UPN’s Girlfriends By: Brittany N. Philbert

1. UPN’s Girlfriends By: Brittany N. Philbert

2. About the Show Fast Facts Characters Awards/ Special Recognitions

3. Cast Bios Click on their picture below to learn more about them!

4. Trends What is a trend? Because of this, I think that Girlfriends is part of a trend. The way the ladies dress is very trendy, and where they hang out as well. Girlfriends as a show is following a trend that makes great sitcom based television. Click below to learn about the trends that the show Girlfriends exhibit.

5. Brief History/Intro From television veteran and multiple Emmy Award winner Kelsey Grammer's Grammnet Productions comes one of the first truly authentic -- and genuinely funny -- portrayals of urban life in the 21st Century. Girlfriends, takes viewers inside the intertwining lives of four very different African-American women living and working in Los Angeles -- Joan, Maya, Toni and Lynn. These women are friends, but they are more than just friends, they are girlfriends, a term that has its own special meaning to the millions and millions of women throughout the world who count their "sisters" among their closest allies in the battles of life. The series is a production of Grammnet Productions in association with Paramount Network Television. http://www.tvtome.com/Girlfriends About The Show Cast Bios Trends

6. Fast Facts • First Aired: September of 2000 • Genre: Situational Comedy • Length: Weekly ½ Hour show • Network: UPN (Universal Paramount Network) • When It Aires: Monday @ 9pm, also in syndication

7. Characters Click on their NAME below to learn more about them! TONI JOAN WILLIAM MAYA LYNN

8. Awards and Special Recognitions Girlfriends just recently celebrated reaching their 100th episode mark. Last season, GIRLFRIENDS received its first Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Cinematography in a Multi-Camera Series. The series also received its third consecutive NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series. Tracee Ellis Ross also earned her third consecutive NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

9. Golden Brooks • Date of Birth: December 1st, 1970 • Hometown: California • Education: Earned a Bachelor's degree in sociology (with a concentration on media representation of minorities) from UC-Berkeley where she also minored in theater. She went on to earn a Master's degree from Sarah Lawrence college. • Brief Filmography: * 42.4 Percent (Film)- Due 2006 * Beauty Shop (Film)- 2005 * Motives (Film)- 2004 * 35TH NAACP Image Awards (Host)- 2004 * Girlfriends (TV Series)- 2000 * Timecode (Film)- 2000

10. Tracee Ellis Ross • Date of Birth: October 29th, 1979 • Hometown: Los Angeles, California • Education: She is a graduate of Brown University and the esteemed William Esper Acting Studio. • Brief Filmography: * 35th NAACP Image Awards (Host)-2004 * Girlfriends (TV Series)- 2000 * Hanging Up (Film) – 2000 * A Fare To Remember (Film)- 1998 * The Dish (TV Series)- 1997 * Far Harbor (Film) -1996

11. Persia White • Date of Birth: N/A • Hometown: Miami, Florida • Education: N/A • Brief Filmography: * The Fall of Night (Film)- 2004 * The 35th NAACP Image Awards (Host)- 2004 * Girlfriends (TV Series)- 2000 * “Another World” (TV Soap)- 1999 * Breaker High (TV Series) – 1996 * Blue Chips (Film) -1994

12. Jill Marie Jones • Date of Birth: N/A • Hometown: Dallas, Texas • Education: Attended Duncanville High School and Texas Women's University • Brief Filmography: * The 35th NAACP Image Awards (Host)- 2004 * Girlfriends (TV Series)- 2000 * City Guys (TV Series)-2000 • Interesting Facts: Was a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader for two years and a dancer for the Dallas Mavericks for one year.

13. Reggie Hayes • Date of Birth: July 15th, 1969 • Hometown: Chicago, Illinois • Education: He attended Northwestern Military Naval Academy and Illinois State University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre. • Brief Filmography: * Charlie’s Angels (Film)- 2000 * Girlfriends (TV Series)- 2000 * Being John Malkovich (Film)- 1999 * Getting Personal (TV Series)- 1998 * A Family Thing (Film)-1996

14. Wardrobe • Joan: Joan has a very sophisticated style. Viewers usually see her in business attire. Even when she out having fun, she still is dresses conservatively. • Toni: Toni dresses like she is from the highest class of society. She drowns herself in designers such as; Prada, Gucci, Versace, etc. Accessories includes anything with diamonds. • Maya: Maya is the hip-hop, ghetto, urban outfitter. Her attire is more “club wear”, although when she is at work, she has it all together looking quite professional. • Lynn: Lynn is very eccentric. She can look professional, but her theory is why? She enjoys being herself and she express that through her style.

15. Nightlife The nightlife in Girlfriends is amazing. The setting is in Los Angeles (known for their nightlife). The clubs are trendy, with colorful furniture. The ladies never drink beer (that’s for common folk); they always have a Cosmo, or margarita by their side.

16. Comparison To Other Shows “Girlfriends” have been compared to having the spunk of "Living Single“, but has the full charismatic charm and wit of HBO's "Sex In The City“ with the same comedy found “FRIENDS”.

17. Joan Carol Clayton Joan Clayton is a 29-year-old, single woman with a promising career as a lawyer. Although she is beautiful, successful and has lots of friends, Joan longs for someone with whom she can share her happiness. Joan often finds the companionship she seeks when she is with her girlfriends. The show centers around her and her friends, however its never really about Joan. Joan likes to get concerned with and solve everyone else’s problems, but find it extremely difficult to confront hers.

18. Antoinette Marie ‘Toni’ Childs-Garrett Toni is an upwardly mobile, real-estate agent. She can be described as being a somewhat gold digger. Even though she doesn’t have the amount of money that she thinks she does, she still manages to remain high class and looks down anyone who is not. Toni only dates guys for the attention and for money, but things change when she falls hard for a broke doctor. We (the viewers) sense that there is a bit of insecurity about Toni that she is not willing to confront. Even though she goes about things in the wrong way, the other girls know that her heart is there and that she means well. Always denying it, Toni is a country girl.

19. Maya Denise Wilkes Maya is Joan's sharp-tongued secretary at the law firm. She is the “miss ghetto fabulous” one of the group. When we first met Maya, we found out that she is married to her high school sweetheart and have an eight year old son. Very soon she starts facing martial problems which leads to her having an affair with another man. Most of the time, Maya is the leader of the group, having more common sense than the rest of her ‘girlfriends’. Maya is practical and lives her life in a fashion that maintains keeping it real.

20. Lynn Ann Searcy Lynn is a former college buddy who started living rent with Joan rent-free. When the show started, we see beginning works of completing her eighth year of graduate school. Lynn is a freeloader and very lazy. She talks down to men, but will sleep with anyone she claims with. Like Toni, Lynn wants attention for her own selfish greed. Unlike the rest of the ‘girlfriends’, from her actions, one can assume that she is bi-curious.

21. William Jerome Dent William is the honorary "girlfriend” of the group. He is Joan's friend and colleague at the law firm. He is a buttoned-up conservative guy who suffers from the "nice guy" syndrome. Women see him as "brother" material, not "husband" material. So he accepts his role as big brother and delights in tormenting the four women with his slant on the male point of view.