Shari Headley

Born in Queens, New York City, Headley is the youngest of four children.[2] She is of part Trinidadian descent.[3] Headley's father worked as a dental technician, and had wanted his daughter to be a doctor.[4] In college, she was a premedical student, minoring in drama and performing in school plays.[4]

In 1984, Headley's modeling career began after her sister submitted a photo of Shari to the Ford Modeling Agency, without Headley's knowledge.[5] She was a finalist in Eileen Ford's Face of the 80s campaign, and joined Ford afterwards.[5] Headley modeled for various magazines, including Glamour and Mademoiselle.[6]

Headley made her acting debut appearing in an episode of NBC sitcom The Cosby Show in 1985.[4] Headley later appeared on Miami Vice,[4] Quantum Leap,[7] and Matlock.[1] In 1988, she portrayed Lisa McDowell, an heiress to a fast food restaurant, in romantic comedy Coming to America.[8] Eddie Murphy appears as her love interest in the film.[9] Being relatively unknown at the time, the film's director John Landis stated she was chosen in the role for that reason.[10] One reviewer opined she and Murphy "shined" together,[11] though another critic found Headley's performance "bland."[12] The film was a box-office success grossing a worldwide total of $288,752,301.[13]

The following year, Headley had a starring role alongside Louis Gossett Jr. in the short-lived ABC drama series, Gideon Oliver. In the series, she played Zina, the daughter of Gossett's character.[14] Later that year, she co-starred in the Kojak television film series.[15] In 1991, Headley joined the cast of ABC daytime soap opera, All My Children playing police officer Mimi Reed.[16] At the 25th NAACP Image Awards, she received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series nomination, but lost to Victoria Rowell.[17] Headley received a second nomination the following year.[18] She was a regular on All My Children from 1991 to 1994, and returned to the series in 1995 and 2005.

After leaving the soap, she guest-starred on New York Undercover, Walker, Texas Ranger, and Cosby.[1] In 1996, she had a supporting role in the comedy-drama film The Preacher's Wife directed by Penny Marshall.[19] In 1997, Headley landed a leading role as Juanita Barnes in the short-lived FOX drama series, 413 Hope St. alongside Richard Roundtree.[20][21] The series was cancelled after only ten episodes,[22] but Headley received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series nomination for her performance.[23] Headley portrayed Barbara, a woman looking for a man, in the pilot episode of Love Boat: The Next Wave.[24] She appeared as a counselor on sitcom The Wayans Bros..[25]

In the early 2000s, Headley returned to daytime television playing the recurring roles of Felicia Boudreau on Guiding Light (2001–2002)[26] and Heather Engle in The Bold and the Beautiful (2004–2005).[1] In 2004, she played Mack Johnson's (portrayed by Steve Harvey) wife Jacqueline in the comedy film, Johnson Family Vacation.[27] In 2007, she appeared in the comedy-drama film Towelhead.[28] She also had guest starring roles on Veronica Mars, House,[1] Castle, and Switched at Birth.[29]

In 2014, she joined the cast of Oprah Winfrey Network primetime soap opera, The Haves and the Have Nots created by Tyler Perry, playing District Attorney Jennifer Sallison.[30] She was promoted to series regular as of season four. In 2019, she had a recurring role in On Becoming a God in Central Florida. Headley reprised her role of Queen Lisa Joffer from Coming to America in the sequel Coming 2 America in 2021.[31]

Headley was married to actor/entertainer Christopher Martin, better known as "Play" from the hip-hop duo Kid N' Play, from May 1993 until they divorced in June 1995.[32][33] From their brief marriage, Martin and Headley have a son.[34]

• Shari Headley at IMDb
• Shari Headley on Twitter