• African-American
• After 7
• Ahmad Chadway
• AllRovi
• Amputate
• Barber
• Barbershop (film)
• Beauty salon
• Billboard 200
• Box Office Mojo
• Brandon Hammond
• Cable television
• Chicago
• Coma
• Comedy-drama film
• Ensemble cast
• Ernest J. Gaines
• Faster (2010 film)
• Film director
• Fox 2000 Pictures
• George Tillman, Jr.
• Gina Ravera
• Grammy Awards
• Halle Berry
• HBO
• Hip hop music
• Hollywood
• In & Out
• Irma P. Hall
• Jada Pinkett-Smith
• Jeffrey D. Sams
• Jo-Jo Hailey
• Jodeci
• K-Ci & Jo-Jo
• K-Ci Hailey
• Kenny Chadway
• Kenya Moore
• Kevon Edmonds
• LaFace Records
• Lem Van Adams
• Llewellyn Wells
• Malik Yoba
• Maxine Chadway
• Mekhi Phifer
• Mel Jackson
• Melvin Edmonds
• Men of Honor
• Michael Beach
• Michael McQuarn
• MTV Movie Awards
• NAACP Image Award
• NAACP Image Awards
• New York Undercover
• Nia Long
• R&B;
• Regina King
• Robert Teitel
• Satellite Awards
• Screenwriter
• Soul food
• Soul Food (film)
• Soul Food The Series
• Stroke
• Television show
• Teri Joseph
• Tracey Edmonds
• TV One
• Vanessa A. Williams
• Vanessa L. Williams
• Vivica A. Fox
• Wendy Melvoin
• Whitney Houston
• 
  

• 
  Chicago
  Chicago (ⁱ/ʃɪˈkɑːɡoʊ/ or /ʃɪˈkɔːɡoʊ/) is the largest city in the US state of Illinois and the third most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. The city has around 2.7 million residents. Its metropolitan area, sometimes called "Chicagoland", is the third largest in the United States, with an estimated 9.8 million people. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County, though a small portion also extends into DuPage County.
  Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837, near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. Today, Chicago is listed as an alpha+ global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and ranks seventh in the world on the 2012 Global Cities Index. The city retains its status as an international hub for finance, industry, telecommunications and infrastructure, with O'Hare International Airport being the second busiest airport in the world in terms of traffic movements. In 2008^[update], the city hosted 45.6 million domestic and overseas visitors. Among metropolitan areas, Chicago has the 4th largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world, ranking just behind Tokyo, New York City, and Los Angeles. Chicago is one of the most important Worldwide Centers of Commerce and trade.
  
  wn.com/Chicago
• 
  Hollywood
  Hollywood is a district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema. Today, much of the movie industry has dispersed into surrounding areas such as the Westside neighborhood, and the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys, but significant auxiliary industries, such as editing, effects, props, post-production, and lighting companies remain in Hollywood, as does the backlot of Paramount Pictures.
  On February 16, 2005, California Assembly Members Jackie Goldberg and Paul Koretz introduced a bill to require California to keep specific records on Hollywood as if it were independent, although it is not the typical practice of the City of Los Angeles to establish specific boundaries for districts or neighborhoods. For this to be done, the boundaries were defined. The bill was unanimously supported by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the Los Angeles City Council. Assembly Bill 588 was approved by the Governor of California on August 28, 2006, and now the district of Hollywood has official borders. The border can be loosely described as the area east of West Hollywood, south of Mulholland Drive, Laurel Canyon, Cahuenga Boulevard, and Barham Boulevard, and the cities of Burbank and Glendale, north of Melrose Avenue and west of the Golden State Freeway and Hyperion Avenue. This includes all of Griffith Park and Los Feliz^{[citation needed]} – two areas that were hitherto considered separate from Hollywood by most Angelenos. The population of the district, including Los Feliz, as of the 2000 census was 123,436 and the median household income was $33,409 in 1999.
  
