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| For years, Lela Rochon Fuqua sought to attain big fame and true love. Happily, the talented actress is no longer waiting to achieve her dreams � she got married in 1999. Another new arrival: her role as an ambitious cop in Lifetime's newest original drama series, "The Division." Rochon Fuqua has never been a shrinking violet. "Rochon," as she was known to friends, was a popular student leader, athlete and cheerleader in high school. While preparing for a local talent show, the dynamic young woman won the heart of an up-and-coming choreographer whose stage name was Shabba Doo. In 1984, the year she graduated from high school, Rochon Fuqua tied the knot with Shabba Doo, despite the protests of her friends and family. Shabba Doo began casting his bride in his music videos, including Lionel Richie's "All Night Long" and a few by Luther Vandross. The couple appeared side by side in the movies "Breakin'" and "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo." Rochon Fuqua also became involved with a theater company run by actress Marla Gibbs, where she gained an appreciation for the discipline of stage acting. But Rochon Fuqua's increasing success as a performer in her own right didn't sit well with her husband. Three years after saying "I do," the couple divorced. Thankfully, Rochon Fuqua's career was better than her love life. Between 1984 and 1986, she appeared in more than 20 commercials, earning enough to put herself through college. In 1986, she graduated from California State University with a degree in journalism. She also made her feature film debut in "Foxtrap" and appeared on TV shows, including "21 Jump Street" and "Generations." While appearing in the video for the R&B song "Natalie," Rochon Fuqua met director Antoine Fuqua. Fuqua was smitten, but he was married. He confessed he was hitched on their first date; the next day, Rochon Fuqua changed her phone number. Meaty dramatic roles continued to elude Rochon Fuqua until 1992, when Eddie Murphy cast Rochon Fuqua in his movie "Boomerang" as Christie, the girl with the ugly feet. The role was small, but her performance was big and splashy. Then in 1995, Rochon Fuqua � who had been cast in "The Wayans Brothers" sitcom � engaged in a shameless campaign to win a part in "Waiting to Exhale." She shone in her audition for director Forest Whitaker, who cast her as Robin Stokes, a sophisticated professional who is an amateur in love. The movie was a box-office smash, and Rochon Fuqua was nominated for an MTV Movie Award and a NAACP Image Award for Best Supporting Actress. |
| In 1997, Rochon Fuqua headed to Hong Kong to shoot the Jean Claude Van Damme action movie "Knock Off." In celebration of the transition from British to Chinese rule in Hong Kong, co-star Rob Schneider dragged Rochon Fuqua to a party hosted by Antoine Fuqua, the slick, young director she had fled from six years earlier. Fuqua was in Asia promoting his directorial debut, "The Replacement Killers," and this time, he was single. Nine months after their meeting each other again, the couple got engaged. Finally, Rochon Fuqua's personal and professional lives were on track. She appeared in "The Big Hit," "The Wonderful World of Disney's Ruby Bridges Story," "Any Given Sunday" and "Why Do Fools Fall in Love," joining friends Halle Berry and Vivica A. Fox to play one of Frankie Lymon's three wives. Rochon Fuqua's current job, playing a San Francisco cop on Lifetime's new show, "The Division" (co-starring Nancy McKeon and Bonnie Bedelia), keeps her closer to home and her new partner. Rochon Fuqua has also executive produced "The Charlotte Austin Story" (1999) for Showtime. "Intimate Portrait: Lela Rochon Fuqua" is narrated by Holly Robinson Peete, and features interviews with Antoine Fuqua, Star Jones, Forest Whitaker, Rob Schneider, Vivica A. Fox and Loretta Devine. |
| Borrowed from Lifetimetv.com |