Amanda Ingrid Seales (born July 1, 1981), formerly known by the stage name Amanda Diva, is an American comedian and actress. Since 2017, she has starred in the
HBO comedy series ''
Insecure''. In 2019,
HBO released her first stand-up comedy special ''I Be Knowin''. Then, in 2020, Seales launched ''Smart Funny & Black'', a comedy gameshow that showcases Black culture, history, and experience. Seales was also one of the co-hosts of the syndicated daytime talk show, ''
The Real
In continental philosophy, the Real refers to the remainder of reality that cannot be expressed, and which surpasses reasoning. In Lacanianism, it is an "impossible" category because of its opposition to expression and inconceivability.
I ...
'', alongside
Loni Love
Loni Love (born July 14, 1971) is an American comedian, television host, actress, author, and former electrical engineer. While working as an electrical engineer in the early 2000s, she switched to music engineering, until later launching a caree ...
,
Tamera Mowry
Tamera Darvette Mowry-Housley (née Mowry) () (born July 6, 1978) is an American actress, television personality, and former singer. She first gained fame for her teen role as Tamera Campbell on the ABC/ WB sitcom '' Sister, Sister'' (opposite h ...
,
Adrienne Bailon
Adrienne Eliza Bailon-Houghton (née Bailon () ; born October 24, 1983) is an American television personality, singer, and actress. She is a former member of the girl groups 3LW and The Cheetah Girls. From 2013 to 2022, Bailon was a co-host of ...
, and
Jeannie Mai
Jeannie Mai-Jenkins (born Jeannie Camtu Mai) is an American television host and stylist best known for her work on the makeover show '' How Do I Look?'' and the syndicated daytime talk show ''The Real''. As a fashion expert, she is frequently fe ...
.
[ All Music Amanda Seales Biography/ref>
]
Early life
Amanda Seales was born in Inglewood, CA on July 1, 1981. Her mother was born and raised in Mt. Moritz, Grenada. Her father is African-American. As a result, both she and her mother are dual citizens of the US and Grenada. She moved to Orlando, Florida, in 1989, where she later attended Dr. Phillips High School. She graduated from SUNY-Purchase, then acquired a master's degree in African-American studies with a concentration in Hip hop from Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
.
Career
Film and television
Seales's first film was a minor role as Katy in the 1993 movie ''Cop and a Half
''Cop and a Half'' is a 1993 American family buddy cop-comedy film directed by Henry Winkler, and stars Burt Reynolds, Norman D. Golden II, and Ray Sharkey in his final role. Reynolds plays a veteran cop who reluctantly takes an eight-year-old ...
''. The next year Seales was featured on the Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
sitcom ''My Brother and Me
''My Brother and Me'' is an American sitcom, created by Ilunga Adell and Calvin Brown Jr., that originally aired on Nickelodeon. ''My Brother and Me'' is about the Parkers, a family living in the west side of Charlotte, North Carolina, who ex ...
'' (1994) as Deonne Wilburn. In 2002 she appeared on Russell Simmons' ''Def Poetry Jam
''Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry'', better known as simply ''Def Poetry Jam'' or ''Def Poetry'', is a spoken word poetry television series hosted by Mos Def and airing on HBO between 2002 and 2007. The series features performances by estab ...
.'' Seales became publicly known as " VJ Amanda Diva" on MTV2 ''Sucker Free
''Sucker Free'', known as ''Sucker Free Daily'' on weekdays and then ''Sucker Free Countdown'' on Sundays, is MTV2's sole hip-hop video block. Previously, ''Sucker Free'' aired weekdays for one hour, then eventually sporadically until the week le ...
Countdown'' on Sundays. In 2016 she appeared in a recurring role on the HBO series '' Insecure,'' as Tiffany DuBois. Also in 2016, Seales began hosting her own show on truTV
TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts comedy, docusoaps and reality shows.
The channel was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that fo ...
called ''Greatest Ever''.
