Debra Wilson

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Debra Wilson

Birth name	Debra Renee Wilson
Born	April 26, 1962 (age 44) New York, New York, United States
Other name(s)	Debra Wilson
Spouse(s)	Cliff Skelton
Notable roles	Cast member in MADtv, Seasons 1-8

Debra Renee Wilson Skelton (born April 26, 1962) is an American comedian and actress. Wilson is most notable for being one of the original cast members on sketch comedy series MADtv.

1 Biography
2 Career
3 Trivia
4 Filmography
5 Television
6 Voice acting and video game appearances
7 External links

[edit] Biography

Debra Wilson was born and raised in New York City in the neighborhood of Ozone Park, Queens. Wilson attended the New York City High School of the Performing Arts. After graduation, she continued her studies at Syracuse University, working in television and radio broadcasting. Her acting debut was on the television pilot "The Apollo Comedy Hour." Following this success she became a series regular on "The Uptown Comedy Club" and co-hosted Can We Shop? with Joan Rivers. She is currently hosting various programming on the TV Guide Channel.

[edit] Career

[edit] MADtv

Debra Wilson as Ms. Bunifa Latifah Halifa Sharifa Jackson.

Wilson was one of the original nine cast members of MADtv when the series aired in 1995. Unlike some of her fellow original repertory performers on MADtv, Wilson came to the show with limited sketch comedy experience and hardly any television background. However, she did have a well established background in stand-up comedy, which aided her ability to captivate audiences with her humor.

Wilson was credited for creating some of the most popular recurring characters on the show. Among her characters were Latina bimbo Melina (Lida and Melina), Reality Check's Tovah McQueen, Stick Chick Autumn , Kappa Kappa Kappa sorority sister Hayden Brooks, Alexis Dubane (Prehistoric Glamazon Huntresses), blaxploitation actress Cocoa Latite (Son of Dolemite), Lowered Expectations Host and Ms. Not Nice (Jenny Jones). Perhaps her best known character was the fast talking "Black American Princess" Bunifa Latifah Halifa Sharifa Jackson. The character makes extensive use of the ebonic language when speaking, and quickly accuses other characters' most basic assertions as motivated by racism. An early form of this character appeared in season one, but she was more articulate and a doctor.

Debra Wilson as Whitney Houston.

However, Wilson would find her forte with impressions of today's megalomanical divas/celebrities. She frequently appeared as Oprah Winfrey, often paired up with Michael McDonald as supposed lover Dr. Phil McGraw, or Aries Spears as long-time companion Steadman Graham. Most of these sketches would end in Oprah evolving into an evil supernatural being with powers after being provoked by an audience member. The Oprah character would be reprised in Scary Movie 4, which spoofed the Tom Cruise couch-jumping incident in 2005.

Her most well known and acclaimed impersonation that Wilson found success in would be R&B diva Whitney Houston. Wilson would parody Houston's reported frequent fights with her husband Bobby Brown, and her reported drug use (in the Christmas 2002 episode, Wilson portrayed Houston with frequent facial tics, suggesting that she had withdrawn out from using cocaine).

Other impressions Wilson surprised audiences with included Beyoncé Knowles, Brandy, Chris Tucker, Condoleezza Rice, Downtown Julie Brown, Lil' Kim, Macy Gray, Mariah Carey, Rosie Perez, and Whoopi Goldberg.

When Nicole Sullivan left MADtv in 2001, Wilson became the last original cast member on the show. For the next two years, she served as the matriarch of the MADtv family by providing a strong sense of continuity between the old era of the show and the new cast members. After eight seasons as a cast member, Wilson retired in 2003 as a repertory player on the show. She and Nicole Sullivan were the only two cast members to be given a special recognition by the other cast members at their last show as a current cast member. At the time of her departure, Wilson held the record for the longest serving MADtv cast member. However, since her departure, both Aries Spears and Michael McDonald have tied her record eight year tenure. Wilson, along with Sullivan, would reappear in the 2004-2005 season, both reprising some of their famous characters.

[edit] Characters

Alexis Dubane (Prehistoric Glamazon Huntresses)
Audience Member (The Wayne Brady Show)
Autumn (Stick Chicks)
Beth
Bunifa Latifah Halifa Sharifa Jackson
Cocoa Latite (Son of Dolemite)
Hayden Brooks (Sorority Row)
Lowered Expectations Host (Lowered Expectations)
Melina Hascinto (Lida and Melina)
Miss Sylvia
Miss Not Nice (The Jenny Jones Show)
Nautica Brown (Real Mother****ing Talk)
Rosa Marticorena (News at Six)
Thelma (Big Carl/John's Shirt and Tie Barn)
Tukah, Queen of the Chinese (Rocket Revengers)
Tovah McQueen (Reality Check)
Vicky the Dog Girl

