Essence Atkins is an American actress, model, and AIDS activist. She started her career with the first-ever African-American primetime soap opera, “The Cosby Show.” Essence mostly played minor parts up until the mid-1990s, when they started obtaining more significant roles.
Half & Half, Are We There Yet?, A Haunted House, Under One Roof, Malibu Shores, and Smart Guy are a few of her well-known shows and movies.
Essence is a skilled dancer who previously had dreams of making a living as one. But destiny had other ideas for her. By chance, Essence’s dancing school helped her get her big-screen role.
Essence has been helping by promoting knowledge about AIDS via its involvement in several awareness-raising campaigns. Jaime Mendez, a former Puerto Rican college football free safety, and Essence were previously married. They have a kid together. In 2016, the couple made their divorce public.
Essence Atkins’s Bio, Age, Date of Birth
Sandy Nelson and Jeffery Atkins welcomed Essence Uhura Atkins into the world on February 7, 1972, in Brooklyn, New York City, the United States. She was raised in Queens’ St. Albans.
Essence Atkins’s Husband
Essence previously married Jaime Mendez, a former Puerto Rican free safety for NCAA football. On Valentine’s Day 2008, they connected through the dating service Match.com.
When Essence first met Jaime, she was well beyond 35. Essence said in one of her interviews that she was sick of her previous relationships and did not want to waste time.
She thus used a dating service provider, and it was successful in helping her locate her true love. Jaime and Essence were wed at the “Ambassador Mansion and Gardens” in 2009.
Essence wore an “Angel Rivera” dress to the reception and a “Stephen Yearick” gown for the wedding ceremony. To her Puerto Rican husband’s surprise, she organized a salsa concert.
At the event, Valarie Pettiford, Essence’s “Half & Half” co-star, performed. Essence hired chef G. Garvin to create a wedding treat specifically with Jaime’s background in mind.
Several Puerto Rican and classic soul food items were offered on the menu, including mac & cheese, roasted pig, peach cobbler, and plantains.
Matchbooks and little candles were gifts from Essence and Jaime to their guests. It’s interesting to note that the newlyweds gave every one of their single guests a ticket for a 6-month subscription to “Match.com.”
Essence and Jaime announced the birth of their first child on August 9, 2011. Varro Blair Mendez, their son, was born in December 2011. The two sent a “tweet” to express their happiness.
In 2016, Essence and Jaime parted ways. In “Marlon,” Essence featured a divorcee who was still in love with her ex-husband but decided to pursue love again online, only three weeks after the divorce was officially filed.
Essence Atkins’s Career
Essence started her acting career at the young age of 13. She appeared in two episodes of “The Cosby Show” on NBC. The first time Essence was shown was in the 1986 episode “Vanessa’s Rich.”
She then had an appearance on the 1989 television show “I’m” In with the “In” Crowd.” She appeared in both episodes as “Paula Young.”
Since then, Essence has made many TV appearances and starred in the television film “Sunday in Paris.” She was contacted about playing “Danielle Marks” in the “Saved by the Bell” spinoff on NBC.
Even the pilot episode for the spinoff, “Saved by the Bell: The College Years,” which was broadcast in 1993, was recorded by Essence. Sadly, she was removed from the program when Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, a major cast member from the first season, returned.
The next year, in 1995, Essence was given a recurring part in the CBS drama “Under One Roof” as Charlotte “Charlie” Langston. Essence is also well-known for her recurring part as “Julie Tate” in the 1996 edition of the NBC primetime adolescent drama “Malibu Shores.”
Essence starred as “Yvette Henderson” in the “The WB” comedy “Smart Guy” from 1997 to 1999. Although Essence is approximately ten years younger than Tahj Mowry in real life, she was represented in the series as the actor’s elder sister.
The essence made her acting debut in the 1999 short film “Nikita’s Blues,” in which she played the lead role. In the 2001 remake of the cartoon, titled “Nikita Blues,” she made her appearance as the character.
Essence appeared as “Jamie” in Jesse Dylan’s first feature film, “How High,” and as “Tamikah Jones” in “XCU: Extreme Close Up” in the same year.
In between her roles in movies, Essence had guest appearances on a few TV programs, including “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” and “Moesha.”
She returned to television as a regular character in the “UPN” comedy “Half & Half.” From 2002 until 2006, she appeared in 91 episodes of the program “Dee Dee Thorne.”
Essence was nominated for her first “NAACP Image Award” for “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series” because of her performance.
Her second “NAACP” nomination in the same category was for her recurring role as “Suzanne Kingston-Persons” in the “TBS” comedy “Are We There Yet?” (73 episodes, from 2010 to 2012).
Love for Sale (2008), Dance Flick (2009), Preacher’s Kid (2010), N-Secure (2010), and Dysfunctional Friends are a few of Essence’s significant big-screen productions (2012).
She played the character of “Kisha Davis” in the found-footage comedy-horror movies “A Haunted House” and “A Haunted House 2,” which were both released in 2013 and 2014.
In the third episode of the series, whose release dates have not yet been made public, Essence will repeat her part. She announced her executive producing debut, “Same Difference,” in 2018. She will play the dual roles of “Tonya” and “Shauna,” two separated twin sisters, in the film.
Essence appeared on television once again, this time as Samantha Owens in the MyNetworkTV comedy Mr. Box Office. She debuted as “Ashley Wayne” in the television series “Marlon” in 2017.
The character “Marlon Wayne,” played by Essence in the series, is based on actor Marlon Wayans’ real-life wife. In the upcoming multigenerational family drama “Ambitions,” Essence will be seen playing a lawyer by the name of “Amara.”
The “Oprah Winfrey Network” will carry the program. Two talent agencies, Kathy McComb Management and Don Buchwald & Associates have contracts with Essence.