A quick peek at actress Lisa Raye
You may know actress Lisa Raye from her roles in the Players Club, The It Factor, Beauty Shop, Gang of Roses, Go for Broke, All About You, Date from Hell and Parenthood. In a recent visit to Jamaica, she spoke to all woman about the challenges of acting and juggling motherhood.
High on her agenda is the divide between ‘Black’ and ‘White’ Hollywood. According to her, it is still a struggle for black actresses to make their mark.
‘There is more to us (black actresses) than just a handful of A-list actresses. One doesn’t represent all of us. There are many of us out there. They shouldn’t shy away from building a star. White Hollywood takes a chance on their actresses, but when it comes to us, we have to be someone to be on the cover of the magazine. They should not be afraid to make us black actresses famous’, said Lisa Raye, while being interviewed at the Hedonism 3 resort in Runaway Bay. “It’s my third time here and I am loving it. It just feels like a big family here.”
Regarded as one of the sexiest actresses in Hollywood, Lisa Raye McCoy is making heads turn in the television series All of Us which was executive- produced by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. The show’s cast includes Elise Neal, Duane Martin, and Tony Rock. Lisa Raye portrays the sassy character Neesee, the ex-wife to Duane Martin’s character Robert James.
“Í enjoy doing television. I prefer the stability of television and it’s a steady pay cheque each week. If you are making a lot of money from movies and you do two films a year, then you are set,” said Lisa Raye. “I am a single parent of a 15 year-old daughter, so I need to be at home with her. The schedule that television allows me right now works quite well.”
And parenting is definitely another very important issue for her.
“I changed my career for my daughter. Two years ago when she graduated from the eighth grade to high school, I decided I needed something stable to be home with her,” she said.
Originally from Chicago, Lisa Raye is the daughter of an entrepreneurial family who owned hotels, a bank, a steel mill, car wash and real estate. She made her acting debut in an independent film in Chicago in 1997 before taking on a role which would give her the attention that she craved.
“Á few months before I filmed the Players Club, I did an independent film in Chicago called Reasons. That film got me to California where I did videos to pay the rent. I then auditioned for the role of Diamond in the Players Club, and as they say, the rest was history’, said Lisa Raye.
Asked how she handled the compliment of being dubbed as one of the sexiest women in Hollywood, she said:
“You learn to stay humble and to stay who you are. What I am doing naturally is working, so I won’t change a thing’.
According to her she is yet to come across a role that was too challenging for her.
“Í haven’t found that role yet. Every role has been different. Right now I am doing comedy on television and I welcome it with open arms. So far it has been fun.”
As for further moves in the industry, Lisa Raye says that she feels things are more obtainable now than they were a few years ago.
‘Í am seeing the move I can make in other areas in the business. You could’ve asked me a few years ago about an Oscar award and I would’ve told you that I don’t give a damn. But now, having my good friend Jamie Foxx winning one, it’s closer to home and it looks obtainable. In white Hollywood to get recognized it’s something of an accomplishment for them, to have an Oscar,” she said.
Her influences include Angelina Jolie, Jodie Foster, Vivica A Fox, Gabrielle Union and Kimberly Elise. She would love to work with Angelina Jolie and just about any actress who has had a different experience to bring to the table. “I would like to do a romantic comedy or even an action role,” she said.
Lisa Raye recently launched her lingerie line at New York Fashion Week. It is called Lux and Romance. She also has a jeans line called X-ray Jeans. There are also plans to start up a pageant geared towards young women between the ages of 12 and 16 years of age.
“Í am starting up a pageant. What I want to do is to give away scholarship money. It’s more like a talent show. Give the girls seminars on etiquette, walking, self-esteem, hair, makeup and a piece of sisterhood and encouragement,” she concluded.
