The American actress/ model, Essence Atkins, famous for her regular role in the first Afro-American primetime drama “Under one roof”. The Cosby Show 1986 was the starter for her where she guest starred where the actress Lisa Bonet has appeared in the role ‘Denise Huxtable Kendall’.
Before the 1995 CBS series, Atkins had already appeared on television sitcoms. She has started her career with recurring and guest role in the series and dramas including ‘Family Matters’ where the role of ‘Jaimee Foxworth‘ was cut. Let us look down to find out more details on her life and career.
Essence Atkins: Bio, Family, Education
Born to the parents- Geoffrey Atkins and Sandy Nelson, on 7 February 1972, in Brooklyn, New York, the U.S. Essence Atkins had her early days spent in her hometown Brooklyn. She has not revealed of having any siblings. But there were rumors around the late 90s that she is related to Mowry siblings. However, no proof was found for it so, it became a false alarm and left behind in a corner.
Looking at the education of the actress, she has attended Profession Children’s School. and later trained as a dancer at the Alvin Ailey Institute. Other than this, there is no other information on her college education.
Essence Atkins: Personal Life & Divorce
Earlier in 2009, she had married the guy she met through match.com on the valentine’s day of the previous year. This was she happened to marry Jaime Mendez a football defender from Puerto Rico.
However, this marriage lasted until their divorce in 2016. The couple has a baby together, a son born in 2011, they named Varro Blair Mendez.
Caption: Essence with her ex-husband
Source: Essence
Essence Atkins: Career & Achievements
I see a whole lot of difference between acting just to start your career and making it your career. On the other hand, professionally establishing oneself as something is a huge challenge in such a competitive market. However, Atkins never gave up.
At times she got her roles taken over, and the other times she had to play against popular actors. But doing more than 30 films and countless TV shows, that’s Essence Akins. It is Atkins’ television comedies that we know the best of her. Atkins has just spent her life in the industry either as an actor, or a model, a producer, and what else.
It was until she had her debut as Paula Young in the Cosby Show 1986 through 1989. Meanwhile, she had her first short film Nikita’s Blues (1999) where she played Nikita. Also popular for her playing Kisha Davis in “A Haunted House and the sequel” in the years 2013 and 14.
Her performance includes films like ‘Love For Sale(2008)’, (Preacher’s Kid(2010)’, ‘A Haunted House(2013)’, and its sequel in 2104, amongst others. She has also done some regular role in the series like ‘Half & Half’, ‘Are We There Yet?’, and ‘Marlon’. For which she nominated for “NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series”. Currently, she is working for the Television series ‘Ambitions’ as an ‘Amara Hughesken’.
Some Other Facts of Essence Atkins
Height: 1.56 m
Complexion: Brown
Eye Color: Dark Brown
Hair Color: Black
Weight: 57 Kg
Net Worth: $5 million
Hobbies: Dancing, it was how she got the role in The Cosby Show while attending the Alvin Ailey Dance Institute. She saw the bulletin board and contacted for an audition. Reading books has been her hobby since she was a child.
Achievements: Nominated for the Image Award 2005 and 2011. Also, she has appeared on music videos, films, sitcoms, and movies. She made her career in voice artist and producer.
Despite all her hard work and her achievements, Atkins has to say that she became an actor by default without any conscious effort.
Social Media Platform handles:
Instagram: @essence_says
Twitter: @essencesays
Facebook: @EssenceAtkins123
