Kimberly LaShaunda Coles (born January 11, 1962)[3][4] is an American actress, comedian and game show host. Coles is known for her roles as a cast member on the first season of In Living Color (1990–1991) and as Synclaire James-Jones on the television sitcom Living Single (1993–1998), which both originally aired on Fox. She was the host of BET's game show Pay It Off in 2009.[5]
Kim Coles | |
|---|---|
 Coles in 1998 | |
| Born | Kimberly LaShaunda Coles January 11, 1962 New York City, U.S.[1] |
| Education | North Carolina Central University |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Known for | Synclaire James – Living Single |
| Spouses | |
Early life
editColes was born in Brooklyn, New York City. Her father was the first black Dean of the Pratt Institute.[1] She attended a private Lutheran school and was quiet and studious until high school, when her sense of humor emerged.[1] She graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1980.[6]
Career
editColes has appeared on many television shows, including Frasier ("Dr." Mary Thomas),[7] Six Feet Under, Celebrity Mole, Living Single and The Geena Davis Show. Early in her career, she appeared as one of the hosts of It's Showtime at the Apollo. She was an original cast member on the sketch comedy series In Living Color that appeared on the FOX network. After leaving "In Living Color", she then got the role as Synclaire James on Living Single and won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series. She appeared as the mother of Spirit on UPN's One on One. Coles is a published author; her book is called I'm Free But It Will Cost You, ISBN 978-0-7868-8322-6, Hyperion Books, 1998.
Coles appeared on Celebrity Mole: Hawaii and was the first contestant to be eliminated. At the reunion of the show, she was one of two celebrities (the other was Michael Boatman) to correctly guess that Frederique van der Wal was the series' saboteur, Kathy Griffin was the winner, and Erik von Detten was the runner-up. Coles also joined other celebrities for a weight loss journey on the VH-1 reality show, Celebrity Fit Club. After 16 weeks, she lost a total of 24 lbs, and dropping nearly 4 percentage points in body fat, going from 34.7% to 31%. She accomplished this with the help of her team, "Ralphie's Angels". She lost 10.2% of her body weight, dropping down to 196 lbs.
Coles was a regular panelist on the 2000 revival of To Tell the Truth during its second season. She was also featured as a guest host on two episodes of The View. Coles was a co-host of the syndicated daytime television show In The Loop With iVillage alongside The Apprentice winner Bill Rancic and fellow season one contestant Ereka Vetrini. She has recently joined the cast of 10 Items or Less on TBS.
On September 30, 2009, she hosted the game show Pay It Off, lasted for one season on BET, which is similar to Debt. In 2010, she appeared on RuPaul's Drag Race. She appeared in an episode of TV One's series "Life After" in late 2011.
Coles has also performed as a stand-up comedian, with some of her material dealing with her struggle with being overweight at times.[8]
Personal life
editColes has been married twice, first to Aton Edwards from 1985 to 1995, then to Reggie Mckiver, a former SWAT police officer, in the Dominican Republic, from 2015 to 2019.[9]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Strictly Business | Millicent | |
| 2005 | Kids in America | Loretta Jenkins | |
| 2009 | Wig | Cacey | Short |
| 2019 | Love Is Not Enough | Angela | |
| 2021 | A Jenkins Family Christmas | Beverly | |
| 2022 | A Marriage Made in Heaven | Angela Tucker | |
| 2024 | Hungry | Sharlyne | |
| Love, Danielle | Ellen |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988–91 | Showtime at the Apollo | Herself | Recurring Guest |
| 1990 | In Living Color | Herself/Cast Member | Main Cast: Season 1 |
| 1992-94 | An Evening at the Improv | Herself | Episode: "Episode #9.18" & "#13.13" |
| 1993 | Martin | Bonquisha | Episode: "Baby You Can Drive My Car" |
| 1993–98 | Living Single | Synclaire James-Jones | Main Cast |
| 1995 | The Crew | Synclaire James | Episode: "The Worst Noel" |
| 1996 | MADtv | Herself | Episode: "Episode #1.17" & "#2.3" |
| The Show | Deandra | Episode: "Deandra and Them" | |
| 1999 | New Attitudes | Herself/Host | Main Host |
| Hollywood Squares | Herself/Panelist | Recurring Panelist | |
| 2000 | Frasier | Dr. Mary Thomas | Guest Cast: Season 7-8 |
| 2000–01 | The Geena Davis Show | Judy Owens | Main Cast |
| 2001 | The Test | Herself/Panelist | Episode: "The Self-Respect Test" |
| Headliners & Legends with Matt Lauer | Herself | Episode: "Halle Berry" | |
| Biography | Herself | Episode: "Kim Fields: A Little Somethin' Somethin'" | |
| Weakest Link | Herself | Episode: "Comedians #3 Special" | |
| 2002 | Six Feet Under | Dolores | Episode: "The Liar and the Whore" |
| 2002–03 | Pyramid | Herself/Celebrity Contestant | Recurring Guest |
| 2002–04 | One on One | Leilani Jones | Recurring Cast: Season 2 & 4, Guest: Season 3 |
| 2003 | The Mole | Herself | Contestant: Season 3 |
| Star Search | Herself/Guest Judge | Episode: "The One with Living Single Star Kim Coles" | |
| The Parkers | Florence | Episode: "That's What Friends Are For" | |
| 2003–04 | Coming to the Stage | Herself/Judge | Main Judge |
| 2004 | Steve Harvey's Big Time Challenge | Herself | Episode: "Episode #2.11" |
| My Wife and Kids | Childcare Instructor | Episode: "Childcare Class" | |
| 2005 | Black in the 80s | Herself | Recurring Guest |
| Celebrity Fit Club | Herself/Contestant | Contestant: Season 1 | |
| Queer Edge with Jack E. Jett & Sandra Bernhard | Herself/Co-Host | Recurring Co-Host | |
| 2006 | The Tom Joyner Show | Herself | Episode: "Episode #1.14" & "#1.20" |
| Celebrity Poker Showdown | Herself/Contestant | Episode: "Tournament 8, Game 2" | |
| 2006–07 | Comics Unleashed | Herself | Recurring Guest |
| 2007 | The View | Herself/Co-Host | Episode: "June 11 & 14, 2007" |
| In the Loop with iVillage | Herself/Co-Host | Main Co-Host | |
| 2009 | GSN Live | Herself | Episode: "Kim Coles" |
| 10 Items or Less | Mercedes “Mercy” P. Jones | Recurring Cast: Season 3 | |
| 2010 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Herself/Guest Judge | Episode: "Starrbootylicious" |
| 2011 | Life After | Herself | Episode: "Kim Coles: Life After 'Living Single'" |
| Celebrity Ghost Stories | Herself/Contestant | Episode: "Mickey Rooney/Eric Mabius/Brande Roderick/Kim Coles" | |
| Love That Girl! | Dr. Sarah Van Jones | Episode: "Head Shrunk" | |
| 2012 | Let's Stay Together | Carol | Episode: "Waiting to XXXhale" |
| The Soul Man | Wanda | Recurring Cast: Season 1 | |
| 2013 | Big Morning Buzz Live | Herself/Panelist | Episode: "Sylvester Stallone/Jerry Springer/Tim Love" |
| Wendell and Vinnie | Suzanne | Episode: "Of Mothers & Gardens" | |
| 2014 | Life with La Toya | Herself | Episode: "What Happens in Vegas..." |
| Gotham Comedy Live | Herself/Host | Episode: "Anthony Anderson" & "Kim Coles" | |
| Off the Chain | Herself | Episode: "Episode #3.1" | |
| Baby Daddy | Vice Principal Peters | Episode: "Livin' on a Prom" | |
| Quick Draw | Mrs. Tannenbaum | Episode: "The Grasshopper Plague" | |
| 2016 | Celebrity Food Fight | Herself/Contestant | Episode: "Make Mine a Ruben Studdard" |
| Mann and Wife | Donna | Episode: "Mann Up" | |
| 2019 | Sister Circle | Herself/Guest Co-Host | Episode: "August 26, 2019" |
| 2020 | 25 Words or Less | Herself/Contestant | Recurring Guest |
| 2021 | Soul of a Nation | Herself | Episode: "Black Joy" |
| History of the Sitcom | Herself | Episode: "Just Friends" & "Facing Race" | |
| 2022 | The Talk | Herself/Guest Co-Host | Episode: "Episode #12.191" & "#12.192" |
| Dark Side of the 90s | Herself | Episode: "Black Sitcoms' Last Laugh" | |
| The Surreal Life | Herself | Recurring Guest | |
| Finding Happy | Jo Garrett | Main Cast | |
| Home Economics | Tamara | Episode: "Sunday New York Times, $6" | |
| 2023 | Rewind the '90s | Herself | Episode: "Comedy Rebellion" |
| See It Loud: The History of Black Television | Herself | Recurring Guest | |
| Dark Side of Comedy | Herself | Episode: "Gilda Radner" | |
| Days of Our Lives | Nurse Whitley King | Regular Cast |
Documentary
edit| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2020 | Fierce Funny & Fly |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Awards | Category | Recipient | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | NAACP Image Awards | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series | "Living Single" | Nominated |
| 1997 | Nominated | |||
| 1998 | Won | |||
| 2001 | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | "Frasier" | Nominated |
References
edit- ^ a b c Poe, Janita (August 29, 1992). "Kim Coles finds life after 'Living Single'". Chicago Tribune. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 4E.
- ^ "TV.com- Kim Coles". Archived from the original on 2016-11-06. Retrieved 2015-11-08.
- ^ "Birthdays". Houston Chronicle. January 11, 2009. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
- ^ "Celebrity Birthdays". Jet. January 16, 2006. p. 3.
- ^ BET Shows' Pay It Off- August 2009
- ^ "Brooklyn Tech High School Alumni". Brooklyn Technical High School. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ "Kim Coles: Credits". TVGuide.com. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
- ^ Barber, Michel'le (April 1, 1991). "Comedian says ... fat isn't funny: Kim Coles loses 50 pounds, finds husband and new fans". Ebony.[dead link]
- ^ Apatoff, Alex. "Kim Coles' Wedding Dress: See Exclusive Photos and Get All the Scoop!". stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com. People Magazine. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.