Nia Peeples
Encyclopedia
Virenia Gwendolyn "Nia" Peeples (born December 10, 1961) is an American
R&B and dance music
singer and actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Nicole Chapman on Fame
. She is also known for her role as Karen Taylor Winters
on The Young and the Restless
and as Sydney Cooke on Walker, Texas Ranger
.
. Her maternal grandparents were immigrants from the Philippines
, and were of Filipino, Spanish, French, and German descent. Her father, who was originally from Mississippi
, was of Scottish, Irish, English, Native American, and Italian ancestry.
She attended UCLA on a music scholarship, during which time she performed as Liberace's opening act in Las Vegas on weekends.
single is "Street Of Dreams," which hit #12 on the Hot 100 in 1991.
She made a music video in 1986 of "All You Can Dream", directed by Alan Bloom and conceptualised by Keith Williams, for the purposes of promoting the values of UCLA. She appeared in Prince's video for Raspberry Beret.
. In 1987 she was in the movie North Shore
as Kiani. She hosted the short-lived American version of Top of the Pops
as well as a weeknight dance music program called The Party Machine, and portrayed Texas Ranger
Sydney Cooke in the CBS
hit series Walker, Texas Ranger
from 1999-2001.
Nia Peeples joined the cast of The Young and the Restless
in 2007, playing the role of Karen Taylor, and was released from the role in the spring of 2009. Her last air date was in May 2009.
Peeples has been cast in the 2010 ABC Family
TV series Pretty Little Liars
, based on the book series
by Sara Shepard
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
R&B and dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
singer and actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Nicole Chapman on Fame
Fame (1982 TV series)
Fame is an American television series originally produced between 1982 and 1987. The show was based on the 1980 motion picture of the same name. Using a mixture of drama and music, it followed the lives of the students and faculty at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts. Although...
. She is also known for her role as Karen Taylor Winters
Karen Taylor (The Young and the Restless)
Karen Winters is a fictional character on the U.S. soap opera The Young and the Restless, portrayed by actress Nia Peeples George from April 18, 2007 to May 13, 2008, when she was presumably dropped to recurring and the character written out, only to be re-added as of June 13, 2008, when the...
on The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
and as Sydney Cooke on Walker, Texas Ranger
Walker, Texas Ranger
Walker, Texas Ranger is an American television action crime drama series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis, and starring Chuck Norris as a member of the Texas Ranger Division. The show aired on CBS in the spring of 1993, with the first season consisting of three pilot episodes. Eight full...
.
Personal life
Peeples was born in Hollywood, California, the daughter of Elizabeth Joan (née Rubic), a flamenco dancer, and Robert Eugene Peeples. She was raised in West CovinaWest Covina, California
West Covina is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. Located some east of Downtown Los Angeles in the eastern San Gabriel Valley, it is a mostly middle class suburb of Los Angeles...
. Her maternal grandparents were immigrants from the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, and were of Filipino, Spanish, French, and German descent. Her father, who was originally from Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, was of Scottish, Irish, English, Native American, and Italian ancestry.
She attended UCLA on a music scholarship, during which time she performed as Liberace's opening act in Las Vegas on weekends.
Music
In 1988 she hit #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart with "Trouble," which climbed to #35 on the Hot 100. Her most successful popBillboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
single is "Street Of Dreams," which hit #12 on the Hot 100 in 1991.
She made a music video in 1986 of "All You Can Dream", directed by Alan Bloom and conceptualised by Keith Williams, for the purposes of promoting the values of UCLA. She appeared in Prince's video for Raspberry Beret.
Acting
Notably, Peeples portrayed performing arts student Nicole Chapman on the hit TV series FameFame (1982 TV series)
Fame is an American television series originally produced between 1982 and 1987. The show was based on the 1980 motion picture of the same name. Using a mixture of drama and music, it followed the lives of the students and faculty at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts. Although...
