, Peete found roles on a television series and in two films. Peete's children's book, "My Brother Charlie", won her an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in March 2011. In 2012 the book was awarded the Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award. In March 2016, a reality series debuted titled "For Peete's Sake", documenting the everyday life of her family. She is currently partnered with GreatCall as a  caregiver ambassador. Early life. Peete was born Holly Elizabeth Robinson in Mount Airy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Dolores and Matt Robinson (the original 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 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. In 1992, she portrayed Diana Ross in "". 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 1988 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". The series followed the lives of Peete and her husband Rodney as they juggle career choices with their family life. 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". They have four children: twins, daughter Ryan Elizabeth Peete and son Rodney Peete, Jr. (born October 17, 1997), and sons Robinson Peete (born August 11, 2002), and Roman Peete (born February 25, 2005). One of their twins, Rodney Jr., was diagnosed with autism at age  three. Robinson plays baseball for Sierra Canyon, the same school where Bronny James and Zaire Wade play basketball. 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 Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Holly Robinson