Mablean Ephriam
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Mablean Deloris Ephriam, Esq. (born 1949) is the former judge on the television program Divorce Court. While she encourages her litigants to discuss sensitive issues to get to the heart of what is causing the divorce, she is quick to restore order in her courtroom when things get out of hand, and she scolds her litigants for disrespecting each other, or her, in court.
She made a short appearance in the film adaptation of the play Diary of a Mad Black Woman, portraying (fittingly) a judge. She also portrayed the same character in the sequel, Madea's Family Reunion. Her first name is pronounced "may-BLENE," as in the Chuck Berry song "Maybellene."
Mablean Ephriam, Esq., is a native of Hazlehurst, Mississippi. Although she had never actually served as a judge before Divorce Court, she has had plenty of experience in and knowledge of the law, and she is also a divorcee herself. She started her law career as a correctional officer in the Women's Division of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and worked as a trial attorney for over 20 years. In 1982, she opened her own law practice, dealing mainly with personal injury and family law cases. Ms. Ephriam was chosen to become the presiding judge of Divorce Court when the current version of the show premiered in 1999.
Judge Mablean Ephriam's trademark phrase on Divorce Court was "Look deep before you leap," advising would-be newlyweds to examine each others' behaviors and attitudes carefully before they decide to marry.
In March 2006, it was announced that Judge Mablean Ephriam would leave Divorce Court at the end of the 2005-2006 season (her seventh behind the bench), reportedly because she and the show's producers were unable to come to an agreement on a contract extension. She was replaced by Judge Lynn Toler, a former judge from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, who formerly presided over the short-lived syndicated courtroom TV show Power of Attorney.
Ephraim also appeared on the first season of Celebrity Fit Club where she went from 208 lbs to 183, losing 25 lbs, 12% of her body weight. Ephriam revealed to VH1 that she has kept off all of the weight. She added that her weight goes up and down, but she never exceeds 183.
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