. In 1987 she was in the movie North Shore
North Shore (film)
North Shore is a 1987 film about Rick Kane , a young fictional surfer from a wave tank in Arizona, who heads to surf the season on the North Shore of Oahu and see if he has the skills to cut it as a pro surfer...
as Kiani. She hosted the short-lived American version of Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
as well as a weeknight dance music program called The Party Machine, and portrayed Texas Ranger
Texas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
Sydney Cooke in the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
hit series Walker, Texas Ranger
Walker, Texas Ranger
Walker, Texas Ranger is an American television action crime drama series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis, and starring Chuck Norris as a member of the Texas Ranger Division. The show aired on CBS in the spring of 1993, with the first season consisting of three pilot episodes. Eight full...
from 1999-2001.
Nia Peeples joined the cast of The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
in 2007, playing the role of Karen Taylor, and was released from the role in the spring of 2009. Her last air date was in May 2009.
Peeples has been cast in the 2010 ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
TV series Pretty Little Liars
Pretty Little Liars (TV series)
Pretty Little Liars is an American mystery-thriller teen drama television series created by Marlene King. Based on the popular series of novels written by Sara Shepard, the show premiered on June 8, 2010 on ABC Family...
, based on the book series
Pretty Little Liars
Pretty Little Liars is a series of more than 10 young adult novels by Sara Shepard, from 1981–present, which have been made into a television show . The series follows the lives of four girls — Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily — whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their leader,...
by Sara Shepard
Sara Shepard
Sara Shepard is an American author known for the bestselling Pretty Little Liars series of young-adult novels.-Biography:Shepard graduated from Downingtown West High School in Downingtown, Pennsylvania in 1995, and got her undergraduate degree from New York University. She later received an MFA...
.
Discography
- Nothin' But Trouble (1988)
- Nia Peeples (1991)
- Songs of the Cinema (2007)
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1981 | A Single Light | Deaf Girl | TV movie |
| 1984 | Fame | Nicole | |
| 1987 | North Shore North Shore (film) North Shore is a 1987 film about Rick Kane , a young fictional surfer from a wave tank in Arizona, who heads to surf the season on the North Shore of Oahu and see if he has the skills to cut it as a pro surfer... |
Kiani | |
| 1989 | DeepStar Six Deepstar Six DeepStar Six is an American 1989 science fiction horror film about the struggles of the crew of an underwater military outpost to defend their base against the attacks of a monster .... |
Scarpelli | |
| Swimsuit | Maria | TV movie | |
| Nasty Boys Nasty Boys (film) -Synopsis:The film was about a North Las Vegas narcotic unit of six undercover police officers who fought crimes against drugs and illegal automatic weapons. It became a series the following year.... |
Serena Cruz | TV movie | |
| 1990 | Perry Mason Perry Mason (TV series) Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner... : The Case of the Silenced Singer |
Cathy Redding | TV movie |
| 1992 | I Don't Buy Kisses Anymore | Theresa Garabaldi | |
| 1994 | My Name Is Kate | Annie | TV movie |
| XXX's and OOO's (An American Girl) XXX's and OOO's (An American Girl) "XXX's and OOO's " is the title of a song written by Matraca Berg and Alice Randall, and recorded by American country music singer Trisha Yearwood... |
Sasha Townes | TV movie | |
| 1995 | Improper Conduct Improper Conduct Mauvaise Conduite or Improper Conduct is a 1984 documentary film directed by Néstor Almendros and Orlando Jiménez Leal. The documentary interviews Cuban refugees to explore the Cuban government's imprisonment of homosexuals, political dissidents, and Jehovah's Witnesses into concentration camps... |
Bernie | |
| Deadlocked: Escape from Zone 14 | Allie Thompson | TV movie | |
| Mr. Stitch | Dr. Elizabeth English | TV movie | |
| 1996 | Terminal | Janet Reardon | TV movie |
| Bloodhounds II | Nikki Cruise | TV movie | |
| 1997 | Odd Jobs Odd Jobs Odd Jobs is an American comedy film produced by TriStar Pictures and HBO Films, and originally released to movie theatres in 1986.- Cast :* Paul Reiser - Max* Robert Townsend - Dwight... |
Assassin | TV movie |