  wn.com/Hollywood

• 
  African-American
  African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans or Afro-Americans, and formerly as American Negroes) are citizens or residents of the United States that have ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa.
  African Americans make up the single largest racial minority in the United States. Most African Americans are of West and Central African descent and are descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States. However, some immigrants from African, Caribbean, Central American or South American nations, or their descendants, may be identified or self-identify with the term.
  African-American history starts in the 16th century with African slaves who quickly rose up against the Spanish explorer Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón and progresses to the present day, with Barack Obama as the 44th and current President of the United States. Between those landmarks there have been events and issues, both resolved and ongoing, including slavery, racism, Reconstruction, development of the African-American community, participation in the great military conflicts of the United States, racial segregation, and the Civil Rights Movement.
  
  wn.com/African-American
• Ahmad Chadway
  Ahmad Chadway is a fictional character from the Showtime television series Soul Food. He first appeared as the narrator and central character of the 1997 film Soul Food. Originally, he was named Ahmad Simmons, and was portrayed by Brandon Hammond. In the television series, the surname was changed to Chadway, and the role was assumed by Aaron Meeks.
  A lifelong resident of Chicago, Illinois, Ahmad is the oldest child of Kenny Chadway and Maxine Chadway. At the time of Ahmad's birth, Kenny and Maxine were not married to each other, and had barely finished high school. The couple soon married and eventually had a total of five children: Ahmad, Kelly (Taylor Love), Brooke, and a set of twins.
  Even as a pre-teen, Ahmad demonstrated a level of maturity beyond his years. He shared a special relationship with his widowed grandmother Josephine Joseph (Irma P. Hall), whom he referred to as "Big Mama". Her illness and subsequent death (due to diabetes) led to a rift between Ahmad's mother Maxine and her sister Teri, disrupting the decades-long tradition of Sunday dinner being held at Big Mama's house. When the family seemed on the verge of drifting apart permanently, Ahmad manipulated his adult relatives into arriving for dinner one Sunday at Big Mama's home (now occupied by his aunt "Bird" and her husband Lem), which resulted in reconciliation and forgiveness.
  
  wn.com/Ahmad_Chadway
• Brandon Hammond
  Brandon Hammond (born February 6, 1984) is an American former child actor who appeared in a string of high profile projects in the 1990s.
  Hammond's first film role was in Menace II Society where he played the younger version of the main character Caine. He followed this up with major roles in Strange Days, Waiting to Exhale, The Fan and Mars Attacks!, usually playing the son of one of the main characters. He also appeared in Space Jam playing Michael Jordan as a child. His most well-known role is that of Ahmad in the hit film Soul Food. He had a recurring role on the TV series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman as Anthony. He simultaneously starred in the short-lived sitcom The Gregory Hines Show as Hines' son.
  His last role to date was in the 2002 Showtime film Our America. He has not appeared in any feature film or television roles since turning 18.
  
  wn.com/Brandon_Hammond
• Ernest J. Gaines
  Ernest James Gaines (born January 15, 1933) is an African-American author. His works have been taught in college classrooms and translated into many languages, including French, Spanish, German, Russian and Chinese. Four of his works have been made into television movies.
  His 1993 novel, A Lesson Before Dying, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. Gaines has been a MacArthur Foundation fellow, awarded the National Humanities Medal, and inducted into the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) as a Chevalier.
  Gaines was among the fifth generation of his sharecropper family to be born on the plantation in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana. This became the setting and premise for many of his later works. He was the oldest of 12 children, raised by his aunt, who was crippled and had to crawl to get around the house. Although born generations after the end of slavery, Gaines grew up impoverished, in old slave quarters on the plantation.
  Gaines' first years of school took place in the plantation church. When the children were not picking cotton in the fields, a visiting teacher came for five to six months of the year to provide basic education. Gaines then spent three years at St. Augustine School, a Catholic school for African Americans in New Roads. Pointe Coupée Parish schooling for African-American children did not continue beyond the eighth grade during this time.
  
