Debra Wilson

Debra Wilson
Wilson in 2010
Born	Debra Renee Wilson (1962-04-26) April 26, 1962 South Ozone Park, Queens, New York, U.S.
Other names	Debra Wilson Skelton
Occupation	Actress Comedienne TV presenter Voice actress Host
Years active	1990–present
Spouse(s)	Cliff Skelton (2006–present) (separated 2010–present)

Debra Renee Wilson (born April 26, 1962), also known as Debra Wilson Skelton or Debra Skelton, is an American comedienne and actress. Wilson is likely most famous for being the longest-serving original cast member on the sketch comedy series MADtv, having appeared for the show's first eight seasons. She has also done voice work for various productions including Avatar, American Dad!, Family Guy, Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil, The Proud Family, and The Boondocks.

Biography

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 continued her work in television working as a spokesperson for Burger King, and guest starring in New York Undercover. Her major feature film debut was Let It Be Me which she worked on shortly before starting on MADtv.

Career

MADtv

Wilson was one of the original eight cast members of MADtv when the series aired in 1995. Wilson came to the show with a background in sketch comedy, improv and television. MADtv was her third TV series, although she had done stand up in New York for one year.

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 Latette (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 Halifah Sharifa Jackson. Her most recognized impressions on the show were of Oprah Winfrey and Whitney Houston. Her Oprah impersonation is so well regarded that in fact she has played Oprah or Oprah-like characters in other media, most notably Scary Movie 4 and on The Proud Family.

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. She voiced Captain Lisa Cusak in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "The Sound of Her Voice".

Wilson has made numerous independent films, including Naked Angel, Jane White Is Sick and Twisted, Skin Deep, and Soulmates. She was also in an episode of Without a Trace as a doctor, and has appeared three times (to date) as "working girl" Divine in episodes of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

She and Sullivan have done commercials for Pepsi's Sierra Mist. She appeared as herself on the February 15, 1999, episode of WCW Monday Nitro accompanying MADtv castmate Will Sasso in his professional wrestling match against Bret Hart. She also appeared on the UK "Whose Line Is It Anyway" - Season 10, Episode 9.

She was the co-host of TV Guide Channel's TV Watercooler with John Fugelsang, until she was replaced by Teresa Strasser in October 2006. She was also a co-host on GSN Live until she left in January 2010.

Her celebrity impersonations include Oprah Winfrey, Brandy Norwood, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Chris Tucker, Condoleezza Rice, Diana Ross, Lil' Kim, Beyoncé, and Rosie Perez.

Theater projects

Wilson performed off-Broadway with the improvisational comedy troupe Noo Yawk Tawk directed by Richmond Shepard at The Village Gate (1988–1991).

Personal life

Debra Wilson married writer/director Cliff Skelton in April 2006. They separated in 2010 citing irreconcilable differences. Wilson has a cat named Nala and a Colombian tegu named Lizard. She often volunteers as an actress with the Young Storytellers Program. Wilson plays the Aboriginal didgeridoo and collects slide puzzles. Her favorite subjects are spirituality, metaphysics, the paranormal, psi phenomena forensics, cultural anthropology and ancient history. Wilson recently got a huge amount of tattoos around her entire upper body and arms up to the bottom neck and the wrist as she claims it was a part of a ritual. Since then, she has been seen wearing long sleeve shirts most of the time to cover the tattoos.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Cracking Up
1995	Blue in the Face	Statistician
1996	Girl 6	Salesgirl #3
1997	Sleeping Together	Wendy
	Gridlock'd	Medicaid Woman #2
	B*A*P*S	Flight Attendant
	Soulmates	Jennifer Williams
	Asylum	Belinda Davis
1998	Star Trek: The Experience: The Klingon Encounter	Security Officer
2000	Rubbernecking	Julia
2002	Jane White Is Sick & Twisted	Chi-Chi
2003	Skin Deep	Alex
2004	Target	Nolan
2005	Bringing Up BayBay	Pam/BayBay Girl
2006	Danny Roane: First Time Director	Rehab Nurse
	Scary Movie 4	Oprah Winfrey
	Over the Hedge	Debbie
	Knight to F4	Security Guard
	Whitepaddy	Aunt Tiny
	If I Had Known I Was a Genius	Teresa
2007	Super Sweet 16: The Movie	Edan Day
2009	Avatar	Na'vi Troupe Member
2010	Naked Angel	Mama Tony
2013	The Marriage Lover	Yahaloma Windham

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992–1993	Uptown Comedy Club	Various Characters
1995–2003	MADtv	Various Characters	Sketch Comedy
1995	New York Undercover	Shanna
1998	The Mr. Potato Head Show	Queenie
2000	Gary & Mike
2003	The Parkers	Zorah
2004	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Divine
	Nine Lives	Lisa
	I'm with Her	Brenda
	Without a Trace	Doctor
	That's So Raven	Myesha
2005	Amazing Animal Inventions	Host
	Studio House	Vicky
	Second Time Around	Deonne
2006	Celebrity Paranormal Project	Herself	Filmed in 2005
	In Justice	Detective Powell
2008	Reno 911	Dominatrix
	Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles	Supervisor	as Debra Skelton
2009	GSN Live	co-host
	90210	Teacher	as Debra Skelton
2010	LOOK: The Series	Ballet teacher

Voice acting and video game appearances

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	Black Dynamite	Ertha K.I.T.T.	Animated Comedy TV Series
2011	Night of the Hurricane	black woman	Animated Comedy TV Series
2008	Family Guy	I Dream of Jesus	Animated Comedy TV Series
	Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots	Crying Wolf	Video Game
2007	Halo 3	UNSC Marine, Hocus	Video Game
2006	X-Men: The Official Game	Storm	Video Game
	The Adventures of Brer Rabbit	Sister Buzzard
2005	American Dad!	Whitney Houston	Animated Comedy TV Series
	The Chosen One	Akia May	TV Series
2002–2003	The Proud Family	Oprah Winfrey, Basil/Tabasco	TV Series
	Clone High	Various Characters
2003	Everybody's Golf 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

External links

• Debra Wilson at the Internet Movie Database
• Debra Wilson at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
• Debra Wilson at the Internet off-broadway Database