Tia Mowry

Tia Dashon Mowry-Hardrict (/ˈtiːə ˈmɔːri/; born July 6, 1978) is an American actress and model. She first gained fame for her teen role as Tia Landry on the ABC/The WB sitcom Sister, Sister (opposite her identical twin sister Tamera Mowry). From 2006 until 2012, she portrayed medical student Melanie Barnett on The CW/BET comedy-drama series The Game. She is also notable for starring in the television movie Twitches and its sequel Twitches Too. Mowry has portrayed Sasha in Bratz and Sashabella in Bratzillaz. From September 2013 to 2015, Mowry starred in Nickelodeon's Nick at Nite and TV Land comedy sitcom Instant Mom.

Tia Mowry and her sister Tamera were in a singing group in the early 1990s called Voices. The group debuted their first single "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!" in 1992.

Family and early life

Mowry was born in Gelnhausen in West Germany. Her mother, Darlene Renée Mowry (née Flowers), managed her children's careers when they were in the group Voices, and also worked as a security guard. Her father, Timothy John Mowry, was in the U.S. Army at the time of her birth, and later became a custody officer/jailer with the City of Glendale Police Department, when the family moved to California.^[1][2][3]

Her father, who is white, has English ancestry, and her mother is of Afro-Bahamian descent.^[4] Her parents met in high school, in Miami, Florida. Both joined the U.S. Army, and both would eventually reach the rank of Sergeant.^[5] Her family is "close-knit" and "very spiritual",^[2] as the sisters became born-again Christians when they were eight.^[6]

Tia is two minutes younger than her twin sister, Tamera.^[7] Tamera was born first, at 4:30pm, followed by Tia at 4:32pm. She also has two younger brothers, actor Tahj Mowry and Tavior Mowry, who plays college football for University of California, Davis.

Career

Mowry and her sister began entering pageants and talent shows while their family was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. At age 12, they convinced their mother to move to California with them so they could pursue acting. She agreed, on the condition that they land an acting job within the first month of their stay. In 1990, their family moved to California permanently, settling in Los Angeles, and she and her sister began appearing in commercials and small roles.

She is well known for playing Tia Landry, a twin separated at birth and reunited with her sister as a teenager in the show Sister, Sister. The series was developed for them after a producer spotted them on the set of Full House, a show on which their brother made regular appearances. Sister, Sister was initially on ABC but was cancelled by the network after two years and picked up by The WB, where it ran for another four years. During its run, they appeared on an episode of their brother Tahj Mowry's show Smart Guy. They also did voice-over work for the Kids' WB cartoon series Detention.

After the show ended, both Mowry and her sister studied psychology at Pepperdine University. She also went to Europe to study humanities and Italian for a period.^[8] Both she and her sister appeared in the Rob Schneider comedy film The Hot Chick, playing cheerleaders. Mowry also did voiceovers for the Bratz cartoon series as the voice of Sasha. In 2005, Mowry and her sister both starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Twitches and reprised their roles in its sequel, Twitches Too and before co-starred in the 2000 movie Seventeen Again. Tia also appeared on an episode of her sister's television show, Strong Medicine, in January 2006, playing the role of Keisha, the twin sister of Tamera Mowry's character, Dr. Kayla Thornton. Mowry has a starring role in the BET television series The Game as Melanie Barnett. Mowry has been nominated for a Teen Choice Award and a NAACP Image Awards for best actress in a comedy.

In the Blue's Clues episode "Blue's Birthday", Mowry and her sister make a cameo appearance as two of the celebrities wishing Blue a happy birthday. Their only line is said in unison: "Happy Birthday, Blue!"

Beginning in July 2011, the Style Network began airing Tia & Tamera, a reality show which follows the day-to-day lives of the twins; Tia being pregnant and Tamera planning her wedding.

Mowry and her sister are both singers. They have showcased their vocal abilities on episodes of Sister Sister, including covers of "You Can't Hurry Love", "Amazing Grace" and "I'm Going Down", which Tamera performed. They also sang the theme song during season five and six.