  wn.com/Ernest_J._Gaines
• George Tillman, Jr.
  {George Tillman, Jr. (born January 26, 1969) is an American film producer, writer, and director.
  Tillman is most notable for directing the films Soul Food (1997) and Men of Honor (2000). He is also the producer of the Soul Food: The Series on television and the three films in the Barbershop series: Barbershop, Barbershop 2: Back in Business, and Beauty Shop. He also directed the 2009 biopic Notorious about the New York-born rapper Notorious B.I.G..
  Tillman was nominated for the Black Film Award for Best Director for Soul Food (1997). Tillman was also nominated for the Black Reel Award for Best Director and Best Screenplay for Notorious (2009).
  Tillman was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His father, George Tillman, worked at the American Motors plant in Kenosha, Wisconsin and his mother worked as a secretary. Throughout his early childhood, Tillman would borrow his father’s 8mm camera and would start to shoot things with Milwaukee’s Public-access television cable TV channel. By age eight, Tillman got his hands on his very first television script, All My Children, and wrote his first soap opera as well as his first five-minute show. Tillman recalled, years later, to a interviewer in regards to receiving the All My Children’s script," I told them about a certain plot change that I wanted and I thought I could help the characters out…That was the beginning for me, the writing."
  
  wn.com/George_Tillman,_Jr.
• Gina Ravera
  Gina Ravera (born May 20, 1966) is an American actress from San Francisco, California. She is best known for the role of Irene Daniels during the first four seasons of the Emmy Award winning TNT crime drama The Closer, and was the only regular cast member to leave the series during its run.
  She is of African-American and Puerto Rican descent.
  She is a classically trained dancer.
  Ravera was part of the main cast of Time of Your Life, a spin-off series of Fox's popular hit teen drama Party of Five. The cast was headed by Jennifer Love Hewitt and other notable main cast members included Jennifer Garner and Pauley Perrette before they gained recognition for their own hit television shows Alias and NCIS respectively.
  Her acting credits include Soul Food, The Closer, ER, and The Great Debaters.
  
  wn.com/Gina_Ravera
• 
  Halle Berry
  Halle Berry ( /ˈhæli ˈbɛri/; born August 14, 1966) is an American actress and a former fashion model. Berry received an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and an NAACP Image Award for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming the first and, as of 2012, only woman of African American descent to have won the award for Best Actress. She is one of the most highly paid actresses in Hollywood and also a Revlon spokesmodel. She has been involved in the production side of several of the films in which she performed.
  Before becoming an actress, Berry entered several beauty contests, finishing as the 1st runner-up in the Miss USA Pageant (1986), and coming in 6th place in the Miss World Pageant in 1986. She made her film debut with a small role in 1991's Jungle Fever. This led to starring roles in The Flintstones (1994), Bulworth (1998), X-Men (2000) and its sequels, and as Bond Girl Jinx in Die Another Day (2002). She also won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress in 2005 for Catwoman and accepted the award in person—one of the few performers to do so.
  
  wn.com/Halle_Berry
• Irma P. Hall
  Irma P. Hall (born June 3, 1935) is an African American actress who has appeared in numerous films and television shows since the 1970s. She is best known for playing matriarchal figures in the films A Family Thing, Soul Food and The Ladykillers.
  Hall's first acting role was in an independent film called Book of Numbers at the age of 38. Hall had been a teacher of languages for almost 20 years in Dallas, Texas when actor/director Raymond St. Jacques saw her performing at a poetry reading. He liked her so much he offered her a role in his film on the spot. Hall discovered a love for acting and soon founded a repertory theatre in Dallas.
  Hall's personality and age made her a natural to be cast as middle-aged, strong authority figures. She worked steadily in films and TV throughout the 1980s. But it was not until her role as the loving Aunt T. in 1996's A Family Thing when critics and audiences began to take notice of her talents. She won the Chicago Film Critics Association Award and the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress. The success of that film helped launch Hall's career as a major supporting actor in the late-90's and early 2000s. Sizable roles in major films such as Nothing to Lose and Steel followed. Hall then landed the role as Big Mama Joseph in the film Soul Food. The film was a hit at the box-office, prompting a television spin-off, Soul Food: The Series, in which Hall reprised her role.
  
