Yvette Denise Lee Bowser (born 1965) is an American television writer and producer. She wrote and produced the TV shows ''

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 professi ...

'' and ''

Half & Half ''Half & Half'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeffrey Klarik that aired on UPN from September 23, 2002, to May 15, 2006. The show focuses on the lives of two paternal half-sisters in their twenties who were estranged throughout t ...

'', and early in her career, worked on ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class African- ...

'' spin-off ''

A Different World ''A Different World'' is an American sitcom (and a spin-off of ''The Cosby Show'') television series that aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987 to July 9, 1993. The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable ( Lisa Bonet) an ...

''. With ''Living Single,'' she became the first African-American woman to develop her own primetime series.Gregory, Deborah.
"Yvette Lee Bowser: the sister who took 'Living Single' straight to the top! - African American television producer
. ''Essence''. December 1994.

Career

Bowser started on ''A Different World'' in 1987 as one of a number of apprentices, rising in prominence in the production company over the years and eventually becoming producer by the 1991–92 season.Brown, Malaika. (April–May 1995).
Sisterhood televised: Yvette Lee Bowser and the voices she listens to - creator and executive producer of the TV show, 'Living Single'
. ''American Visions''. She left the show to take a position with '' Hangin' with Mr. Cooper''. Bowser created her own company, Sister Lee Productions, which produced or co-produced her later shows, ''Living Single'' and ''Half & Half''. She has said in an interview that she draws many of her characters and plots from her own and her friends' personal experiences. She has said, "I just basically rip pages out of my diary to tell stories on TV."Walker, Nicole (March 15, 2004).
Two sisters, two different moms—TV's 'half & half' takes a fresh look at the blended black family
. '' Jet''. Archived fro
the original
on January 23, 2005. In the case of ''Half & Half'', for example, the writer based the characters Mona and Dee-Dee on herself and an older half-sister, and plot ideas came from her experience as the youngest child in a blended family. Through Sister Lee Productions, Bowser served as

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...

for the critically acclaimed Netflix series ''

Dear White People ''Dear White People'' is a 2014 American satirical dark comedy-drama film written, directed and co-produced by Justin Simien. The film focuses on escalating racial tensions at a fictitious, prestigious Ivy League college from the perspective of ...

'', adapted with

Justin Simien Justin Simien (born May 7, 1983) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. His first feature film, ''Dear White People'', won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Talent at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. The film was later ...

from his film of the same name. In 2020, she became the showrunner on the Starz original series '' Run the World'', created by

Leigh Davenport Leigh Davenport is an American writer and producer. She is the creator of ''Run the World'', and the writer of the films '' Wendy Williams: The Movie'' and ''The Perfect Find''. Life and career Davenport was born and raised in Chicago. She rec ...

Personal life

Bowser lived in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Carroll Park Carroll Park is a nearly public park located in the historic Washington Village-Pigtown neighborhood in southwestern Baltimore, Maryland. The park is bordered by Washington Boulevard to the south, Monroe Street to the west, Bayard Street to t ...

neighborhood until age 5, when she and her mother moved to California. Bowser graduated from

Santa Monica High School Santa Monica High School, officially abbreviated to SaMoHi, is located in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1891, it changed location several times in its early years before settling into its present campus at 601 Pico Boulevard. It is a part o ...

in 1983.Pennington, Gail (July 22, 1996).
Fox Makes Plans for 'Super' Season
. ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch''. p. 6E. She attended with Holly Robinson, who was a part of the '' Hangin' with Mr. Cooper'' cast and later starred in ''

For Your Love "For Your Love" is a rock song written by Graham Gouldman and recorded by English group the Yardbirds. Released in March 1965, it was their first top ten hit in both the UK and the US. The song was a departure from the group's blues roots in ...

''. Bowser also attended with her friend

Lori Petty Lori Petty (born October 14, 1963) is an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She is noted for her roles in the films ''Point Break'' (1991), ''A League of Their Own'' (1992), ''Free Willy '' (1993), and the title role in ''Tank Girl'' ...

, whom she later cast in her sitcom '' Lush Life''. After high school, Bowser attended

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

where, in spring 1986, she pledged the Xi Beta chapter of

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen stud ...

sorority.Xi Beta Legacy
. ''Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Xi Beta Chapter''. 2016. Archived fro
the original
on July 3, 2105. Yvette Lee married producer Kyle Bowser in 1994. The two worked together on ''Living Single'', ''Half & Half'', and ''

''.Holmes, Kristin
The Bible's fresh voice
''Philadelphia Inquirer'', Nov. 4, 2006

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowser, Yvette Lee Television producers from California American women television producers American television writers American women television writers African-American people 1965 births Living people American women screenwriters People from Philadelphia People from Santa Monica, California Place of birth missing (living people) Stanford University alumni 21st-century American women