Reno’s Raineesha

Background:

"Acting is the call of my life. I felt like I didn't have any other choice. I wasn't committed to anything else." Niecy Nash

Comedian and actress Niecy Nash is widely popular as Deputy Raineesha Williams (2003-2006), a single mother and a loud and boisterous cop who regularly maces men, on Comedy Central's show "Reno 911" and in its film version in 2007. She has appeared in such TV shows as "The Bernie Mac Show," "City of Angels," "Monk," "CSI," "Girlfriends," "NYPD Blue," "That's So Raven" and "Judging Amy." On the big screen, the 5' 4" bubbly beauty who always wears a flower in her hair could be seen in Cookie's Fortune (1999), The Bachelor (1999), Malibu's Most Wanted (2003), Guess Who (2005) and Code Name: The Cleaner (2007). She will co-star in the upcoming comedy movie Cook-Off, alongside “Reno 911” cast members Wendi McLendon-Covey and Cedric Yarbrough.


Carol Denise

Childhood and Family:

Born in Palmdale, California, on February 23, 1970, Carol Denise Ensley, who would later be popular as Niecy Nash, spent most of her childhood in St. Louis, Missouri. She has a BA degree from California State University at Cal State Dominguez Hills, where she majored in theatre. Niecy has been married for thirteen years to Don Nash and has three children with him. One of her children is Dia Nash, who appeared in a 2004 episode of "Reno 911!"

In 1993, after Niecy's younger brother was shot and killed at his high school, her mother founded M.A.V.I.S. or Mothers Against Violence in Schools. Niecy has served as a spokesperson for the group.


Reno 911!

Career:

After watching actress Lola Falana’s performance on television, Niecy Nash, who was five years old at the time, became inspired and decided to follow in Falana’s footsteps. She started out as a stand-up comedienne before eventually receiving broader attention for her memorable work in such movies as Robert Altman's Oscar-nominated drama-comedy Cookie's Fortune (1999; alongside Glenn Close, Julianne Moore and Liv Tyler), Gary Sinyor's remake of the romantic comedy film "Seven Chances," The Bachelor (1999; starring Chris O'Donnell and Renée Zellweger), and John Whitesell's comedic feature film Malibu's Most Wanted (2003; with Jamie Kennedy, Taye Diggs, Anthony Anderson and Blair Underwood).

On the small screen, Nash could be seen playing a recurring role as Eveline Walker on CBS’ short-lived medical drama "City of Angels" (2000) and guest starred in a string of sitcoms such as UPN’s “Malcolm & Eddie,” UPN/The CW’s “Girlfriends,” Disney Channel's "That's So Raven," The WB/The CW's "Reba," the popular NBC medical drama “ER,” ABC's cop drama "NYPD Blue," CBS’ serial drama "Judging Amy" and the CBS popular Emmy Award-winning crime drama "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

In 2003, Nash landed her star-making role of Deputy Raineesha Williams (2003-2006) on Comedy Central's "Reno 911," a parody of the long-running television show "COPS.” She also played a recurring role on Fox’s sitcom "The Bernie Mac Show" and Cartoon Network's Adult Swim's animated television series "Minoriteam." Additionally, she was spotted as a guest in an episode of USA Network's Emmy Award winning show "Monk," NBC’s sitcom "My Name Is Earl," the animated television series "The Boondocks" (Adult Swim and Teletoon) and "American Dad" (Fox).

Moviegoers could catch her in the comedy films Hair Show (2004; with Monique Imes, Kellita Smith and David Ramsey) and Kevin Rodney Sullivan's Guess Who (2005; starring Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher), a loose remake of the award-winning 1967 film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. She also starred in Christopher Marlon's short comedy Jepardee (2005), alongside Rodney Perry, Chris Spencer and Gary Anthony Williams.

On January 5, 2007, her action/comedy movie with Cedric the Entertainer, Lucy Liu, Callum Keith Rennie and Nicollette Sheridan, titled Code Name: The Cleaner, was released to disappointing reviews. On February 23, 2007, moviegoers saw the release of the big screen version of her popular series, Reno 911: Miami, in which she reprises her role as Deputy Raineesha Williams.

“The wonderful thing about Reno 911 is the fact that because we were at the last minute, Tom (Lennon) and Ben (Garant) who are also a part of the cast, but executive producers as well, came to us and said, ‘We're doing cops, who do you want to be?’ And we were like, ‘Huh, what, whoa?’ So then, we all had the opportunity to create these characters. Raineesha Williams, my character, is a culmination of all the women who I've ever known. The one's who wear too much makeup, the ones who got the little extra attitude on the side, you know, baby hair, finger waves, whatever you call it.” Niecy Nash

More recently, Nash, alongside fellow Reno 911: Miami cast members Wendi McLendon-Covey and Cedric Yarbrough, just completed filming Cook-Off, a comedy movie about amateur "chefs" from around the nation who battle in the ultimate food fight to win a million dollar prize.


Awards:
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