  wn.com/Irma_P._Hall
• Jeffrey D. Sams
  Jeffrey D. Sams (born September 1, 1966 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American actor known primarily for his television work.
  A native of Ohio, Sams has been a main cast member of several television series, few of which have made it past their first season. These include Line of Fire, Medicine Ball (TV series), and Rob Thomas's Cupid.
  Sams has had recurring roles on television series such as Strong Medicine, Law & Order and CSI. He appeared on Broadway in the 1992 musical Five Guys Named Moe, and in the 1997 motion picture Soul Food.
  As of 2005, Sams had a recurring role on Rob Thomas's Veronica Mars as a baseball player named Terrence Cook. His Cupid co-star Paula Marshall previously had a recurring role on the show, and Thomas has stated that - at some point - he would like to reunite Marshall, Sams, and their Cupid co-star Jeremy Piven on Veronica Mars.
  He also provided the English voice of Amazigh/Barbaroi in the mech action game Armored Core 4.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Jeffrey_D._Sams
• Kenny Chadway
  Kenneth "Kenny" Chadway is a fictional character from the Showtime television series Soul Food. The character first appeared in the 1997 film Soul Food as Kenny Simmons, and was portrayed by Jeffrey D. Sams. In the television series, the surname was changed to Chadway, the role was assumed by Rockmond Dunbar.
  A lifelong resident of Chicago, Kenny is the oldest of two sons born to Benjamin (Obba Babatundé) and Vivian Chadway in 1970. When Kenny was still a child, his parents divorced. Since neither parent could afford to raise both sons alone, Kenny stayed with his father, while his younger brother Kelvin (Hill Harper) was raised by his mother. In high school, Kenny was a standout football player. While dating Teri Joseph (Vanessa L. Williams, Nicole Ari Parker), he was also secretly seeing her younger sister Maxine (Vivica A. Fox, Vanessa A. Williams). Teri's discovery of the relationship led to years of friction between the two women. After Maxine became pregnant in high school with her oldest child Ahmad (Brandon Hammond, Aaron Meeks), she and Kenny were married. Eventually, they had four additional children: Kelly (Taylor Love), Brooke, and a set of twins.
  
  wn.com/Kenny_Chadway
• Kenya Moore
  Kenya Summer Moore (born January 24, 1971) is an American film and television actress, producer, beauty queen, model and author.
  She is recognizable for her roles in movies such as Waiting to Exhale, Deliver Us from Eva and the 2007 Lindsay Lohan thriller I Know Who Killed Me. One of her best acting roles came in the independent film Trois which also starred Gretchen Palmer and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation star Gary Dourdan. Trois went on to become one of the highest grossing African-American films of 2000. She has appeared on the cover of several major magazines, including Glamour, Seventeen, Ebony and Essence.
  Kenya has also been featured in several music videos, including R&B group Shai's "I Don't Wanna Be Alone", rapper Nas' "Street Dreams" and the Jay-Z & Jermaine Dupri Grammy-nominated hit "Money Ain't a Thang".
  She founded the Kenya Moore Foundation which awards scholarships to under-privileged girls from her high school alma-mater. In 2007, she released her first book Game, Get Some!, that coaches men on how to get the woman of their dreams as she reveals the secrets of what women really desire from men.
  
  wn.com/Kenya_Moore
• Kevon Edmonds
  Kevon Edmonds is a singer and actor and is the older brother of famous producer/songwriter/singer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. He's the 4th of 6 boys. Growing up, Kevon shied away from the church choir, preferring to sing for his own satisfaction. It was only during his teenage years that he joined his friends in the junior high and high school choirs.
  Edmonds went to Indiana University where he began to further expand his musical ambitions. Taking I.U. Soul Revue, an extensive course in music theory, performing and the business, Edmonds began to see music as a real career. Pursuing this idea, he started the group After 7 with his brother, Melvin Edmonds, and his classmate in Soul Revue, Keith Mitchell.
  The group did shows in local clubs, but on graduation went on to standard 9-5 jobs. However, brother Kenneth was moving up the ladder with L.A. Reid and when they signed a deal with Virgin Records, one of the acts they brought up was their relatives in After 7.
  As a member of After 7, Kevon had some huge successes, earning a platinum album as well as several gold singles. They continued to tour the country and established themselves as one of R&B's top performing groups. After their 1995 album, Reflections, After 7 left Virgin Records due to frustrations with the label. The departure from Virgin Records allowed the members to pursue their own personal projects and over time, saw the group separate.
  