In May 2012, Mowry published her first book, Oh, Baby: Pregnancy Tales and Advice from One Hot Mama to Another, about her pregnancy and being a working mother.^[9] In May 2012, Mowry stated via her Twitter account that she would not be returning to The Game, for a sixth season. In August 2013 it was announced that she was cast in the lead role in a new Nick at Nite comedy series Instant Mom alongside Michael Boatman and Sheryl Lee Ralph.

In 2015, Mowry starred in the Cooking Channel series Tia Mowry at Home.^[10]

In 2016, Mowry started a podcast on PodcastOne called Mostly Mom with Tia Mowry.^[11]

On April 29, 2016, she appeared and reunited with her twin sister on the daytime talk show The Real which she promoted her new book Twintution.

Personal life

Mowry met actor Cory Hardrict on the set of a movie they filmed together. They dated for six years; became engaged on Christmas 2006,^[12] and married on April 20, 2008 in California.^[13] On January 11, 2011, People announced that Mowry and Hardrict were expecting their first child; Mowry made the announcement herself on 106 & Park. The pregnancy was documented on the show Tia & Tamera featuring her sister, Tamera Mowry, on the Style Network.^[14] The couple welcomed their first child, a son, Cree Taylor Hardrict, on June 28, 2011.^[15][16][17]

Mowry is the head coach of the Entertainment Basketball League celebrity team. She coaches the Atlanta team whose players include her husband, Cory Hardrict, and ex co-star, Pooch Hall.^[18] She recently coached at the battle of the sexes game in Chicago against the Sky of the WNBA.^[19]

Mowry became vegan as a New Year's resolution. She says, "I heard such great things about it. I’m absolutely enjoying it."^[20] She attributes fellow actress Alicia Silverstone's book "The Kind Diet" for helping her with the change. Mowry also posed for a PETA campaign promoting veganism.^[21]

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

NAACP Image Awards

• 1996: Nominated – Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress for Sister, Sister (shared with Tamera Mowry)
• 1999: Won – Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for Sister, Sister (shared with Tamera Mowry)
• 2000: Won – Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for Sister, Sister (shared with Tamera Mowry)
• 2008: Nominated – Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for The Game
• 2009: Nominated – Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for The Game
• 2011: Nominated – Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special for Double Wedding
• 2012: Nominated – Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for The Game
• 2013: Nominated – Outstanding Reality Series for Tia & Tamera

Teen Choice Awards

• 2007: Nominated – Choice TV Actress: Comedy for The Game
• 2012: Nominated – Choice Reality Show for Tia & Tamera (shared with Tamera Mowry)
• 2012: Nominated – Choice Female Reality Star for Tia & Tamera (shared with Tamera Mowry)

People's Choice Awards

• 2012: Nominated – Best Reality Star for Tia & Tamera (shared with Tamera Mowry)

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards

• 1995 – Won – Favorite Television Actress for Sister, Sister (shared with Tamera Mowry)
• 1996 – Won – Favorite Television Actress for Sister, Sister (shared with Tamera Mowry)
• 1997 – Won – Favorite Television Actress for Sister, Sister (shared with Tamera Mowry)
• 1998 – Nominated – Favorite Television Actress for Sister, Sister (shared with Tamera Mowry)
• 1998 – Won – Hall of Fame Award (shared with Tamera Mowry)

Young Artist Awards

• 1995 – Nominated – Best Youth Comedienne in a TV Show for Sister, Sister (shared with Tamera Mowry)
• 1996 – Nominated – Best Performance by a Young Actress – TV Comedy Series for Sister, Sister (shared with Tamera Mowry)
• 1997 – Nominated – Best Performance in a TV Comedy – Leading Young Actress for Sister, Sister (shared with Tamera Mowry)
• 2001 – Nominated – Best Performance in a TV Movie (Comedy) – Leading Young Actress for Seventeen Again (shared with Tamera Mowry)

References

External links

• Tia Mowry at the Internet Movie Database
• Tia Mowry on Twitter
  
• Tia Mowry
• Tia & Tamera's Official Website
• Interview with TheStarScoop, January 2007
• Tia Mowry cast bio on The CW
• Christianity Today interview
• http://assets-s3.usmagazine.com/uploads/assets/article_photos/Tia-Mowry-lg02.jpg