LisaRaye McCoy
Introduction '''LisaRaye McCoy''' (born September 23, 1967), known as '''LisaRaye''', is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Diana "Diamond" Armstrong in the 1998 film ''The Players Club'', Neesee James on the UPN/The CW sitcom ''All of Us'' from 2003 until 2007 and Keisha Greene in the VH1 romantic comedy series ''Single Ladies'' which originally aired from 2011 to 2015.She was also married to Michael Misick, the first Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands, from 2006 until 2010; during that time she served as First Lady of Turks and Caicos.
Biography ===Early life===McCoy was born in Chicago, Illinois. McCoy is the daughter of David Ray McCoy, a Chicago businessman, and Katie McCoy, a former professional model. Her paternal half-sister is Shawntae Harris, better known as rapper Da Brat. Growing up on the south side of Chicago, McCoy attended St. James College Prep school, Kenwood Academy and, later,Thornridge High School, graduating in 1986.After high school, McCoy attended Eastern Illinois University before pursuing an acting career.===Career===McCoy made her acting debut as the lead in ''Reasons'', an independent film directed by Monty Ross. McCoy is perhaps best known for her role as Diamond in ''The Players Club'', directed and written by Ice Cube. She also appeared in ''The Wood'', opposite Taye Diggs, ''Rhapsody'', ''All About You'', and ''Go for Broke''. In 2003, McCoy starred as Neesee James in the UPN/ The CW sitcom ''All of Us'', where she played Duane Martin's ex-wife. The series ended in 2007.McCoy began her career as a model for fashion, but before that she was married to Archie Amerson. She did shows in churches and high schools in her native Chicago. In addition to acting, McCoy has also appeared in dozens of music videos, including "Know Filter 2" by Shleah, Tugoa, T.Lee, "Download" by Lil' Kim, Changing Faces's "Same Tempo", Ginuwine's "Last Chance", Ludacris' "Number 1 Spot", Calvin Richardson's “True Love”, Sisqó's "Incomplete", Lil Jon and Ice Cube's "Roll Call",  "I Don't Wanna See" and "I Really Want to Sex Your Body”, by Link, Tupac Shakur's "Toss It Up", "Never Be The Same Again" by Ghostface Killah & Carl Thomas, "Unpredictable" by Jamie Foxx, ”Ooohhhwwweee” by Master P, “Slip N' Slide” by Danny Boy, and "Are You in the Mood" by Teddy & Dru Down. She also had a cameo in Seven's music video "Girls" & Jaheim's music video "Back Tight Wit You" McCoy also recorded the single "Would You?" with rapper Benzino. In 2005, McCoy launched two fashion lines: Luxe & Romance, a lingerie line that was introduced during New York's Fashion Week, and Xraye, a jeans line for women. In 2011, she launched her jean collection "The LisaRaye Collection" in partnership with PZI Jeans, and a hair line, "LisaRaye Glamour"; That same year, she was the Ambassador/Grand Marshal for the 70th Magic City Classic parade and football game in Birmingham, Alabama.
Personal life McCoy has a daughter named Kai Morae Pace (born December 5, 1989) with Kenji Pace. In 1992, McCoy married American football player Tony Martin. They divorced in 1994.In April 2006, McCoy married Michael Misick, who had been elected the Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands (a position previously known as Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands), in 2003.They were married in a lavish ceremony before 300 guests, followed by a three-week honeymoon to Jerusalem, Bali and Dubai. During their marriage, McCoy's title was "First Lady of the Turks and Caicos." In August 2008, Premier Misick released a statement announcing that he and McCoy were divorcing. Misick resigned from office in March 2009 after an investigation found "clear signs of corruption", involving the selling-off of public land to fund his own investments. He fled the Turks and Caicos, and was eventually arrested in Brazil, where he was extradited back to the islands to stand trial.McCoy is a convert to Christianity.==="Queen Mother of Ghana" claims===McCoy has inaccurately referred to herself as the "Queen Mother" of Ghana on multiple occasions, including during a 2019 appearance on ''The Wendy Williams Show''. Her remarks, along with the lax and uncritical reporting of American media outlets in response, were widely mocked on Ghanaian social media, with journalist Nana Aba Anamoah accusing her of "ignorance"; Anamoah further stated that the title does not exist in the country, as Ghana is a republic and not a monarchy. McCoy was allegedly crowned "queen mother" during a ceremony at a Los Angeles nightclub, in September 2019.She was given the supposed title by Yahweh ben Yahweh ben Yahweh, a self-proclaimed "imperial king" and former member of a hip-hop group from Orange County, Florida. McCoy, at the time, stated that "To have such an honor bestowed upon me by my own African people is a testament to my hard work and character". Yahweh, who refers to himself as "The Imperial Majesty King Yahweh The Holy Ghost", purchased the title of ''nkosuohene'' from a chief of the small town of Kwanyako in Ghana's Central Region.McCoy visited Kwanyako herself in July 2021, promising to finance a vocational centre for women and a local performance troupe.
