Elise Neal

Elise Neal
Neal in 2008
Born	Elise Demetria Neal (1966-03-14) March 14, 1966 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1992–present

Elise Demetria Neal (born March 14, 1966) is an American actress. Her big break came in 1997, appearing in the films Rosewood, Money Talks and Scream 2.

From 1998 to 2002, Neal starred as Yvonne Hughley in the ABC/UPN sitcom The Hughleys. She also has appeared in films including Restaurant (1998), Mission to Mars (2000), Paid in Full (2002), Hustle & Flow (2005), and Logan (2017). On television, Neal also starred as Tia Jewel in the first two seasons of the UPN/The CW sitcom All of Us from 2003 to 2005. She also played many other roles on film and television. She is three-time NAACP Image Award nominee.

Early life

Neal was born on March 14, 1966 in Memphis, Tennessee, the daughter of a nurse and a construction worker. She attended Lakeview Elementary. She was a ballet dancer and a cheerleader. She broke her left wrist in a high toss cheerleading stunt; after the bones healed, her wrist never straightened back out completely. She graduated from Overton High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. From 1984–1988, she attended the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Elise left college after two years and moved to New York City where she landed roles in musical theater and found herself traveling the world with various touring companies. Her experience in musical theater allowed her to easily transition into commercials, eventually bringing her to Los Angeles.

Career

One of her earliest jobs was as a background dancer in Chubb Rock's music video for "Just the Two of Us." Once in Los Angeles, Neal landed the role of "Janice Sinclair" on the ABC soap opera Loving. Shortly after she made the leap to primetime on seaQuest 2032, as fighter pilot Lieutenant J.J. Fredericks.

Her breakout role was being cast as Yvonne Hughley, the wife of D.L. Hughley in the ABC/UPN sitcom The Hughleys. Premiering on ABC to high ratings, The Hughleys aired for two years there before moving to UPN, where it lasted another three years. While on The Hughleys, Neal was cast the high-profile role of Hallie in Scream 2, the second installment in the Scream film series. Her character, Hallie, was originally written to be one of the killers of the movie, but due to a script leak her role was changed. Neal also appeared as a backing dancer in the music video for Dannii Minogue's 1993 single This Is It, alongside actor Julian McMahon and taken from Minogue's then 2nd album Get into You, which was successful internationally during the early 1990s and one of Minogue's signature tracks.

Her film debut was a starring role in John Singleton's Rosewood. Other film credits include: Paid in Full, Money Talks, Mission to Mars and Restaurant. Neal's newest film, 4 Life, also starring Wood Harris, hit stores July 3, 2007. This project also marks her first soundtrack single, "I'm Down Baby", produced by Hustle & Flow's award-winning songwriter. She also appeared in the series K-Ville, which starred Anthony Anderson and Cole Hauser. Neal will also be seen in Ransom Games, playing a wife forced to negotiate for the safe return of her husband.

Neal and the rest of the cast of Hustle & Flow were nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award for best ensemble, an NAACP award for Best Picture, and won as Best Cast at the "Young Hollywood" awards. She has three NAACP award nominations: Best Actress in a Comedy for The Hughleys twice and a Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for Hustle and Flow.

Neal appeared in numerous music videos including Craig Mack's 1994 video for "Flava in Ya Ear (Remix)," featuring the Notorious B.I.G., Busta Rhymes, LL Cool J, Rampage and Puff Daddy (Diddy), Dannii Minogue's 1993 video for "This Is It", Black Sheep's 1992 video for "Strobelight Honey", Father MC's 1991 video for "Lisa Baby", Aretha Franklin's 1998 video for "A Rose Is Still a Rose", 50 Cent's 2007 unreleased video for "Follow My Lead", Vanessa Williams's video "Work to Do", Portrait's "Honey Dip" music video, as well as Chubb Rock's music video "Just the Two of Us" and Trick Daddy's "I'm a Thug". Neal has also been featured on the cover of the November 2007 edition of King Magazine.

Expanding her role as producer, Neal is creating and developing several multimedia projects: a reality show based on her R & B group, "Assorted Flavors", a fitness and lifestyle brand, and multiple feature projects through her development deal with Mandalay Bay Entertainment. In 2013, she starred in the sitcom Belle's.

Neal played Kathryn Munson in the superhero film Logan, which was released on March 3, 2017.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Malcolm X	Hooker
1995	Let It Be Me	Carlita
1997	Rosewood	Beulah (Scrappie)
1997	How to Be a Player	Nadine
1997	Money Talks	Paula
1997	Scream 2	Hallie
1998	Chance of a Lifetime	Amy
1998	Restaurant	Jeanine
2000	Mission to Mars	Debra Graham
2001	The Rising Place	Wilma Watson
2001	Sacred Is the Flesh	Gabi Paige
2001	Brian's Song	Linda Sayers
2002	Paid in Full	Aunt June
2003	Playas Ball	Summer Twitty
2005	Hustle & Flow	Yevette	Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated — Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble
2007	4 Life	Jare
2008	Who's Deal?	Passion
2009	Preaching to the Pastor	Monica
2010	Let God Be the Judge
2010	Love Ranch	Alana
2010	Love Chronicles: Secrets Revealed	Monique
2010	Gun	Rich's Mom
2010	N-Secure	Leslie
2010	Love Me or Leave Me	Josephine Wyatt
2011	The Slap	Gloria	Short film
2011	Lord, All Men Can't Be Dogs	Diane
2011	The Perfect Man
2011	Poolboy: Drowning Out the Fury	Florence
2011	Breathe	Kristy Burgin
2012	The Undershepherd	Sister Roberts
2012	Who's Watching the Kids	Delia
2013	1982	Stacy
2014	First Impression	Kym Pine
2014	Ransum Games	Denise
2014	The Fright Night Files	Coffee Black
2014	Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B	Gladys Knight
2015	The White Sistas	Erin White	Also executive producer
2016	Ladies Book Club	Rona
2016	What Are the Chances?	Gina
2016	36 Hour Layover	Rebecca
2017	Logan	Kathryn Munson
	Logan Noir
2017	Tragedy Girls	Mrs. Hooper
2017	Our Dream Christmas	Cookie
2018	First Impression	Kym Pine
2018	I Left My Girlfriend for Regina Jones	Regina Jones
2018	We Belong Together	Megan	BET Movie

Television

• Tales (2017)
• Scandal (2012)
• The Soul Man (2012–13)
• A.N.T. Farm (2011)
• Private Practice (2009)
• My Manny (2009)
• K-Ville (2007)
• The War at Home (2006-2008)
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2005)
• Method & Red (2004)
• All of Us (2003–2005)
• A.S.U.A (2003)
• The Hughleys (1998–2003)
• Fantasy Island (1998)
• The Wayans Bros (1998)
• The Steve Harvey Show (1996)
• Living Single (1996)
• ABC Afterschool Special (1996)
• SeaQuest 2032 (1995–1996)
• Chicago Hope (1995)
• Loving (cast member in 1994)
• The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1994)
• Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (1993–1995)
• Family Matters (1993)
• Tales of the City (1993) (TV movie)
• Law & Order (1992)

External links

• Elise Neal at IMDb
• Elise Neal at AllMovie