Elise Neal

Early life

Neal was born on March 14, 1966, in Memphis, Tennessee, the daughter of a nurse and a construction worker. She attended Lakeview Elementary. She was a ballet dancer and a cheerleader. She broke her left wrist in a high toss cheerleading stunt; after the bones healed, her wrist never straightened back out completely. She graduated from Overton High School for the Creative and Performing Arts.

From 1984 to 1988, she attended the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Elise left college after two years and moved to New York City where she landed roles in musical theater and found herself traveling the world with various touring companies. Her experience in musical theater allowed her to easily transition into commercials, eventually bringing her to Los Angeles. Neal was a member of the Tennessee Ballet Company.

Career

Neal was an accomplished dancer and appeared in several hip hop and R&B music videos in the early 1990s. One of her earliest jobs was as a background dancer in Chubb Rock's music video for "Just the Two of Us." Other music videos Neal has appeared in include Black Sheep's 1992 video for Strobelite Honey, Father MC's 1991 video for "Lisa Baby", Aretha Franklin's 1998 video for "A Rose Is Still a Rose", Trick Daddy's 2001 video "I'm a Thug", and Vanessa Williams' video "Work to Do". Neal was featured in the November 2007 edition of King Magazine. Neal also appeared as a backing dancer in the music video for Dannii Minogue's 1993 single "This Is It".

Neal made her film debut in Spike Lee's Malcolm X (1992). She landed the role of Janice Sinclair on the soap opera Loving. She then played fighter pilot J.J. Fredericks on the series seaQuest 2032. Neal was cast in the high-profile role of Hallie in Scream 2. Her character was originally written to be one of the killers of the movie, but due to a script leak her role was changed. She portrayed school teacher Scrappie in Rosewood.

Her breakout role was being cast as Yvonne Hughley, the wife of D.L. Hughley in the television sitcom The Hughleys (1998−2002). She received two NAACP Image Award nominations for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in the series. Following The Hughleys, Neal portrayed Kindergarten teacher Tia Jewel in All of Us. She left the series in 2005.

She has made guest appearances on Law & Order, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, and Method & Red. Other film credits include: Paid in Full, Money Talks, and Mission to Mars. In Restaurant, she played Jeanine, a waitress who aspires to be a singer. Neal acted in a 2001 remake of Brian's Song as the wife of Gale Sayers.

Neal received her third NAACP Image Award nomination in 2006, in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for the film Hustle & Flow as Yevette, the wife of Anthony Anderson's character. Her role in the 2007 film 4 Life also marked her first soundtrack single, "I'm Down Baby". She also appeared in the series K-Ville as Ayana Boulet.

Expanding her role as producer, Neal is creating and developing several multimedia projects: a reality show based on her R&B group, "Assorted Flavors", a fitness and lifestyle brand, and several feature projects through her development deal with Mandalay Bay Entertainment. She appeared on reality show Hollywood Divas.

She played Alana in Love Ranch (2010). Neal guest starred on an episode of The Soul Man. She portrayed singer Gladys Knight in biopic Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B (2014). In a negative review of the film, Jon Caramanica opined Neal was the best actor in the production. Neal played Kathryn Munson in the 2017 superhero film Logan and appeared on television series Into the Dark.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music Videos

Documentary

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. (2016-03-28). "On This Day In Comedy… In 1966 Actress Elise Neal Was Born!". The Humor Mill.
2. Jason Buchanan. (2008). "Elise Neal – Biography".
3. Davis, Corey. (October 1, 2019). "Memphis actress forms partnership to help creative entrepreneurs".
4. (November 2, 1994). "Winfrey autobiography is in the works". [[Star-News]].
5. (March 28, 2012). "Science Fiction Television Series, 1990-2004". [[McFarland & Company]].
6. West, Alexandra. (June 5, 2018). "The 1990s Teen Horror Cycle: Final Girls and a New Hollywood Formula". [[McFarland & Company]].
7. (30 April 2010). "Scream 2 rewritten after script leak".
8. Barclay, Dolores. (February 22, 1997). "Singleton misses 'Rosewood' chance". [[Spartanburg Herald-Journal]].
9. McDonough, Kevin. (September 22, 1998). "'Encore, Encore' is terrible, terrible". [[Ocala Star-Banner]].
10. Terrace, Vincent. (2009). "Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 Through 2007: A-E". [[McFarland & Company]].
11. Owen, Rob. (May 16, 2003). "UPN's plans". [[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]].
12. Muir, John Kenneth. (2007). "TV Year: The Prime Time 2005-2006 Season". [[Applause Theatre & Cinema Books]].
13. (July 17, 2004). "Daily Highlights". Calhoun Times and Gordon County News.
14. Ebert, Roger. (2004). "Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2005". [[Andrews McMeel Publishing]].
15. Fhaner, Beth A.. (1998). "Magill's Cinema Annual: A Retrospective of the Films of 1997". [[Visible Ink Press]].
16. (March 25, 2002). "Screen World 2001". [[Hal Leonard Corporation]].
17. (February 6, 2000). "Actress Elise Neal on Neve Campbell, stereotypes and staying young". [[Boca Raton News]].
18. Tate, Marsha Ann. (2007). "Canadian Television Programming Made for the United States Market". [[McFarland & Company]].
19. (2006). "The 37th NAACP Image Awards". [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]].
20. Donalson, Melvin. (2007). "Hip hop in American cinema". [[Peter Lang (publisher).
21. Terrace, Vincent. (2009). "Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 Through 2007: F-L". [[McFarland & Company]].
22. Ogbogu, Stephanie. (October 9, 2014). "[REALITY RECAP] 'Hollywood Divas' Made in the Shade".
23. Holden, Stephen. (June 29, 2010). "Attraction and Possibility When Sex Is Just Business".
24. Ng, Philiana. (June 27, 2013). "'The Hughleys' Star Books TV Land Comedy (Exclusive)".
25. Terrace, Vincent. (April 23, 2021). "Television Movies of the 21st Century". [[McFarland & Company]].
26. Caramanica, Jon. (November 14, 2014). "Resinging the Song of a Life Cut Short".
27. Turchiano, Danielle. (April 29, 2020). "Judy Greer, Steve Guttenberg Among Cast for Blumhouse Television's 'Into the Dark: Good Boy' (EXCLUSIVE)".
28. Lentz, Harris M.. (2001). "Science Fiction, Horror & Fantasy Film and Television Credits: Television shows". [[McFarland & Company]].
29. "Tales Episode 2 – 'I Got a Story to Tell' Cast". BET.com.
30. Marill, Alvin H.. (2005). "Movies Made for Television, 1964-2004: 1990-1999". [[Scarecrow Press]].