A Woman of Valor
By Sabrina
Williams
Is it possible that the
fountain of youth exists? Yes, it does in Mari Morrows. This outstanding
actress and business woman is eloquently spoken,
compassionate and beautiful both internally and externally. Her
beauty is timeless and she does not look a day over 30. Mari appears to be
shy at first glance; however, that is not the case. She has a
comedic side and kept this journalist laughing throughout the
interview. Mari is originally from Miami, Florida and in 1992,
she graced the airwaves with her debut appearance on the popular
television program, Baywatch as she had walk on appearances as the
character, “Wendy Mallow”. Mari, with a glimmer in her
eye, stated that David Hasselhoff was amazing to work
with. “It was a life changing moment for me working with him. He
gave me some great advice.” This advice, Mari still uses today and
attributes to her success. “Give everything a 100% and you will
be a successful actress and he said I was a natural actress. Wow,
at that moment it made my day and boosted my self-confidence to the
sky.”
Amazingly, Mari continued to
burn the path of success and from 1995 to 1996, she
portrayed “Rachel Gannon” on the ABC soap opera, One Life to
Live. Morrow also had a recurring appearance on the sitcom, Family
Matters where she portrayed the girlfriend of Darius McCrary and
then portrayed the ex-girlfriend “Oneisha”, from 1992 to 1997. Other television
and film appearances include, Living Single, Soul Food, Conan, The Parkers,
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and The Jamie Foxx Show. She has
had appearances in films such as: Uninvited Guest, Children of the
Corn III, Book of Love, Restraining Order, Def Jam's How to Be a Player,
Traci Townsend, National Security and Today You Die (2005)”. Ms.
Morrow is so dynamic in her acting that she has even
had appearances on the television show, Everybody Hates
Chris.
Oh yes, that would with
Mekhi Phifer in the Acapulco Film Festival winner, An Uninvited
Guest. I loved that movie because it took me in so many different
levels, directions and stretched me as an actress. It was
fun and draining, but such a great opportunity to work with great
individuals. We got to go away to different locations to film and shoot the
movie.
What was it like to be on Baywatch as a woman
of color?
I was not a regular; I made
a few guest appearances. I had no problems with the other actors;
everyone was very nice, kind and helpful.
You can assimilate any role that has been given to you and you have a
natural talent for acting. How do you get into
character?
Getting into character can be
challenging. It depends on the character I am portraying and I have to think
what the character would be like and what would they
want.
What was it like working with
Martin Lawrence?
Yes, Martin is cool and fun to work
with, funny and has so much energy.
Can you tell me about your program called, Project Angel Food, where
you deliver food to homebound AIDS patients and why you decided to get
involved in it?
I wanted to give back to my community. They
deliver food to AIDS patients who don’t not want to leave their
home. When my son was with me, I would take him to
volunteer. I loved going to homes of the people to talk to
them and encourage them and show them that I
cared.
You have shown us all that giving back is the key to happiness and
helping others feel joy for a moment in
time…
As celebrities we need to give
back, we are role models and we have down time and need to let others know
it’s not all about the money for us. We uniquely care about their
happiness and appreciate how they support our films, television shows and other
ventures. I know without my great fans, I would not be as popular today.
Thank you everyone, I really appreciate
you.
In regards to Everybody Hates Chris, did you find yourself
sometimes wanting to say some of those comments to your
own child?
Oh yes, I do. I think I am just
like Tichina Arnold. I will. I will pop you
with that skillet! (Repeating
I see that you like Mahogany the movie with Diana Ross. You
have both her hair and looks. Can you tell me why you like a lot
of her movies?
Of course, I remember Billy
Dee.
You are multi-talented, can you
sing?
Yes, I can, but I do not see myself
going on tour. I do not have that strong quality to do
it every day, but yes, ma’am I could do every
so often.
Who inspired you the most whether it was a family
member, movie star, or even a kid?
Oh, that would be my
Aunt. She has inspired me to greatness when I was growing up and in
college. She was a definite pillar in my life that I looked up to. Her
personality and life was strong and encouraged me to
never give up. My aunt was amazing and she was the true
definition of a woman of greatness. She was married but she took care of the
family business and had tenacity. She wanted me to be like her. She
taught me how to cook, bookkeeping and life skills. My aunt is very sweet.
You
identify yourself as being “black”…
(Laughter) Even though I am
mixed I am Black and can relate to the struggles that Martin
Luther King and other civil rights leaders had to go through to pave
the path of freedom for me and future generations. We all should
be so grateful and remember that not only during Black History month in
February, but throughout the year that
many individuals from all walks of life, cultures
and ethnic backgrounds have sacrificed to give us a better life
today.
Would you say the industry has changed when it comes to women of
color and what do you see that you can do for the
industry?
I think there has been a lot of change
since the reality shows have took on a mighty presence in the
industry. It is better for producers and it’s cheaper
to produce movies, but there are still challenges. I miss
the scripted programs. However, things are turning around for the
African American community and turning around with
great SW’s like Scandal, Empire and I am like “OMG” it
is coming back. It took 15 years, but the industry for African Americans is
becoming a driving force for making great films, movies and
has great actors, actresses, movie directors and script
writers.
After researching you on the Internet, I
found that it says you sell real
estate.
Yes, absolutely, I am an
investor, I love to fix things and remodel. I have additions to my
home.
What's next for Mari?
Wow, I have to shoot a show about me
showing Kim Whitley a house to buy. She is the main
character in Raising Whitley
Mari, you are a superwoman, you have so many things going
on…
Oh yes, my dear you have got to in
this business, you cannot rely on one thing; unless you are that hot and famous.
However, I keep myself humble and work hard on being multi-talented to
be a versatile actress. It is important to do this so that when you get older
everyone in the industry can see you as a viable, beneficial part of
being in their movies, television shows or
documentaries.
You can follow Mari on twitter https://twitter.com/Mari_Morrow and visit her website http://www.marimorrow.net
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