  wn.com/Kevon_Edmonds
• Lem Van Adams
  Lem Van Adams is a fictional character from the Showtime television series Soul Food. The character first appeared in the 1997 film Soul Food as Lem Harris, and was portrayed by Mekhi Phifer. In the television series, the surname was changed to Van Adams, the role was assumed by Darrin Dewitt Henson.
  A lifelong resident of Chicago, Lem is the only son of Lynette Van Adams (Debbi Morgan) and a man named Lemuel (who may or may not have been Lynette's husband). Although the couple originally named their son after Lemuel, Lynette legally changed the boy's name to "Lem" after the relationship soured. Lem was raised in an impoverished environment, and was exposed to many adult situations at a young age, including the reality of his mother's multiple relationships with men. In fact, most of Lem's family members were negative influences, with the notable exception of his cousin Jack (Gary Dourdan). Eventually, Lem became a drug dealer, working primarily with a man nicknamed "Philky" (Treach). After several arrests, he was convicted on felony drug charges and sent to prison for five years. Upon his release, he resolved to live as a law-abiding citizen. Soon, he fell in love with hair stylist Tracy "Bird" Joseph who was named Robin Joseph in the 1997 film Soul Food. (Nia Long, Malinda Williams). The two were married, and moved in with Bird's mother Josephine, and Josephine's senile brother Pete (John M. Watson Sr., Ardon Bess). The couple remained in the house after Josephine's death, and Pete eventually returned to his hometown of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Lem was born in 1976.
  
  wn.com/Lem_Van_Adams
• 
  Malik Yoba
  Abdul-Malik Kashie Yoba (born September 17, 1967), better known by his stage name Malik Yoba, is an American actor and occasional singer. He is perhaps best known for his starring role as NYPD Detective J.C. Williams on the FOX police drama series New York Undercover or as Yul Brenner in Cool Runnings. Currently, he appears as former FBI Special Agent Bill Harken on the Syfy drama series Alphas.
  Brother : Dmitry Malik. The fourth of six children (one of his brothers is famous singer Na Nah Yobta), Yoba was born in Bronx, New York, the son of Mahmoudah Young (née Lanier) and Abdullah Yoba. Yoba, who is African American, was raised as a Muslim. He is divorced from Cat Wilson, a model and actress, and has three children from previous relationships.
  In 1994, Yoba began his role as NYPD Detective J.C. Williams on the popular FOX police drama series New York Undercover, opposite fellow actor Michael DeLorenzo. Yoba and DeLorenzo (who is of Puerto Rican descent) made television history, as the series was the first police drama on American television to feature two people of color in the starring roles. Yoba's work on New York Undercover earned him three consecutive NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series (in 1996, 1997, and 1998). The series was cancelled in 1998, with Yoba as the only actor to appear in all 89 episodes.
  
  wn.com/Malik_Yoba
• Maxine Chadway
  Maxine Joseph Chadway is a fictional character from the Showtime television series Soul Food. The character first appeared in the 1997 film Soul Food as Maxine Joseph Simmons, and was portrayed by Vivica A. Fox. In the television series, the surname was changed to Chadway, and the role was assumed by Vanessa A. Williams.
  A lifelong resident of Chicago, Maxine is the second of three daughters born to Jeremiah and Josephine Joseph. In high school, she secretly dated school football player Kenny Chadway (Jeffrey D. Sams, Rockmond Dunbar), the boyfriend of her older sister Teri (Vanessa L. Williams, Nicole Ari Parker). Teri's discovery of the relationship led to years of friction between the two women. However, Kenny and Maxine were eventually married and had five children: Ahmad (Brandon Hammond, Aaron Meeks), Kelly (Taylor Love), Brooke, and a set of twins.
  
