Simbi Khali

Simbi Khali
Born	Simbi Khaliebum Waters (1971-04-28) April 28, 1971 Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.
Other names	Simbi K Williams
Education	Duke Ellington School of the Arts California Institute of the Arts
Occupation(s)	Actress, singer, songwriter, rapper
Years active	1990–present
Children	2
Musical career
Genres	R&B, hip hop
Labels	Capitol (1996–2000) Motown (2000–2008) RCA (2010–present)

Simbi Khali, sometimes credited as Simbi Kali Williams, (born April 28, 1971) is an American actress, singer and songwriter, best known for her roles as Laquita Lumpkins on the FOX sitcom Martin, and as Nina Campbell on the NBC sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun.

Her credits include the television show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in a recurring role as Tonya Smith, the feature films Vampire in Brooklyn (directed by Wes Craven), A Thin Line Between Love and Hate, and Plump Fiction. On stage, Khali appeared in Colored Museum, For Colored Girls..., A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Troilus and Cressida. She also voiced the character of Varesh Ossa in the video game Guild Wars Nightfall.

Early life

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Khali was raised in Chicago, the youngest of seven children. She started singing at a young age before moving to acting, and attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and then continued her education at the California Institute of the Arts, where she graduated with a degree in acting. Simbi Khali was previously married to actor Cress Williams from 2000 until 2011 and they have two children, son Elijah Khali Thomas Williams (born July 20, 2004) and daughter Amika Khali Williams (born August 13, 2007)

Career

Khali made her first TV appearance in a 1987 commercial for Pop-Tarts and went on to do as a celebrity spokesperson on the popular syndicated variety talent show Star Search.

From 1993-1997, she played the most well-known role as Sheneneh's more vocal best friend and later Gina and Pam's best friend Laquita Lumpkins in the FOX sitcom Martin where she a recurring character in season two, but was bumped to a main character shortly after before ended its run, From 1996 to 2001, in addition to her role on Martin, she played the role of Nina Campbell in the NBC sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun.

In August 1996, Khali got signed with Capitol Records and released her self-titled debut album Simbi Khali, which was a moderate success, selling 10,000 copies. Three singles from the self-titled album received minor airplay R&B stations: "Strung Out on You", "Love's Got a Hold on Me", and "Anywhere You Want". That next year, she provide guest vocals on the remake of The Emotions's "Don't Ask My Neighbor with Tisha Campbell and Tichina Arnold off the 1997 film, Sprung. She appeared in several music videos in the 1990s, including two for Jesse Powell, "I Wasn't With It" and "Bout It, Bout It", and Toni Braxton ("You're Makin' Me High").

Khali next released her second album in September 1998 entitled I Want You, which spawned three singles: "Our Love is Stronger", which was produced by Rodney Jerkins, "Call on Me", and "I Don't Mind", which spawned a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Khali would provided guest vocals on other albums for more than a decade in addition to her acting career.

Khali left Capitol Records and signed to Motown Records in 2001 to release her third album, Love Is the Answer, which features the Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis penned-track uptempo ballad "Anything", which peaked number #2.

Filmography

Film roles

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1995	Vampire in Brooklyn	Nikki
1996	A Thin Line Between Love and Hate	Adrienne
1997	Plump Fiction	Sister Sledge
2002	We Were Soldiers	Alma Givens
2009	Mississippi Damned	Anna
2017	Girl Minus	Auntie	Short film

Television roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993-95	Martin	Laquita	4 episodes
1994	The Sinbad Show	Carmen	Episode: "Girls Unda Hoodz"
1994	She TV	Various	1 episode
1996-2000	3rd Rock from the Sun	Nina Campbell	Recurring (season 1-2) Main cast (season 3-6)
2000	Men in Black: The Series	Voice	Episode: "The J is For James Syndrome"
2000	Masquerade	Joi Scott	TV Movie
2002	That '80s Show	Venus	Episode: "After the Kiss"
2004	The Bernie Mac Show	Therapist	Episode: "Five Stages of Bryana"
2009	Special Agent Oso	Voice	Episode: "Live and Jump Rope / A View to a Kitten"
2012	Weeds	Mary	Episode: "Unfreeze"
2017	Better Things	Museum Director	Episode: "Phil"

Video games roles

Year	Title	Role
2006	Guild Wars Nightfall	Varesh Ossa / Additional Voices
2008	The Incredible Hulk	Ceres Leader
2018	Detroit: Become Human	Amanda

External links

• Simbi Khali at IMDb