Kenya Moore

American actress and former Miss USA, Kenya Moore has lent her beauty to several notable films including Waiting to Exhale and I Know Who Killed Me.

Kenya Summer Moore was born January 24, 1971 in Detroit, Michigan. Raised by her grandmother, Doris, Moore cites her caregiver as the main inspiration in her life. Moore is of both African American and Native American extraction.

Receiving her education at Cass Technical High School, she shared a school with fellow entertainers David Alan Grier, Lily Tomlin, and singing great Diana Ross. Pursuing her secondary education, Moore attended Wayne State University. She majored in psychology.

Rather than entering acting right away, Moore utilized her unique look to enter the Miss Michigan USA pageant in 1993. She took first place and went on to the even more notable Miss USA contest. Winning that crown as well, the only title left was that of Miss Universe. Ending her streak, she didn’t win the competition, but she did come in at a more than respectable fifth.

Entering acting, she made her onscreen debut on one episode of the popular sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1994. She appeared with cast regulars Will Smith, Alfonso Ribeiro, and Tatyana Ali.

Quickly moving onto film, she landed a role in the Forest Whitaker directed Waiting to Exhale the following year. A large commercial success, the film also starred Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Gregory Hines.

For the next five years, Moore found steady work through various television shows. Most notably, she appeared on Living Single with Queen Latifah, The Jamie Foxx Show, and In the House opposite LL Cool J.

By 2000, Moore was landing more and more film roles. Unfortunately, they were complete and utter flops such as Trois and Hot Parts. In 2003, she finally earned a film role that performed decently with critics and audiences. It was the romantic comedy Deliver Us From Eva with Gabrielle Union as the lead, Evangeline “Eva” Dandrige.

She hit another bump with the 2005 western Brothers in Arms. It starred David Carradine, whose career had recently been resurrected with the stylized Kill Bill series from acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino.

Moore’s most recent outings have been Cloud 9 with Burt Reynolds and Paul Rodriguez and 2007’s I Know Who Killed Me. The film starred Lindsay Lohan and Julia Ormond. Like many of Moore’s other productions, it too was treated harshly by the critics.

Outside of acting, Moore is noted for founding the Kenya Moore Foundation, which awards scholarships to deserving and underprivileged high school girls.

In her personal life, her hobbies included both singing and dancing.

Moore has never been married, nor does she have any children.

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