[edit] Impressions

[edit] Catch phrases

"Oh no you di'int!" - Bunifa Latifa Halifa Sharifa Jackson
"I said..." - Bunifa Latifa Halifa Sharifa Jackson
"What did I do?" - Bunifa Latifa Halifa Sharifa Jackson
"You need to learn how to respect a sista" - Bunifa Latifa Halifa Sharifa Jackson
"Let me tell you something girlfriend!" - Oprah Winfrey
"My butthole is an ATM!" - Oprah Winfrey
"Hey that's mine now!"- Tovah McQueen
"BOBBAY!" - Whitney Houston
"Merry Crystal Meth-Mas!" - Whitney Houston
"I'm Nippy, Queen of the night I am!" - Whitney Houston

[edit] Television projects

Since her debut on MADtv, Wilson has done voice acting on episodes on numerous television shows, landing some recurring roles on such shows as Clone High, Family Guy, and The Mr. Potato Head Show. Wilson has made numerous independent films, including Jane White Is Sick and Twisted, Skin Deep, and Soulmates. She does commercials with fellow MADtv alumnus Nicole Sullivan for Pepsi's Sierra Mist. She was also in a Without a Trace episode as a nurse. She was the co-host of TV Guide Channel's "TV Watercooler" with John Fugelsang, until she was replaced by Teresa Strasser in October of 2006. She will also be starring in Celebrity Paranormal Project, where she becomes the first contestant to have a spirit attempt to possess her.

[edit] Trivia

Wilson has 2 boa constrictors, 2 cats, and an Indonesian Emperor scorpion.
She is left-handed.
She did her first full frontal nude scene in the 2003 film Skin Deep.
Wilson enjoys playing with marionettes.
Wilson plays one of her most famous characters, Oprah Winfrey, in the 2006 film parody, Scary Movie 4.
She voiced Captain Lisa Cusak in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode The Sound of Her Voice.
Wilson recently co-hosted TV Guide Channel's show TV Watercooler
Wilson often volunteers as an actress with the Young Storytellers Program.
Wilson presented the 2006 Ugliest Dog Competition trophy.
In the Celebrity Paranormal Project she was briefly "possessed."

[edit] Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
2006	If I Had Known I Was a Genius	Teresa	(post-production)
2006	Whitepaddy	Aunt Tiny	(post-production)
2006	Knight to F4	Security Guard	(post-production)
2006	Over the Hedge	Debbie
2006	Scary Movie 4	Oprah Winfrey
2006	Danny Roane: First Time Director	Rehab Nurse
2005	Bringing Up BayBay	Pam/BayBay Girl
2004	Target	Nolan
2003	Skin Deep	Alex
2002	Jane White Is Sick & Twisted	Chi-Chi
2000	Rubbernecking	Julia
1998	Star Trek the Experience: The Klingon Encounter	Security Officer
1997	Asylum	Belinda Davis
1997	Soulmates	Jennifer Williams
1997	BAPS*	Flight Attendant
1997	Gridlock'd	Medicaid Woman #2
1997	Sleeping Together	Wendy
1996	Girl 6	Salesgirl #3
1995	Blue in the Face	Statistician
1995	New Jersey Drive Not of This Earth
1994	Cracking Up

[edit] Television

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
2006	Celebrity Paranormal Project	Herself	Filmed in 2005
2006	In Justice	Detective Powell
2005	Amazing Animal Inventions	Host
2005	Studio House	Vicky
2005	Second Time Around	Deonne
2004	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Divine
2004	Nine Lives	Lisa
2004	That's So Raven	Maisha
2004	I'm with Her	Brenda
2004	Without a Trace	Doctor
2003	The Parkers	Zorah
2000	Gary & Mike
1998	The Mr. Potato Head Show	Queenie
1995	New York Undercover	Shanna
1995 - 2003	MADtv	Various Characters	Sketch Comedy
1992 - 1993	Uptown Comedy Club	Various Characters

[edit] Voice acting and video game appearances

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
2006	X-Men: The Official Game	Storm	Video Game
2006	The Adventures of Brer Rabbit	Sister Buzzard
2005	American Dad!	Whitney Houston	Animated Comedy TV Series
2005	The Chosen One	Akia May	TV Series
2002, 2003	The Proud Family	Oprah Winfrey, Basil/Tobasco	TV Series
2002, 2003	Clone High	Various Characters
2003	Min'na no gorufu 4	Various Characters	Video Game
2002	Rapsittie Street Kids: Believe In Santa	Great Grandma	TV Series
2001	The Oblongs...	Various Character
2000, 2001	Family Guy	Janet/Mrs. Kanner/Nurse/Sandy Belford	Animated Comedy TV Series
1998	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine	Capt. Lisa Cusak	TV Series

[edit] External links

Debra Wilson at the Internet Movie Database
Debra Wilson article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.

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