Kim Victoria Fields-Morgan ( Fields, formerly Freeman; born May 12, 1969) is an American actress and director. Fields is best known for her roles as
Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey on the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...
sitcom
A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...
''
The Facts of Life'' (1979–1988), and as Regine Hunter on the
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelv ...
sitcom ''
Living Single
''Living Single'' is an American television sitcom created by Yvette Lee Bowser that aired for five seasons on the Fox network from August 22, 1993, to January 1, 1998. The show centered on the lives of six friends who shared personal and profess ...
'' (1993–1998). She currently stars in the ''
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
'' original series ''
The Upshaws''.
Early life
Fields is the daughter of actress/director
Chip Fields-Hurd, and the older sister of actress Alexis Fields, best known for her roles on ''
Kenan & Kel
''Kenan & Kel'' is an American buddy comedy sitcom created by Kim Bass. The show originally aired on the Nickelodeon network for four seasons, from July 15, 1996, to July 15, 2000. Set in Chicago, Illinois, the series follows mischievous Kenan ...
'', ''
Moesha'' and ''
Sister, Sister'' as well as ''
Roc''.
Career
Before appearing on ''The Facts of Life'', Fields co-starred in a short-lived sitcom called ''
Baby, I'm Back'' with
Demond Wilson and
Denise Nicholas
Denise Donna Nicholas (born July 12, 1944) is an American actress, author, and social activist. Nicholas is known primarily for her roles as high-school guidance counselor Liz McIntyre on the ABC comedy-drama series ''Room 222'' and Councilwoman ...
, and she appeared in a television commercial for
Mrs. Butterworth's syrup. She later appeared on two episodes of ''
Good Times
''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first Afric ...
'' as a friend of
Penny Gordon Woods
''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first African ...
, played by
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...
. Fields' episodes on ''
Good Times
''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first Afric ...
'' were "The Snow Storm" and "The Physical".
Fields played the role of Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey on the NBC sitcom ''
The Facts of Life'' from 1979 to 1988. Even years later, many still recognize her catchphrase, "''We're in troouu-ble!''". When the show began production, Fields was so short that the producers put her on roller skates during the first season so that they could avoid difficult camera angles. However, she later lost a role as
Arnold Jackson's girlfriend on ''The Facts of Life''s parent show ''
Diff'rent Strokes
''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson ...
'' because she was taller than
Gary Coleman
Gary Wayne Coleman (February 8, 1968 – May 28, 2010) was an American actor and comedian. Coleman was the highest-paid child actor on television throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. He was rated first on a list of VH1's "100 Greatest Kid S ...
, who played Arnold. In 1984, during the run of ''The Facts of Life'', Fields released two singles on the Critique Records label: the
disco/
Hi-NRG
Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
As a music genre, typified by fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and th ...
"He Loves Me He Loves Me Not" (which became a minor club hit), and "Dear Michael" (which became a minor R&B hit, reaching No. 50).
After taking time away from acting to attend
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and ...
. Fields also appeared in a 1993 episode of ''
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart ...
'', in which
Will Smith
Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...
pretended to marry her in an attempt to seduce her. Fields had a starring role in the hit
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelv ...
sitcom
A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...
''
Living Single
''Living Single'' is an American television sitcom created by Yvette Lee Bowser that aired for five seasons on the Fox network from August 22, 1993, to January 1, 1998. The show centered on the lives of six friends who shared personal and profess ...
'' from 1993 to 1998 as Regina "Reginé" Hunter.
After the cancellation of ''Living Single'', Fields began performing
rap music
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
and
R&B with a group called Impromp 2. With her degree from Pepperdine University, Fields began directing. Fields directed a number of episodes of the ''
All That
''All That'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by Brian Robbins and Mike Tollin. The series originally aired on Nickelodeon from April 16, 1994, to October 22, 2005, lasting ten seasons, and was produced by Tollin/Robbins P ...