Filmography ===Film=== Year Title Role Notes 1996 ''Reasons'' Iris  1998 ''The Players Club'' Diana "Diamond" Armstrong  1999 ''The Wood'' Lisa 2000 ''The Cheapest Movie Ever Made '' Brenda  ''Rhapsody'' Victoria TV movie  2001 ''Date from Hell'' Keisha Short ''All About You'' Lisa 2002 ''Civil Brand'' Frances Shepard ''Go for Broke'' Belinda/Star 2003 ''Love Chronicles'' Marie Toursaant ''Gang of Roses'' Maria  2004 ''Super Spy'' CIA Lady Video 2005 ''Beauty Shop'' Rochelle ''The Proud Family Movie'' Choreographer (Voice) TV movie  ''Envy'' Tasha 2009 ''Contradictions of the Heart'' Kiki 2011 ''Video Girl'' Patricia 2012 ''The Promise''  Ms. Fuller Short  2014 ''Lap Dance'' Sugar  2015 ''Skinned'' Mother   2016 ''Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story''  Sylvia Rhone TV movie 2018 ''No More Mr Nice Guy'' Bridget St. John 2019 ''Love Dot Com: The Social Experiment'' Deloris Quinn 2020 ''Holiday Heartbreak''  Summer St. John TV movie 2021 ''Twice Bitten'' Monique ''For the Love of Money'' Dahlia ''In the Gray'' Renee Short  2022 ''Greed: A Seven Deadly Sins Story'' Miss Viv TV movie ''Chocolate City 3: Live Tour'' Shawna Diva ''You Married Dat'' Dr. Reid ''The Royal'' Elsie  ''Single Not Searching'' Angela 2024 ''Lunar Lockdown'' Warden Meyers===Television=== Year Legacy  Role Notes 1995 ''Martin''  Swinger Woman Episode: "Swing Thing"  1997 ''In the House''  Delivery Woman Episode: "Saint Marion" & "Abstinence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder"  2001-02 ''Source: All Access''  Herself/Host Main Host 2002 ''The It Factor'' Herself Episode: "Unaired Pilot" ''Teen Summit'' Herself Episode: "Video Girls" 2003 ''The It Factor: Los Angeles'' Herself Episode: "Mali Finn Casts 9 New Actors" 2003–07 ''All of Us'' Neesee James Main Cast 2004 ''Faking It'' Herself Episode: "Three 'R's to Protecting Stars" 2005 ''Steve Harvey's Big Time Challenge'' Herself Episode: "Episode #2.14" ''Turn Up the Heat with G. Garvin'' Herself Episode: "Meals in Minutes" 2006 ''Trumpet Awards'' Herself/Host Main Host 2008 ''Hollywood Trials''  Herself Episode: "Episode #1.6" 2010 ''Trumpet Awards'' Herself/Co-Host Main Co-Host ''Life After''  Herself Episode: "Elise Neal"  2010–11 ''LisaRaye: The Real McCoy''  Herself Main Cast 2011 ''Hawthorne''  Chandra Episode: "Just Between Friends" 2011–15 ''Single Ladies''  Keisha Greene Main Cast 2013 ''Hell's Kitchen'' Herself Episode: "9 Chefs Compete" 2016 ''Being''  Herself Episode: "LisaRaye McCoy" 2017 ''Hip Hop Squares''  Herself/Contestant Episode: "BBD vs SWV" & "Da Brat vs LisaRaye"  ''Face Value''  Herself/Team Captain Episode: "Al Shearer vs. LisaRaye McCoy" 2017-18 ''Ballers''  Amber's Mother Guest Cast: Seasons 3-4 2018 ''Black Card Revoked''  Herself Episode: "LisaRaye, Affion Crockett, K. Dubb"  ''The Proposal''  Herself Episode: "103"  2018-22 ''The Family Business''  Donna Duncan Main Cast: Seasons 1-2 & 4, Guest: Season 3 2019 ''Growing Up Hip Hop: Atlanta'' Herself Episode: "So So Triggered" & "Firestorm"  ''Murder in the Thirst'' Herself/Host Main Host  ''Uncensored''  Herself Episode: "LisaRaye McCoy" ''You Hittin Dat''  Dr. Reid  Recurring Cast ''Huge in France''  - Episode: "Episode Six" ''Tales''  Mavis Episode: "Brothers" ''South Side''  Herself Episode: "Mild Sauce Meatballs"  2020 ''Iyanla, Fix My Life''  Herself Episode: "LisaRaye McCoy: 3 Generations, 1 Family Breakdown" 2020-23 ''Cocktails with Queens'' Herself/Co-Host Main Co-Host ''A House Divided''  Alexis Main Cast: Seasons 2-5 2023 ''Asking for a Friend''  Herself/Host Main Host===Music videos=== Year Song  Artist 1995 "Are You in the Mood" Teddy featuring Dru Down and Luniz "With You" Somethin' for the People 1996 "Toss It Up" 2Pac featuring Danny Boy, K-Ci & JoJo and Aaron Hall "Slip N' Slide" Danny Boy featuring Tha Dogg Pound 1998 "Same Tempo" Changing Faces "I Don't Wanna See" Link "I Really Want to Sex Your Body" 1999 "True Love" Calvin Richardson 2000 "Incomplete" Sisqó 2001 "Never Be the Same Again" Ghostface Killah featuring Raekwon and Carl Thomas "Ooohhhwwweee" Master P featuring Weebie 2003 "Backtight" Jaheim 2004 "Roll Call" Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz featuring Ice Cube 2005 "Number One Spot" Ludacris "Unpredictable" Jamie Foxx featuring Ludacris 2009 "Download" Lil' Kim "Last Chance" Ginuwine "Girls" Seven featuring Lil' Kim 2013 "Age Ain't A Factor" Jaheim  2021 "Friends and Family" The Isley Brothers featuring Snoop Dogg
Award nominations  Year Award Category Work Result  2007 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series ''All of Us''
See also *Hip hop models
References
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