| Tower of Terror Tower of Terror (film) Tower of Terror is a 1997 made-for-TV supernatural thriller directed by D. J. MacHale. It is based on the theme park attraction, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida and was originally a presentation of The... |
Jill Perry | TV movie | |
| 1998 | Blues Brothers 2000 Blues Brothers 2000 Blues Brothers 2000 is a 1998 American musical comedy film that is a sequel to the 1980 film The Blues Brothers. Directed by John Landis, the film featured Dan Aykroyd and John Goodman, with cameos by many musicians.-Plot:... |
Lt. Elizondo | |
| Poodle Springs Poodle Springs (film) Poodle Springs is a 1998 neo-noir HBO film directed by Bob Rafelson starring James Caan, Dina Meyer, and David Keith. The film is based on the unfinished novel Poodle Springs by Raymond Chandler, completed after his death by Robert B... |
Angel | ||
| Heroes: The Mystique, the Movies, the Men | Special Guest Host | ||
| 2000 | Alone with a Stranger | Beth Jenkins | |
| 2001 | Bruised | Michelle | |
| The Riff | Heather Anderson | ||
| 2002 | The Chang Family Saves the World | Pearl Empress | TV movie |
| Half Past Dead Half Past Dead Half Past Dead is a 2002 action movie in which a criminal infiltrates a prison to interrogate a prisoner about the location of a fortune in gold while an undercover FBI agent has to stop him. The film stars Steven Seagal, Morris Chestnut, Ja Rule, Nia Peeples, Kurupt, and Claudia Christian... |
49er Six | ||
| 2004 | The Coven | unknown | TV movie |
| 2005 | Inside Out | Maria | |
| Sub Zero | Kelli Paris | ||
| 2006 | Alpha Mom | Susan | TV movie |
| Special Unit | Tara | ||
| Connors' War | Amanda | ||
| 2009 | Citizen Jane Citizen Jane (film) Citizen Jane is a true crime film first broadcast on the Hallmark Channel on September 12, 2009. Adapted from the book Citizen Jane by James Dalessandro, the film follows the real-life efforts of one woman to outsmart and convict her con-artist boyfriend for the gruesome murder of her aunt... |
Evelyn | TV movie |
| The Outside | Joanne Blakey | ||
| 2010 | Firedog | Haley (voice) | post-production |
| 2011 | Battle of Los Angeles (film) Battle of Los Angeles (film) Battle of Los Angeles is a science fiction action comedy film by The Asylum, which premiered on the Syfy cable TV channel on Saturday March 12, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. EST and was released to DVD the following Tuesday... |
Capt. Karla Smaith | TV Movie |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1981 | The Music Shoppe | Darcie | |
| 1983 | Tales of the Gold Monkey Tales of the Gold Monkey Tales of the Gold Monkey is a 1982 television show broadcast by ABC. Most critics saw it as the network's attempt to capitalize on the fame of the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark the previous year, in the same vein as Bring 'Em Back Alive on CBS... |
Zita Henriques | 1 episode |
| Hardcastle and McCormick Hardcastle and McCormick Hardcastle and McCormick is a 1980s action/drama television series from Stephen J. Cannell Productions, shown on ABC from 1983–1986, starring Brian Keith as Judge Milton C. Hardcastle and Daniel Hugh Kelly as ex-con and race car driver Mark "Skid" McCormick.The show's premise involves the... |
Waitress | 1 episode | |
| Days of Our Lives Days of our Lives Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around... |
Mallory | unknown episodes | |
| General Hospital General Hospital General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns.... |
Carla Escobar | unknown episodes, 1983–1994 | |
| Fame Fame (1982 TV series) Fame is an American television series originally produced between 1982 and 1987. The show was based on the 1980 motion picture of the same name. Using a mixture of drama and music, it followed the lives of the students and faculty at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts. Although... |
Nicole Chapman | 27 episodes, 1983–1986 | |
| 1984 | T.J. Hooker | Maria Dominguez | 1 episode |
| 1987 | Top of the Pops Top of the Pops Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn... |
Host | unknown episodes |
| 1989 | Matlock Matlock (TV series) Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of attorney Ben Matlock. The show originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC, where it replaced The A-Team, then from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC.The show's format was similar... |
Morgan Gerard | 1 episode |
| Nasty Boys Nasty Boys (film) -Synopsis:The film was about a North Las Vegas narcotic unit of six undercover police officers who fought crimes against drugs and illegal automatic weapons. It became a series the following year.... |
Serena Cruz | 13 episodes, 1989–1990 | |