On January 26, 2019, HBO debuted her first stand-up comedy special ''I Be Knowin'.'' ''Bring the Funny
''Bring the Funny'' is an American comedy competition series that aired on NBC from July 9 to September 17, 2019.
Hosted by comedian Amanda Seales, the series features various comedy acts performing in front of an audience for a chance to win $2 ...
'' is a comedy competition series that premiered on July 9, 2019 on NBC. Seales hosts, alongside judges Kenan Thompson
Kenan Thompson (; born May 10, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He has been a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since 2003, making him the longest-tenured cast member in the show's history. He was also t ...
, Chrissy Teigen
Christine Diane Teigen (born November 30, 1985) is an American model and television personality. She made her professional modeling debut in the annual ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue in 2010 and later appeared on the 50th anniversary co ...
, and Jeff Foxworthy.
Throughout 2019, Seales served as a frequent guest host for the syndicated daytime talk show ''The Real
In continental philosophy, the Real refers to the remainder of reality that cannot be expressed, and which surpasses reasoning. In Lacanianism, it is an "impossible" category because of its opposition to expression and inconceivability.
I ...
''. On January 6, 2020, Seales was promoted from guest co-host to permanent co-host. She departed the series after six months of co-hosting, citing her dissatisfaction with the inability to openly speak on recent social issues as a reason. In September 2020, Seales accused ''The Real'' of stealing ideas from her show ''Smart Funny & Black'', saying ''The Real'''s segment "Black Lives Matter University" featured a logo that closely resembled ''Smart Funny & Black'''s emblem.
In June 2020, Seales revealed on social media that she will host the BET Awards 2020
The 20th BET Awards took place on June 28, 2020. The ceremony celebrates achievements in entertainment and honors music, sports, television, and movies. They also honored the many African-American people killed from police brutality and racial in ...
on June 28, 2020.
In February 2022, Seales was cast in the three-part documentary series '' Everything's Gonna Be All White'', airing on Showtime.
Music
In 2007, Seales replaced Natalie Stewart
Natalie "the Floacist" Stewart (born 13 February 1979) is an English rapper, singer, songwriter, spoken word artist, poet, and actress. Born in Germany and raised in London, she performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child, a ...
of the musical duo Floetry
Floetry were an English R&B duo comprising Marsha Ambrosius ("The Songstress") and Natalie Stewart ("The Floacist"). The group recorded two studio albums and one live album and sold over 1,500,000 records worldwide. Formed in 1997 Floetry star ...
on tour with Marsha Ambrosius
Marsha Ambrosius-Billups (born 8 August 1977) is an English singer and songwriter from Liverpool, England. She embarked on her musical career as a member of Floetry. Ambrosius released her debut solo album '' Late Nights & Early Mornings'' in M ...
, and in December of that same year Seales (as Amanda Diva) released her first extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. (EP) ''Life Experience''. In 2008, she was featured on the song "Manwomanboogie" on Q-Tip's Grammy-nominated album ''The Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass idea ...
''. On March 3, 2009, Seales released ''Spandex, Rhymes & Soul''.
Podcast
Seales hosts a weekly podcast titled ''Small Doses''.
Game Show
She created and hosts the touring variety game show, ''Smart Funny & Black'', where her love of games and music, was used to serve as a safe space for the Black voice and celebrates the many contributions Black Americans have made to history and pop culture and more.
Activism
In 2010, Seales teamed up with Truth
Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as belie ...
, to start an anti-smoking campaign.
In November 2014, Seales appeared in a segment on CNN alongside Steve Santagati, hosted by Fredricka Whitfield, discussing the video ''10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman
''10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman'' is an October 2014 video created for Hollaback! by Rob Bliss Creative featuring 24-year-old actress Shoshana Roberts. The video shows Roberts walking through various neighborhoods of New York City, wearin ...
