Taral Hicks

Taral Nikisha Hicks (born September 21, 1974) is an American actress and singer. Hicks is best known for her acting in such films as 1993's American crime drama film A Bronx Tale and her singing in such work as her 1997 debut studio album This Time which peaked at No. 4 on Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles.

Taral Hicks
Born
Taral Nikisha Hicks

(1974-09-21) September 21, 1974
The Bronx, New York City
EducationGrace Dodge Vocational High School
Occupation
  • Actress
  • singer
Years active1993–present
Spouse(s)
Loren Dawson
​
(m. 2001)​
FamilyD'atra Hicks (sister)
Musical career
Genres
LabelsMotown
Associated acts
Websitetwitter.com/TaralHicks

Raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, Hicks graduated from Teaneck High School in 1994.[1]

Career

Acting

Hicks began her film career with a role alongside Robert De Niro in the 1993 film, A Bronx Tale. Her subsequent film roles were small: 1995's Just Cause with Sean Connery and Laurence Fishburne, and 1996's Educating Matt Waters and The Preacher's Wife with Whitney Houston. She appeared in the movie Belly in 1998. In 2000, she appeared on screen in the short film, Are You Cinderella?, with actor Wood Harris. Her later film roles were in independent films such as 2005's The Salon, with Vivica A. Fox, Dondre Whitfield, and Darrin Henson; 2006's Forbidden Fruits with Ella Joyce, Fredro Starr, and R&B singer Keith Sweat; 2007's Humenetomy; and 2010's Ex$pendable. Hicks featured in the HBO television series Subway Stories in 1997. Two guest roles followed: 2002's 100 Centre Street in the episode titled "Fathers", and a 2003 episode of Soul Food: The Series titled "The New Math". Hicks co-starred in the musical stage play Tyler Perry's Aunt Bam's Place with Paris Bennett, Cassi Davis, Jeffrey Lewis, and Melonie Daniels. It had a 3-day run beginning August 30, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia (Cobb Energy Center) and was filmed for a DVD release on June 12, 2012.[2]

Music

In 1995, Hicks signed a deal with Motown Records and released an album titled This Time. The single "Ooh, Ooh Baby", written by and featuring Missy Elliott, charted on the Billboard R&B singles chart. However, the lead single intended to debut her singing career was "Distant Lover", an uptempo track produced by Teddy Riley. The album did not take off until the second single, "Silly", a remake of the classic R&B hit by Deniece Williams, was released. Featuring a black-and-white music video directed by Hype Williams, the single charted well on the R&B chart. After collaborating on the video for "Silly", Williams cast Hicks as in his directorial film debut, 1998's Belly, as Keisha, DMX's girlfriend. The video for "Silly" appeared in one of the film's scenes. Hicks has expressed interest in pursuing a career in gospel music.[3]

Personal life

Hicks is a 1993 of Grace Dodge Vocational High School in Bronx, New York.[4] She is the younger sister of actress and singer D'atra Hicks. In 1999, Hicks began dating Loren Dawson,[5] and the couple married in 2001.

Discography

Albums
Year Album Peak Position
Billboard Hot 200 Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
1997 This Time – –

Singles
Year Song Peak Position
Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks
1996 "Ooh, Ooh Baby" (featuring Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott) – 81
1997 "Distant Lover" – 60
1998 "Silly" 104[6] 54
"How Can I Get Over You" – –
Soundtracks

Filmography
Film/Television
Year Film Role
1993 A Bronx Tale Jane Williams
1995 Just Cause Lena
1998 Belly Keisha

References
  1. Beckerman, Jim. "Where Stars Are Born", The Record (North Jersey), August 19, 2000. Accessed February 12, 2020. "When Shanell Jones graduated from Teaneck High School in June, she already had a deal with Def Jam, a major recording label. But as former Motown Records artist Taral Hicks (Teaneck, Class of 1994) and Alligator recording artist Shemekia Copeland (Teaneck, Class of 1997) could tell her, that's no big deal in this neck of the woods."
  2. "Tyler Perry's Aunt Bam's Place Starring Paris Benet & Taral Hicks Comes to DVD Tomorrow". Urbanbridgez.com. June 11, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  3. Taral Hicks: From The Belly of the Beast Archived September 4, 2009, at the Wayback Machine By DeVaughn Douglas Tuesday, September 1, 2009 2:35 pm – All Hip Hop.com
  4. "About Questia | Questia, Your Online Research Library". January 11, 2019. Archived from the original on May 16, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  5. Hicks, Taral. "Happy 20th V-Day my love 😍 💕❤️💕@lorendawson". Instagram.com. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  6. "Billboard – Music Charts, News, Photos & Video". Retrieved May 15, 2017.
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