| 1991 | The Party Machine with Nia Peeples | Host | unknown episodes |
| 1992 | The New WKRP in Cincinnati The New WKRP in Cincinnati The New WKRP in Cincinnati is a sequel/spin-off of the original CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati. It was made for the syndication market from 1991 to 1993.... |
Sierra Smith | 2 episodes |
| 1993 | Return to Lonesome Dove Return to Lonesome Dove Return to Lonesome Dove, written by John Wilder, is a TV Miniseries involving characters created in the Pulitzer Prize-winning western novel Lonesome Dove. The story focuses on a retired Texas Ranger and his adventures driving mustangs from Texas to Montana... |
Agostina Vega | mini-series |
| 1994 | Highlander: The Series Highlander: The Series Highlander: The Series is a fantasy-adventure television series featuring Duncan MacLeod of the Scottish Clan MacLeod, as the Highlander. It was an offshoot and another alternate sequel of the 1986 feature film with a twist: Connor MacLeod did not win the prize and Immortals still exist post-1985... |
Nefertiri | 1 episode |
| Touched by an Angel Touched by an Angel Touched by an Angel is an American drama series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994 and ran for 211 episodes and nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson, the series stars Roma Downey, as an angel named Monica, and Della... |
Angela Evans | 1 episode | |
| 1995 | Crazy Love | unknown | unknown episodes |
| Marker Marker (TV series) Marker was an American hour long television drama that premiered on the UPN on March 20, 1995. It was set in and filmed in Hawaii.The series focused on Richard DeMorra , a man given a strange inheritance from his late father: markers which were given in the past by his father to those who had... |
Lisa | 1 episode | |
| Courthouse | Veronica Gilbert | 11 episodes | |
| 1997 | Early Edition Early Edition Early Edition is an American television series that aired on CBS from September 28, 1996 to May 27, 2000. Set in the city of Chicago, Illinois, it follows the adventures of a man who mysteriously receives each Chicago Sun-Times newspaper the day before it is actually published, and who uses this... |
Sister Mary | 1 episode |
| Crisis Center | Lily Gannon | 5 episodes | |
| 1998 | Real Life | Maya | 1 episode |
| 1999–2001 | Walker, Texas Ranger Walker, Texas Ranger Walker, Texas Ranger is an American television action crime drama series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis, and starring Chuck Norris as a member of the Texas Ranger Division. The show aired on CBS in the spring of 1993, with the first season consisting of three pilot episodes. Eight full... |
Sydney Cooke | 46 episodes |
| 2004 | Andromeda Andromeda (TV series) Andromeda is a Canadian-American science fiction television series, based on unused material by the late Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, developed by Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and produced by Roddenberry's widow, Majel Barrett Roddenberry. It starred Kevin Sorbo as High Guard Captain Dylan Hunt... |
Rox Nava | 1 episode |
| The Division The Division The Division is an American Lifetime Television original series about a team of women police officers in the San Francisco Police Department. The series premiered on January 7, 2001 and ended on June 28, 2004 after 88 episodes.-Synopsis:... |
Sandra Prestiss | 2 episodes | |
| 2005 | Barbershop Barbershop: The Series Barbershop: The Series is an American sitcom which made its debut on the Showtime cable network in August 2005. It is based upon the Mark Brown-created characters from the popular films Barbershop and Barbershop 2: Back in Business , and was developed for television by screenwriter John Ridley... |
Det. Hahanna | 3 episodes |
| 2007 | Arwin! | Ms. Hawkhauser | 1 episode |
| The Young and the Restless The Young and the Restless The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin... |
Karen Taylor Karen Taylor (The Young and the Restless) Karen Winters is a fictional character on the U.S. soap opera The Young and the Restless, portrayed by actress Nia Peeples George from April 18, 2007 to May 13, 2008, when she was presumably dropped to recurring and the character written out, only to be re-added as of June 13, 2008, when the... |
130 episodes, 2007–2009 | |
| 2010-2011 | Pretty Little Liars Pretty Little Liars (TV series) Pretty Little Liars is an American mystery-thriller teen drama television series created by Marlene King. Based on the popular series of novels written by Sara Shepard, the show premiered on June 8, 2010 on ABC Family... |
Pam Fields | Currently airing |
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart