Tia Dashon Mowry-Hardrict (born July 6, 1978) is an American actress, singer, voice actress, and author. She first gained fame for her teen role as Tia Landry on the ABC/WB sitcom Sister, Sister (opposite her identical twin sister Tamera Mowry). From 2006 until 2012, she portrayed medical student Melanie Barnett Davis on the CW/BET comedy-drama series The Game. She is also notable for starring in the television movie Twitches and its sequel Twitches Too.
Family and early life[]
Tia Mowry was born in Gelnhausen, West Germany to Darlene Renee Mowry (née Flowers), who managed her children's careers even when they were in the group Voices and also worked as a security guard, and Timothy John Mowry, who was in the U.S. Army at the time of her birth and later became a custody officer/jailer with the City of Glendale Police Department when the family moved to California.[1][2][3]
Darlene, who is Bahamian-American, and Timothy, who is British American, met in high school in Miami, Florida. Both joined the U.S. Army, and both would eventually reach the rank of Sergeant. During a live taping of The Wendy Williams Show in 2010, Mowry announced that for years, she and her twin sister believed they were of Italian descent on their father's side; however, after researching their family tree on Ancestry.com, they quickly discovered that he was instead of British descent.[1][2][4] Her family is "close-knit" and "deeply religious",[2] as the sisters became born again Christians when they were eight.[5]
She also has two younger brothers, actor Tahj Mowry and Tavior Mowry, who plays college football for University of California, Davis. Tia is two minutes younger than her twin sister, Tamera.[6]
Career[]
Tia Mowry and her sister began entering pageants and talent shows while their family was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. At age 12, they convinced their mother to move to California with them so they could pursue acting. She agreed, on the condition that they land an acting job within the first month of their stay. In 1990, their family moved to California permanently, settling in Los Angeles, and she and her sister began appearing in commercials and small roles.
She is well known for playing Tia Landry, a twin separated at birth and reunited with her sister as a teenager in the show Sister, Sister. The series was developed for them after a producer spotted them on the set of Full House, a show on which their brother made regular appearances. Sister, Sister was initially on ABC but was cancelled by the network after two years and picked up by The WB, where it ran for another four years. During its run, they appeared on an episode of their brother Tahj Mowry's show Smart Guy. They also did voice-over work for the Kids' WB cartoon series Detention.
After the show ended, both Mowry and her sister studied psychology at Pepperdine University. She also went to Europe to study humanities and Italian for a period.[7] Both she and her sister appeared in the Rob Schneider comedy film The Hot Chick, playing cheerleaders. Mowry also did voiceovers for the Bratz cartoon series as the voice of Sasha. In 2005, Mowry and her sister both starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Twitches and reprised their roles in its sequel, Twitches Too and before co-starred in the 2000 movie Seventeen Again. She also appeared on an episode of her sister's television show, Strong Medicine, in January 2006, playing the role of Keisha, the twin sister of Tamera Mowry's character, Dr. Kayla Thornton. Mowry has a starring role in the BET television series The Game as Melanie Barnett. Mowry has been nominated for a Teen Choice Award and a NAACP Image Awards for best actress in a comedy.
In the Blues Clues episode Blue's Birthday, Mowry and her sister make a cameo appearance as two of the celebrities wishing Blue a happy birthday in her birthday card. Their only line is said in unison: "Happy Birthday, Blue!"
Beginning July 2011, the Style Network began airing, Tia & Tamera, a reality show which follows the day to day lives of the twins; Tia being pregnant and Tamera engaged planning her wedding.
Mowry and her sister Tamera both can sing. They have showcased their vocal abilities on episodes of Sister Sister, including The Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love", "Amazing Grace" and "I'm Going Down", which Tamera performed. They also sang the theme song during season five and six.
In May 2012, Tia published her first book, Oh, Baby: Pregnancy Tales and Advice from One Hot Mama to Another, about her pregnancy and being a working mom.[citation needed] In Fall 2012, Mowry will be performing in the ensemble of the national tour of Sister Act with Tamera Mowry as Deloris Van Cartier and Louise Pitre as Mother Superior.
In May 2012, Mowry stated via her Twitter, that she would not be returning to The Game, for a sixth season. In August 2012 it was announced that she has been cast in the lead role in a new Nick at Nite Series Instant Mom.
Personal life[]
Mowry met actor Cory Hardrict while filming the film Hollywood Horror. They dated for six years; became engaged on Christmas 2007,[8] and married on April 28, 2008 in California.[9] On January 11, 2011, People announced that Mowry and Hardrict were expecting their first child; Mowry made the announcement herself on 106 & Park. The pregnancy was documented on the show Tia & Tamera on the Style Network.[10] The couple's first child, a boy, named Cree Taylor Hardrict was born June 28, 2011. They would later have a daughter in May of 2018. [11][12][13] Mowry had a reality show on Style, Tia & Tamera, alongside with her sister, Tamera Mowry.
Mowry is the head coach of the Entertainment Basketball League celebrity team. She coaches the Atlanta team whose players include her husband, Cory Hardrict, and co-star, Pooch Hall.[14] She recently coached at the battle of the sexes game in Chicago against the Sky of the WNBA.[15]