  wn.com/Maxine_Chadway
• 
  Mekhi Phifer
  Mekhi Thira Phifer ( /mɛˌkaɪ ˈfaɪfər/; born December 29, 1974) is an American actor. He portrayed Dr. Greg Pratt on NBC's long-running medical drama ER and had a co-starring role opposite Eminem in the feature film 8 Mile. He was a regular on the Fox crime show Lie to Me in the role of Ben Reynolds, before season 3, and also starred as CIA agent Rex Matheson in Torchwood: Miracle Day.
  Phifer was born in Harlem, New York City, the son of Rhoda Phifer, a high school teacher from Somalia; he grew up in a single-parent household with his mother.
  In 1995, Phifer attended an open casting call for director Spike Lee’s Clockers, beating over a thousand others to get the lead role as a narcotics dealer embroiled in a murder cover-up. He followed that role with another in the comedy spoof feature High School High (which also starred his former wife Malinda Williams) and continued by co-starring in the fright flick I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze, Jr.
  
  wn.com/Mekhi_Phifer
• Mel Jackson
  
  
  Melton Jackson (born on October 13, 1970, in Chicago, Illinois,U.S.) is an African-American actor,producer, spoken word artist and R&B musician.
  Film
  
  Jackson made his first big screen appearance in the 1997 film Soul Food, and since has appeared in films such as Deliver Us From Eva, The Temptations, Uninvited Guest, Motives and Flip the Script.
  Television
  His dulcet tenor voice and suave appeal landed him a continuing featured role on Living Single, where he played "Tripp" during the hit sitcom's final year. And he also played "Johnnie" on The Parkers in the final season's run.
  Taking the Stage
  In 2003 he accompanied platinum recording Canadian chanteuse Deborah Cox to starred in a stage play Love On Lay-Away, written by David E. Talbert whom offers a fly-on-the-wall look at the lives of three very different couples. In the play Jackson stars in the role of Anthony a witty salesman whose ability to commit falls short. He also appeared in the 2005 hit stage play Friends and Lovers based on the bestselling Eric Jerome Dickey novel, playing the role of Richard. Another notable role he played was in Issue's: We've all got 'em (2006).
  
  wn.com/Mel_Jackson
• Michael Beach
  Michael Anthony Beach (born October 30, 1963) is an American actor.
  Beach was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, of Cape Verdean descent. He attended the prestigious Noble & Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts on scholarship from ABC (A Better Chance). He was introduced to acting when he was sidelined by a lacrosse injury during high school by a classmate. After high school he went on to graduate from New York City's Juilliard School, and performed in many off-Broadway and regional theater plays before starring in Los Angeles theater productions of Ascension Day and Much Ado About Nothing, and eventually breaking into film and television.
  He is perhaps best known for portraying FDNY paramedic Monte 'Doc' Parker on the NBC drama Third Watch, and for his recurring role as Al Boulet, the ex-husband of physician assistant Jeanie Boulet on the NBC medical drama ER. More recently, he has been known for his recurring role as Colonel Ellis in Stargate Atlantis.
  A divorced father of four, Beach resides in Los Angeles with his wife, actress Elisha Wilson-Beach.
  
  wn.com/Michael_Beach
• 
  Nia Long
  Nia Talita Long (born October 30, 1970) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Third Watch, and the films Boyz n the Hood, Boiler Room, Soul Food, Love Jones, The Best Man, Big Momma's House, and Are We There Yet?.
  Long was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Talita, a teacher and printmaker, and Doughtry "Doc" Long, a high school teacher and poet. Her family is of Afro-Trinidadian descent. Her name, Nia, is one of the seven days of Kwanzaa, which means purpose in Swahili. Long was only two years old when her parents were divorced. She moved to Iowa City, Iowa, where her mother studied fine arts. Long subsequently moved to a South Los Angeles neighborhood when she was seven year old, where her mother was supposed to get married. The wedding was called off, but Talita had fallen in love with L.A. and they stayed. Long's father currently resides in Trenton, New Jersey. Long's half-sister is comedienne Sommore, one of the stars of The Queens of Comedy.
  
