Euphemia LatiQue Sumpter, better known as Tika Sumpter, is an American actress, singer, producer, television host, and model. Sumpter began her career as the host of '' Best Friend's Date''. From 2005 to 2010, she appeared in the daytime soap opera, ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

''. In 2010, she made her film debut in '' Stomp the Yard: Homecoming''. Sumpter was later featured in supporting roles for ''

What's Your Number? ''What's Your Number?'' is a 2011 American romantic comedy film directed by Mark Mylod and starring Anna Faris and Chris Evans. Written by Gabrielle Allan and Jennifer Crittenden, it is based on Karyn Bosnak's book ''20 Times a Lady''. It was ...

'', ''

Think Like a Man ''Think Like a Man'' is a 2012 American romantic comedy film directed by Tim Story, written by Keith Merryman and David A. Newman, and produced by Will Packer. It was based on Steve Harvey's 2009 book ''Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man''. The fil ...

'', ''

Sparkle Sparkle may refer to: * Sparkle (catamaran), a catamaran designed by Angus Primrose * Sparkle (drink), a lemon-flavored soft drink * Sparkle, a brand of paper towels owned by Georgia-Pacific * Sparkle Plenty, a character in the ''Dick Tracy'' c ...

'', and '' A Madea Christmas''. From 2013 to 2021, she appeared on the

OWN Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different ...

soap opera '' The Haves and the Have Nots'', as well as in ''

Ride Along A ride-along is an arrangement for a civilian to spend a shift in the passenger seat of an emergency vehicle, observing the work day of a police officer, firefighter, or paramedic. Ride-alongs are offered by many police departments around the wor ...

'', ''

Ride Along 2 ''Ride Along 2'' is a 2016 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Tim Story and written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. It is the sequel to the 2014 film ''Ride Along''. The film stars Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Ken Jeong, Benjamin Bratt, O ...

'', '' Get On Up'', and '' Nobody's Fool''. In 2016, she starred as

Michelle Robinson Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

in '' Southside with You''. In 2020, she appeared in ''

Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers mo ...

'' and reprised her role in the 2022 sequel, ''

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a 1992 platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute (STI) for the Sega Genesis. It follows Sonic as he attempts to stop Doctor Eggman from stealing the Chaos Emeralds to power his space stationnamed The Death Egg. Like the first ''S ...

''.

Early life

Sumpter was born in 1980 in

Queens, New York City Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

. She was a cheerleader at her high school. She graduated from Longwood Senior High School in Middle Island, New York and studied at

Marymount Manhattan College Marymount Manhattan College is a private college on the Upper East Side of New York City. As of 2020, enrollment consists of 1,571 undergraduates with women making up 80.1% and men 19.9% of student enrollment. The college was founded in 1936. Hi ...

where she majored in communications.

Career

2004–2011

Sumpter began her modeling career and appeared in commercials for

Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...

and

Liz Claiborne Anne Elisabeth Jane Claiborne (March 31, 1929 – June 26, 2007) was an American fashion designer and businesswoman. Her success was built upon stylish yet affordable apparel for career women featuring colorfully tailored separates that co ...

's Curve fragrances. She also worked as a waitress before acting. In 2004, she served as the co-host for the reality series ''Best Friend's Date'', which was broadcast on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

's defunct cable channel

The N The N (standing for Noggin) was a nighttime programming block on the Noggin television channel, aimed at preteens and teenagers. It was launched on April 1, 2002, by Viacom and Sesame Workshop. Before the block's introduction, Noggin's daytim ...

, now titled

TeenNick TeenNick is an American Pay television, pay-TV channel that is operated by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Aimed primarily at teens and tweens, its programming includes a variety of live-action series inherited from si ...

. The following year she landed the role of

Layla Williamson A list of notable characters from the ABC soap opera '' One Life to Live'' that made their first appearance between the beginning of 2000 and the end of 2009. Kimberly Andrews Kimberly Andrews (born Aubrey Wentworth) is a fictional charac ...

in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

daytime soap opera, ''

''. For her portrayal of Layla, Sumpter was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Best Actress in a Daytime Drama Series in 2008. She first appeared on-screen on July 15, 2005, playing the role regularly through September 14, 2010. Sumpter reappeared in the role on November 9–10, 2010, and January 21 and 24, 2011. In 2010, Sumpter made her film debut in '' Stomp the Yard: Homecoming'' and briefly appeared in ''

Salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

''. From January to May 2011, Sumpter appeared in

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

teen drama series, ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...

'' as Raina Thorpe. She played singer

Jason Derülo Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born September 21, 1989), known professionally as Jason Derulo (; formerly stylized as Derülo), is an American singer and songwriter.