''. During the segment, Seales said that men catcalling women is not complimentary and that women do not like being catcalled, while Santagati went on to defend men catcalling women, saying that women should take catcalling as a compliment and not abuse.
On June 11, 2017, during a livestream on Katy Perry's YouTube channel, an exchange took place between Seales and Caitlyn Jenner, with Seales saying that Jenner benefits from white privilege
White privilege, or white skin privilege, is the societal privilege that benefits white people over non-white people in some societies, particularly if they are otherwise under the same social, political, or economic circumstances. With root ...
. Towards the end of the exchange, Seales told Jenner "This country is here for you. This country ain’t here for me in the same way, sis". Seales has attributed this exchange to her becoming an activist.
Radio
On April 18, 2022, Seales began co-hosting a new weekly radio show, ''Amanda Seales’ Smart Funny & Black Radio'' on SiriusXM, alongside Taj Rani and JeremiahLikeTheBible, featuring topics such as games, celebrity interviews and African-American culture.
Controversies
In 2019, Seales was involved in a controversy where many people mistakenly reported that she had accused former NFL player and neurosurgeon resident Myron Rolle of sexually harassing several women. She made several Instagram videos alleging he was sexually inappropriate, and was sharing that she had heard those allegations from other women. Multiple people who were spreading that story have since admitted that Seales did not make those allegations herself.
In the weeks preceding Rodney Reed's November 20, 2019 execution date, Seales publicly urged Texas Governor Greg Abbott
Gregory Wayne Abbott (born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving as the 48th governor of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 50th attorney general of Texas from 2002 ...
to exonerate Reed or stay his execution. She later rescinded her support after learning more about his history.
In February 2020, Seales sought controversy while on ''The Real
In continental philosophy, the Real refers to the remainder of reality that cannot be expressed, and which surpasses reasoning. In Lacanianism, it is an "impossible" category because of its opposition to expression and inconceivability.
I ...
'' when defending Jussie Smollett
Jussie Smollett (, born June 21, 1982) is an American actor and singer. He began his career as a child actor in 1991 debuting in '' The Mighty Ducks'' (1992). In 2015, Smollett portrayed musician Jamal Lyon in the Fox drama series ''Empire'', a ...
after he was arrested for faking a hate crime. While describing the accusations as alleged, she went on to defend the actor saying, "Even if it was a hoax for the sake of bringing attention to this, then I’m like, that’s low-key noble". In 2022, Smollett was found guilty of orchestrating a fake hate crime and sentenced to 150 days in prison.
In 2021, Seales was criticized for portraying an Alpha Kappa Alpha, or "AKA," on the series '' Insecure''. Real-life members of the sorority responded negatively to Seales' character wearing Alpha Kappa Alpha colors. Seales responded to the criticism in an Instagram video defending her portrayal. It was later reported that the sorority plans to take legal action against Seales.
Discography
EPs
Mixtapes
Guest appearances
Filmography
Film and TV
Music videos
Bibliography
Seales's first book, 'Small Doses: Potent Truths for Everyday Use' was also released in 2019. The book is an extension of her podcast of the same name. It is a volume of essays, axioms, original illustrations, and photos from her trademark "self-help from the hip” style of commentary.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Seales, Amanda
Living people
1981 births
American hip hop DJs
American radio DJs
American people of Grenadian descent
Musicians from Los Angeles
Actresses from Los Angeles
State University of New York at Purchase alumni
American women rappers
African-American women rappers
West Coast hip hop musicians
African-American actresses
African-American songwriters
Songwriters from California
Radio personalities from Los Angeles
VJs (media personalities)
American women hip hop singers
Dr. Phillips High School alumni
Anti-smoking activists
21st-century American rappers
21st-century American women musicians
American health activists
American women radio presenters
American contemporary R&B singers
African-American television talk show hosts
American television talk show hosts
American women poets
American women podcasters
American podcasters
21st-century African-American women
21st-century African-American musicians
Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni
20th-century African-American people
20th-century African-American women
21st-century women rappers