  wn.com/Nia_Long
• 
  Regina King
  Regina King (born January 15, 1971) is an American film and television actress. She is known for her role as Mary Jenkins's (played by Marla Gibbs) studious daughter, Brenda Jenkins, on the 1980s sitcom, 227, and for her critically acclaimed supporting role in the feature film Jerry Maguire. She is also known for voicing the lead characters of the animated series The Boondocks.
  King is currently starring in the television series Southland in the role of Lydia Adams.
  King was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Gloria, a special education teacher, and Thomas King, an electrician. The two divorced in 1979. She is the older sister of actress Reina King. Regina and Reina mean "queen" in Italian/Latin and Spanish, respectively. King attended Westchester High School and the University of Southern California.
  King began her acting career in 1985 in the role of Marla Gibbs' daughter Brenda on the television series 227, a role she played until 1990. She went on to appear in the John Singleton films Boyz n the Hood, Poetic Justice and Higher Learning. In 1995, she was featured in the hit comedy Friday. In 1996, she gained fame starring in the blockbuster romantic comedy Jerry Maguire, with Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding, Jr. This film brought King mainstream recognition in her role as Marcee Tidwell, the wife of Cuba Gooding Jr.’s character.
  
  wn.com/Regina_King
• 
  Robert Teitel
  Robert Teitel is an American film producer.
  Teitel is most notable for producing the films Soul Food (1997), Men of Honor (2000), and the three films in the Barbershop series: Barbersop, Barbershop 2: Back in Business, and Beauty Shop. He is also co-producer of the television series Barbershop: The Series.
  He is a 1990 graduate of Columbia College Chicago. He has been associated with writer/director George Tillman, Jr. since they were students together at Columbia College.
  He recently announced that he will begin filming a documentary in Chicago on Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias while at a group gathering at the home of real estate financier Sean J. Conlon.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Robert_Teitel
• Teri Joseph
  Teri Joseph Carter is a fictional character from the Showtime television series Soul Food. The character first appeared in the 1997 film Soul Food, and was portrayed by Vanessa L. Williams. In the television series, the role was assumed by Nicole Ari Parker.
  A lifelong resident of Chicago, Teri is the oldest of three daughters born to Jeremiah and Josephine Joseph. As a teenager, she briefly dated high school football player Kenny Chadway (Jeffrey D. Sams, Rockmond Dunbar). Soon, Kenny cheated on Teri with her sister Maxine (Vivica A. Fox, Vanessa A. Williams), leading to years of friction between the two women. However, Kenny and Maxine were eventually married and became the parents of five children.
  Teri graduated from Northwestern University School of Law and became a labor attorney with the prestigious Chicago law firm, Greene Norris and Associates. She married rising NFL star Russell Banks (Michael Jai White), but the union ended in divorce, with the well-to-do Teri paying alimony to Russell (which he voluntarily repaid years later). She later married fellow attorney Miles Jenkins (Michael Beach, Isaiah Washington). A highly-driven career woman, Teri could not understand when Miles left his job to pursue a career as a professional musician as the leader of the R&B group Milestone. Miles had a sexual encounter with Teri's estranged cousin Faith Hunter (Gina Ravera, Lisa Branch), an aspiring dancer who shared his love of the arts. Even though it only occurred once, Teri caught the couple in the act, leading to her second divorce.
  
  wn.com/Teri_Joseph
• Tracey Edmonds
  Tracey Edmonds (née Tracey Elaine McQuarn born February 18, 1967; Los Angeles, California) is the CEO of Edmonds Entertainment Group Inc and COO of Our Stories Films.
  Edmonds graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Psychobiology in 1987.
  Tracey Edmonds, a 20-year veteran of the entertainment industry, has established herself as an award-winning producer, savvy business mogul and accomplished studio executive. She has created and produced groundbreaking projects for television, music and film, both independently and with major studios. She currently serves as COO and President of Our Stories Films where she oversees the development and production of projects for urban audiences, and she also serves as the CEO of her own production company, Edmonds Entertainment. In 2011, Our Stories Films, created by BET Founder Robert L Johnson, released its latest film, Jumping the Broom, which was directed by Salim Akil. The hit film, which starred Angela Bassett, Paula Patton, Laz Alonso, Loretta Devine and Julie Bowen, recently received 3 NAACP Awards. Prior to that, Edmonds produced the 2009 romantic comedy, New In Town starring Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr. In 2007, she also released Good Luck Chuck for Lionsgate, starring Jessica Alba and Dane Cook.
  
