Tisha Campbell-martin
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
Multi-talented performer Tisha Campbell-Martin gained notoriety as the calming influence and romantic interest of not one, but two comedic talents, on the hit sitcoms "Martin" (Fox, 1992-97) and "My Wife & Kids" (ABC, 2001-05). Gaining early experience on stage and in films like "Little Shop of Horrors" (1986) and "School Daze" (1988), she later picked up a recurring role in the teen comedy "House Party" (1990) and its subsequent sequels. While enjoying her success on the second season of "Martin," Campbell-Martin released her self-titled debut album which spawned the Top 40 dance single "Push" in 1993. Although she parted ways with "Martin" co-star Martin Lawrence under less than ideal circumstances, the actress found being on the set of "My Wife & Kids" alongside Damon Wayans far more rewarding. Martin-Campbell continued to appear regularly in film and on television in such diverse projects as the raunchy romantic comedy "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" (2008), motivational kids' TV-movie "Lemonade Mouth" (Disney Channel, 2011), family sitcom "Dr. Ken" (ABC 2015-17) and acclaimed indie comedy-drama "Blindspotting" (2018), proving both her versatility and durability as an actress.
Born Tisha Michelle Campbell on Oct. 13, 1968 in Oklahoma City, OK, she was the daughter of Mona, a nurse, and Clifton, a factory worker. Campbell-Martin and her three siblings were raised in Newark, NJ and it was there that she received her start as a performer by singing in the church choir as a small child. Campbell made her first television appearance at the age of eight with an episode of the children's show "Big Blue Marble" (PBS, 1974-1983), which followed her as she took singing lessons from her mother and performed at a jazz concert in New York's Greenwich Village. While still in her early teens, the aspiring young performer was performing in off-Broadway stage productions such as "Betsy Brown" and "Really Rosie." After graduating from Newark Arts High School, Campbell-Martin made her feature film debut as part of the "Greek chorus" in "Little Shop of Horrors" (1986), a musical remake of the horror comedy originally directed by Roger Corman. Encouraged by the work and ready to pursue her chosen profession in earnest, Campbell-Martin made the move to Los Angeles, where she was cast as one of five girls adopted by Joseph Bologna on the short-lived sitcom "Rags to Riches" (NBC, 1987-88).
Cambell-Martin's follow-up came with Spike Lee's collegiate musical comedy feature "School Daze" (1988), which showcased both Campbell's singing and acting skills. She went on to appear as one of a group of New York teens living and dancing on "Rooftops" (1989) and picked up a minor role in the Eddie Murphy/Nick Nolte action comedy sequel "Another 48 Hrs." (1990). As her career gained momentum, she landed the role of Sidney, the girlfriend of Kid (Christopher Reid), in the Hudlin Brothers' raucous teen comedy "House Party" (1990). Behind the camera she choreographed the dance battle scene in the film, and reprised the character of Sidney in each of the franchise's sequels. The following year, Eddie Murphy promoted her to wise-cracking ex-girlfriend in the comedy "Boomerang" (1992), before she joined the cast of "Martin" (Fox, 1992-97) as Gina, the intelligent and strong-willed girlfriend of blustery man-child Martin Lawrence. In late 1996, Campbell walked off the show after filing a sexual harassment lawsuit against co-star Lawrence and the show's producers. However, by March 1997 she had settled the matter out of court and returned for the show's final three episodes, with the stipulation that she not appear in any scenes alongside the series' titular star.
Campbell-Martin provided one of the voices for the animal stars of the family adventure sequel "Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco" (1996), and displayed her singing skills once more in Rusty Cundieff's romantic comedy "Sprung" (1997). Cast on yet another successful series, she played Damon Wayan's career-minded, level-headed wife Janet on the family sitcom "My Wife & Kids" (ABC, 2001-05), a role that won her BET Comedy and NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series. A few years later, Campbell-Martin juxtaposed that character with a brief turn as Craig Robinson's angry, berating spouse in the Kevin Smith comedy feature "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" (2008). That same year she made a series of appearances as the obnoxious neighbor, Peaches, on the Chris Rock sitcom "Everybody Hates Chris" (UPN/The CW, 2005-09), and signed up as a fulltime cast member on the short-lived "Rita Rocks" (Lifetime, 2008-09). Other roles included a turn as the nurturing detention hall administrator and music teacher, Miss Reznick, in the teen empowerment high school musical "Lemonade Mouth" (Disney Channel, 2011) and a co-starring role on police procedural "The Protector" (Lifetime 2011). After appearing as herself in a recurring role in the Kevin Hart reality TV parody "Real Husbands of Hollywood" (BET 2013-16), Campbell-Martin co-starred in Ken Jeong's family comedy "Dr. Ken" ABC (2015-17) and had a voice role in the adult cartoon "Legends of Chamberland Heights" (Adult Swim 2017). After co-starring in the TV movie "The Simone Biles Story: Courage to Soar" (Lifetime 2018) as the teen gymnast's mother, Campbell-Martin co-starred in the indie comedy-drama "Blindspotting" (2018) opposite Daveed Diggs.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Dance (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1980
Played the title character in the children's musical "Really Rosie"
1986
Made her film debut in Frank Oz's "Little Shop of Horrors"
1987
Made her TV series debut in "Rags to Riches" (NBC)
1988
Had featured role in "School Daze"
1992
Had breakout role as Gina, the title character's girlfriend, on the Fox sitcom "Martin"
1993
Released her debut album, <i>Tisha</i>
1996
Filed a sexual harassment suit against co-star Lawrence and the producers of "Martin"; suit was later settled out of court and Campbell returned to the series for its final episodes
1997
Contributed vocals for the soundtrack of the film, "Sprung"
1998
Had a recurring role on the Showtime series, "Linc's"
2001
Had a regular role on the ABC sitcom "My Wife and Kids"
2004
Had a recurring role on "All of Us" (UPN)
2008
Had a small role in Kevin Smith's "Zack and Miri Make a Porno"
2008
Played the best friend of the title character on the Lifetime series "Rita Rocks"
2008
Had a recurring role on the CW sitcom "Everybody Hates Chris"
2011
Played Michelle Dulcett on "The Protector"
2015
Starred as Damona on the sitcom "Dr. Ken"
2016
Lent her voice to "Legends of Chamberlain Heights"
2018
Played Mama Liz in the comedy "Blindspotting"
Family
Companions