's girlfriend in the video for his song "

It Girl An "it girl" is an attractive young woman, who is perceived to have both sex appeal and a personality that is especially engaging. The expression ''it girl'' originated in British upper-class society around the turn of the 20th century. ...

". In 2011, she appeared in the romantic comedy film ''

''. From 2011 to 2012 she also had a recurring role as Jenna Rice in the

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

comedy series, '' The Game''.

2012–2015

Sumpter played Delores "Dee" Anderson in the musical-drama ''

'' (2012), inspired by the story of

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

. Sumpter is heard on the '' Sparkle: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'', and appears in the music video for " Celebrate". After ''Sparkle'', she starred in the independent comedy film '' My Man Is a Loser''. From May 2013 to July 2021, Sumpter starred as Candace Young, a lead villainess, in the

Oprah Winfrey Network Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) is an American multinational basic cable channel jointly owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Harpo Studios that launched on January 1, 2011, replacing the Discovery Health Channel. The network is led by talk show h ...

soap opera '' The Haves and the Have Nots''. The series was a hit for the Oprah Winfrey Network. In 2013, she also appeared in '' A Madea Christmas''. In 2014, Sumpter co-starred in ''

'', opposite

Kevin Hart Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. Originally known as a stand-up comedian, he has since starred in Hollywood films and on TV. He has also released several well-received comedy albums. After winning se ...

and

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

. She reprised her role in the 2016 sequel ''

''. She played

Yvonne Fair Flora Yvonne Fair Strain (''née'' Coleman; October 21, 1942 – March 6, 1994), known professionally as Yvonne Fair, was an American singer, best known for her 1975 recording of " It Should Have Been Me". Life and career Flora Yvonne Coleman ...

in '' Get On Up'', the biographical drama film about

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

. In the same year she co-starred opposite

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album '' All Hail the Qu ...

Mo'Nique Monique Angela Hicks (née Imes; born December 11, 1967), known professionally as Mo'Nique, is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She has received an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award. She ...

, and

Khandi Alexander Harriet Rene "Khandi" Alexander (born September 4, 1957) is an American dancer, choreographer, and actress. She began her career as a dancer in the 1980s and was a choreographer for Whitney Houston's world tours from 1988 to 1992. During the 199 ...

in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

biographical film '' Bessie'' about the blues singer

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the " Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock a ...

2016–present

Sumpter played a young

in the film '' Southside with You'', a biopic about the early romance between Barack and Michelle Obama. The film premiered at the

2016 Sundance Film Festival The 2016 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 21 to January 31, 2016. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 2, 2015. The opening night film was ''Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You'', directed by Heidi Ew ...

and received positive reviews from critics. Sumpter also co-produced the film. Sumpter is an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. She was inducted into the organization on July 10, 2016, at the 67th annual Boule, in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2018, Sumpter appeared in the drama '' The Old Man & the Gun'', directed by David Lowery. She also appeared in '' An Acceptable Loss'', a political thriller written and directed by

Joe Chappelle Joseph Chappelle is an American screenwriter, producer, and director of film and television. He is perhaps best known for his work on the critically acclaimed HBO series ''The Wire'', where he directed six episodes and served as co-executive p ...

, and in the comedy-drama film '' Nobody's Fool'' for

Paramount Players Paramount Players is an American film production label of Paramount Pictures, focusing on "contemporary properties" while working with other Paramount Global brands. The name alludes to the company's earliest origins as Famous Players Film Compa ...

. In 2019, Sumpter was cast in the ABC comedy series ''

Mixed-ish ''Mixed-ish'' (stylized as ''ish'') was an American single-camera sitcom created by Kenya Barris, Peter Saji and Tracee Ellis Ross that premiered on ABC on September 24, 2019. The series is a prequel to ''Black-ish'', and the second series to b ...

'', a prequel spinoff of ''

Black-ish ''Black-ish'' (stylized as black·''ish'', `black·''ish'', and black''ish'') is an American sitcom television series created by Kenya Barris. It aired on ABC from September 24, 2014, to April 19, 2022, running for eight seasons. ''Black-ish'' ...

'', playing the role of Alicia, Rainbow's mother. In 2020, she appeared in the film ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' based on the video game franchise, and in the 2022 sequel.

Personal life

On October 8, 2016, Sumpter gave birth to her daughter, Ella-Loren. In January 2017, Sumpter announced that she was engaged to '' The Haves and the Have Nots'' co-star, Nicholas James. The couple married in 2022.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sumpter, Tika 21st-century American actresses Actresses from New York City African-American female models Living people Marymount Manhattan College alumni Singers from New York City American television actresses African-American actresses American film actresses American soap opera actresses People from Queens, New York 21st-century American singers 20th-century African-American women singers 21st-century African-American women 1980 births