!'' spin-off ''
Kenan & Kel
''Kenan & Kel'' is an American buddy comedy sitcom created by Kim Bass. The show originally aired on the Nickelodeon network for four seasons, from July 15, 1996, to July 15, 2000. Set in Chicago, Illinois, the series follows mischievous Kenan ...
'', in which she also appeared in two episodes. She has worked as a director on the sitcoms ''
Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns'', ''
Tyler Perry's House of Payne'' and BET's ''
Let's Stay Together''.
Fields guest-starred on television shows such as
UPN's ''
One on One'', ''
The Golden Palace'', and appeared as herself on
HBO's ''
The Comeback''. On February 1, 2007, Fields was reunited with her co-star
Lisa Whelchel on
WFAA
WFAA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex as an affiliate of American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Decatur, Texas, Decat ...
-TV's ''Good Morning Texas''. Fields was in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
to promote her appearance in the production ''Issues: We've All Got 'Em'' when Whelchel was introduced as a surprise guest. It marked the first time in six years (since ''
The Facts of Life Reunion
''The Facts of Life Reunion'' is a 2001 American made-for-television comedy-drama film based on the 1979–1988 NBC sitcom '' The Facts of Life'' which reunited original cast members Charlotte Rae, Lisa Whelchel, Mindy Cohn and Kim Fields. Nan ...
'' movie) that Fields and Whelchel had seen each other.
Fields has worked with her husband Christopher Morgan on projects. In 2010, she and Christopher produced and directed a Christmas television special called ''Holiday Love''. They shot the entire show in three days. ''Holiday Love'' aired on TV One and a second episode aired for Christmas, 2011. In an interview that included background on the show, Fields described the Christmas special as "restorative and transformative" of her Christian faith. Fields revived ''Holiday Love'' on the Internet in 2013.
On August 18, 2015, it was announced that she would be joining the cast of
Bravo reality television show ''
The Real Housewives of Atlanta
''The Real Housewives of Atlanta'' (abbreviated ''RHOA'') is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on October 7, 2008. Developed as the third installment of ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired fourteen seaso ...
'' for its eighth season. On March 21, 2016, she announced that she would not return to the show for another season.
On March 8, 2016, Fields was announced as one of the celebrities who will compete on
season 22 of ''
Dancing with the Stars
''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series ''Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...
''. She was partnered with professional dancer
Sasha Farber
Sacha, Sasha, Sascha, or ''variant'' may refer to:
People
* Sasha (name), includes list of people with the name and the variants Sascha or Sacha
Musicians
* Sasha (DJ) (born 1969), born Alexander Coe
* Sasha (German singer) (born 1972), born Sa ...
. On May 2, 2016, during a double elimination, Fields and Farber were eliminated and finished the competition in 8th place.
In 2017, Fields played the role of Theresa Newman in the Christian film ''
A Question of Faith''. The movie featured Fields' first co-starring appearance in a feature film and premiered in theaters on September 29, 2017.
Currently, Fields stars on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
's ''
The Upshaws''.
Personal life
Fields was married to film producer Johnathon Franklin Freeman from 1995 to 2001. Fields gave birth to her first child, Sebastian Alexander Morgan, by then-boyfriend, Broadway actor Christopher Morgan. The couple introduced their son the following week in ''
People
A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of proper ...
'' magazine. On July 23, 2007, they were married in a private ceremony officiated by Pastor
Donnie McClurkin. On July 24, 2013, she announced on the talk show, ''The Real'', that she and her husband were expecting another child, a boy. The couple welcomed their second son, Quincy Morgan, in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...
.
Filmography
Film
Television
Directing
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fields, Kim
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from New York City
African-American actresses
African-American television directors
American actors of Jamaican descent
American child actresses
American television actresses
American television directors
American women television directors
Living people
Pepperdine University alumni
The Real Housewives cast members
The Real Housewives of Atlanta
20th-century African-American women
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American women
21st-century African-American people
1969 births