  wn.com/Tracey_Edmonds
• Vanessa A. Williams
  Vanessa A. Williams (born May 12, 1963) is an American actress who has appeared in numerous television shows. She best known for her roles as Rhonda Blair in Melrose Place and as Maxine Chadway on the Showtime cable television series Soul Food. In 1996, she was also a series regular in the television series Murder One. In 1988, she appeared in the music video for "Parents Just Don't Understand" sung by rap duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince.
  Williams was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1993, Williams met Andre Wiseman. The couple began dating and then got married in Stuyvesant, New York. In 2007, Wiseman and Williams filed for divorce. Williams married her former Melrose Place costar John Marshall Jones in 2007. The couple has three children; daughter Andrea Wiseman (from Williams's marriage to Andre Wiseman), son John Marshall Jones, Jr., and another son William Jones.
  While not related, she is sometimes confused with singer-actress Vanessa L. Williams, who starred in the original film version of Soul Food. She had her DNA tested and discovered that she descended from the Tikar and Bamileke ethnic groups from Cameroon.^{[citation needed]}
  
  wn.com/Vanessa_A._Williams
• 
  Vanessa L. Williams
  Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American pop-R&B recording artist, producer, dancer, model and actress. In 1983, she became the first woman of African-American descent to be crowned Miss America, but a scandal arose when Penthouse magazine bought and published nude photographs of her. She relinquished her title early and was succeeded by the first runner-up, Suzette Charles of New Jersey – who was also African-American. Williams rebounded by launching a career as an entertainer, earning multiple Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award nominations.
  Williams released her debut album The Right Stuff in 1988, which spawned the hits "The Right Stuff", a #1 on Hot Dance Songs, and "Dreamin'" a #1 on R&B and #8 on Billboard Hot 100. Her second studio album The Comfort Zone in 1991 topped the Billboard R&B Album Chart, which spawned the Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit "Save the Best for Last". In 1994 she debuted on Broadway in the musical Kiss of the Spider Woman. In 1995 she recorded "Colors of the Wind", the Oscar-winner for Best Original Song from the Disney animated feature film Pocahontas, which reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
  
  wn.com/Vanessa_L._Williams
• Wendy Melvoin
  Wendy Melvoin (born January 26, 1964) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band The Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy & Lisa.
  Shortly after the completion of Prince and The Revolution's Parade project, Coleman and Melvoin left The Revolution, and started their own musical duo, Wendy & Lisa (also known as Girl Bros).
  Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman composed music for the first season of TV series Heroes. In September 2008, they announced that they would be releasing an album consisting entirely of the score from Heroes, entitled Heroes: Original Score. The duo are currently working on the American version of Prime Suspect starring Maria Bello.
  Melvoin also contributed guitars to Madonna's 2008 album Hard Candy on the song "She's Not Me" and is mentioned by name during the song. She contributed heavily to Neil Finn's second solo album One Nil, co-writing many tracks and playing drums and bass on several. She is credited for guitar work on most of the tracks on Rob Thomas' first solo album, ...Something to Be.
  
  wn.com/Wendy_Melvoin
• 
  Whitney Houston
  Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American recording artist, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the most-awarded female act of all-time. Houston was one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. She released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts, as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I Know", influenced several African American female artists to follow in her footsteps.
  Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits. She is the second artist behind Elton John and the only female artist to have two number-one Billboard 200 Album awards (formerly "Top Pop Album") on the Billboard magazine year-end charts. Houston's 1985 debut album Whitney Houston became the best-selling debut album by a female act at the time of its release. The album was named Rolling Stone's best album of 1986, and was ranked at number 254 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Her second studio album Whitney (1987) became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
  
  wn.com/Whitney_Houston

Soul Food (1997)

"Soul Food (1997)" Actors

• Vanessa L. Williams
• Vivica A. Fox
• Nia Long
• Michael Beach
• Mekhi Phifer
• Brandon Hammond
• Jeffrey D. Sams
• Gina Ravera
• Irma P. Hall
• Carl Wright
• Mel Jackson
• Morgan Méchelle Smith
• John M. Watson Sr.
• M.t. Alexander
• Lawrence Petty

"Soul Food (1997)" Director

• George Tillman Jr.