Holly Robinson Peete

Holly Elizabeth Robinson Peete (born September 18, 1964) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Judy Hoffs on the Fox police drama 21 Jump Street, Vanessa Russell on the ABC sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, and Dr. Malena Ellis on the NBC/The WB sitcom For Your Love. She also served as one of the original co-hosts of the CBS Daytime talk show The Talk. She is also known for her portrayal of Diana Ross in the 1992 miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream, which also aired on ABC. A children's book by Peete, My Brother Charlie, won her an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in March 2011. Early life Peete was born Holly Elizabeth Robinson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Dolores and Matt Robinson (the first Gordon on Sesame Street). Her mother was a school teacher, in public relations, and later a personal talent manager, and her father a producer/writer. She has an older brother named Matthew Thomas Robinson III. She attended Greene Street Friends School in nearby Germantown. In 1974, her family moved to California. Peete graduated from Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, California, where her classmates included Rob Lowe and Yvette Lee Bowser. Peete graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1986 with a degree in psychology and French. Peete studied abroad for a year at the Sorbonne, and is fluent in French. While there she sang in Paris nightclubs, including a performance with jazz musician Lionel Hampton at the Hotel Meridian Jazz Club. Career She made her first television appearance on Sesame Street. She recalls that when she was six years old, she kept blowing her line, saying "Hi, Daddy", instead of "Hi, Gordon", his character's name. She ended up with just an appearance where she walked down the street with Big Bird. At the age of 11, Holly worked for the children's show Kidsworld as a celebrity correspondent; she interviewed many actors and actresses for the program. As an actress, she has appeared on the TV series 21 Jump Street (1987–1991), Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (1992–1997), For Your Love (1998–2002), and Like Family (2003–2004). She was featured in the video for the 1990 hit single "Whip Appeal" by Babyface as the sultry radio host at the beginning of the video. While on Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, in 1992, she portrayed Diana Ross in The Jacksons: An American Dream. Robinson most recently starred on the UPN comedy Love, Inc..