Vivica Anjanetta Fox (born July 30, 1964), better known as Vivica A. Fox, is an American actress, producer, and television host.
Vivica A. Fox Top 10 Movies | Best 10 Movie of Vivica A. Fox
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Fox was born in South Bend, Indiana, the daughter of Everlyena, a pharmaceutical technician, and William Fox, a school administrator. Her parents relocated to the Benton Harbor, Michigan, area soon after her birth. In 1982, Fox relocated to California in order to attend Golden West College.
While in California, she was a dancer on Soul Train from 1983 to 1984, and also appeared in the music video for R&B group Klymaxx's hit single, "Meeting in the Ladies Room".
After her dancing career, she began acting. Afterwards, she started acting professionally, first on the NBC daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives in 1988 playing Carmen Silva.
Breakthrough Roles and Rise to Fame
In 1989, she made her movie debut in Born on the Fourth of July. After making her debut as a hooker in Oliver Stone's war drama film Born on the Fourth of July (1989), she was cast as Emily Franklin in the pilot episode of ABC comedy series, Living Dolls, a spin-off of the sitcom Who's the Boss?, but was replaced with Halle Berry for the remaining episodes.
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Later that year, Fox was cast as Maya Reubens, the leading character in the NBC daytime soap opera Generations. In the early 1990s, Fox began appearing in prime time television, playing guest-starring roles on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, 90210, Family Matters, Matlock and Martin.
In 1992, she was cast as Patti LaBelle's fashion-designer daughter, Charisse Chamberlain, on the NBC sitcom Out All Night. In addition to her role, she returned to soap operas with role of Dr. Stephanie Simmons on CBS's The Young and the Restless during 1994-95.
The year 1996 was a huge turning point for Vivica Fox. She starred as Jasmine Dubrow, the girlfriend of Will Smith's character, in the science fiction movie Independence Day. This film was a massive hit, earning over $800 million worldwide.
Fox received an MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss with Smith, and was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. Later in 1996, she played Francesca "Frankie" Sutton in the action film Set It Off. She starred alongside Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, and Kimberly Elise.
Set It Off was praised by critics and also did very well at the box office. In 1997, Fox appeared in three more films: the comedy Booty Call, the superhero movie Batman & Robin, and the comedy-drama Soul Food.
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Continued Success in Film and Television
Vivica Fox also continued to have leading roles on television. She played the Queen of Sheba in the British TV movie Solomon in 1997. In 1998, she was the main actress in the sitcom Getting Personal.
She also starred with Halle Berry in the romantic drama Why Do Fools Fall in Love, playing one of the wives of singer Frankie Lymon. In 2001, Fox played Lucille Slocumb in the comedy-drama Kingdom Come. That same year, she was the lead in the romantic comedy Two Can Play That Game.
In 2002, she starred in Juwanna Mann and Boat Trip. From 2004 to 2006, Vivica Fox was a co-producer and star of the TV crime drama series Missing on the Lifetime channel.
She played FBI special agent Nicole Scott and won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series in 2006 for her work on the show.
Vivica Fox has also been a judge on TV talent shows like The Starlet. Fox participated in the third season of ABC's hit television show, Dancing with the Stars, she was voted off after the fourth week.
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She competed on Dancing with the Stars in 2006. She hosted her own reality shows, Glam God with Vivica A. Fox (2008) and The Cougar (2009).
In the late 2000s and 2010s, Fox continued to act in many films and TV shows. She had guest roles on series like Law & Order and Drop Dead Diva. She also starred in the sitcom Mr. Box Office.
In 2015, she joined the cast of the musical drama series Empire as Candace Mason, the sister of the character Cookie Lyon. She became a regular cast member for the show's final season.
Vivica Fox returned to her role as Jasmine Hiller in Independence Day: Resurgence, which was released in 2016. In 2017, Lifetime launched her new show "Vivica's Black Magic." She also appeared in Chocolate City: Vegas Strip and Bring It On: Worldwide Cheersmack.
In 2018, Vivica Fox released a book called Every Day I'm Hustling. It shares stories from her career and relationships.
Since 2019, Vivica Fox has continued to be very busy. Since 2019, Vivica Fox has continued to be very busy. She has starred in many TV films, including several in "The Wrong..." series. In 2020, she appeared in the film Arkansas and True to the Game 2.
In 2021, she starred in the horror film Aquarium of the Dead. In 2022, she appeared in several Christmas TV movies. On October 5, 2023, Vivica Fox directed the movie First Lady of BMF: The Tonesa Welch Story for BET+.
Personal Life
In December 1998, Fox married singer Christopher "Sixx-Nine" Harvest. They divorced in 2002. She briefly dated rapper 50 Cent in 2003.
Awards and Recognition
Vivica Fox has appeared in over 250 movies and TV shows throughout her career. She received nominations for the MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss and Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Independence Day. She has also been nominated for nine NAACP Image Awards. These include nominations for NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for films like Soul Food and Two Can Play That Game.
Filmography Highlights
Here's a table summarizing some of Vivica A. Fox's notable film and television roles:
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Independence Day | Jasmine Dubrow | MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss |
| 1996 | Set It Off | Francesca "Frankie" Sutton | |
| 1997 | Soul Food | Maxine Chadway | |
| 2001 | Two Can Play That Game | Shanté Smith | |
| 2003-2006 | Missing | Nicole Scott | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series |
| 2015-2019 | Empire | Candace Mason | Recurring role (season 2), Main role (season 6) |