Lydia Nicole (born Lydia Fernandez) is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer based out of Los Angeles, California. Her career in the entertainment industry began in 1972 with the Inner City Broadcasting Corporation at New York City R&B station, WBLS-FM. In 1981, she made her debut as an actress guest starring on The Greatest American Hero. Nicole is best known for her role as Rafaela in Stand and Deliver, and her current project, web series Common Sense Mamita.
Lydia Nicole | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lydia Fernandez |
| Education | Fordham University UCLA |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, comedian, writer, producer |
| Known for | Common Sense Mamita |
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) |
Early life and education
editNicole grew up in Spanish Harlem, New York City.[1] From 13 to 18 years old, she worked for radio station WBLS-FM, New York as assistant music director.[2] That experience brought her to California to work for Casablanca Records, a premier disco record company.[citation needed]
Nicole studied theater at Fordham University in New York City before moving to Hollywood. Once in California, she was part of the UCLA Writer's Program and studied with acting coaches Roy London and Stella Adler, as well as Broadway director Jose Quintero.[citation needed]
Current work
editCommon Sense Mamita
editCommon Sense Mamita is a comedic web series written, produced and hosted by Nicole. The show premiered on Latin Heat Entertainment in 2013[3] and has run weekly every Thursday since.[4]
Career
editNicole entered show business at the number one R&B radio station in New York City, WBLS-FM. From 1973 to 1978, she worked with radio icons Hal Jackson, Frankie Crocker and Wanda Ramos under Inner City Broadcasting Corporation. At 18, Nicole became ICBC's youngest assistant music director.[citation needed]
In Los Angeles, Nicole worked under record mogul, Jheryl Busby and managed R&B recording artist Patrice Rushen's fan club. In 1981, she resumed her position with ICBC as music director for two California based stations, KGFJ-AM and KUTE-FM. Under Nicole's guidance, KGFJ-AM became the top R&B and Hip Hop station in Los Angeles.[citation needed]
Nicole landed her first role on television in 1981 when she guest starred in The Greatest American Hero. She made appearances in shows such as Hill Street Blues (1981) and The Fall Guy (1981), and movies like Murder in Texas (1981). In a 1983 issue of Ebony Magazine, Nicole was named one of the "New Faces in Hollywood".[5] In 1982, she appeared in a two-part episode of The Jeffersons as gang leader, Rachel, who robs and stabs George Jefferson. She then landed the role as Rafaela costarring with Edward James Olmos in Stand and Deliver.
| Year | Title | Role | Director |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | The Greatest American Hero | ||
| 1981 | Murder in Texas | Nurse Pollard | Billy Hale |
| 1981 | Hill Street Blues | Girl/rape victim | Randa Haines |
| 1982 | The Jeffersons | Rachel | Bob Lally |
| 1982 | Honeyboy | Soledad | John Barry |
| 1983 | Max Dugan Returns | Celia | Herbert Ross |
| 1984 | Shattered Vows | Nun | Jack Bender |
| 1984 | The Fall Guy | ||
| 1985 | A Death in California | Delores | Delbert Mann |
| 1985 | Hell Town - TV series | Milo | Don Medford |
| 1987 | Sister Margaret and the Saturday Night Ladies | Isabel | Paul Wendkos |
| 1987 | Hollywood Shuffle | Make-up woman | Robert Townsend (actor) |
| 1988 | Stand and Deliver | Rafaela Fuentes | Ramón Menéndez |
| 1989 | Thirtysomething | Janet | Peter Horton |
| 1990 | Cop Rock | Miriam Hernandez | Gregory Hoblit |
| 1993 | Rock the Vote | ||
| 1993 | Indecent Proposal | Citizenship student | Adrian Lyne |
| 1994 | Stranger By Night | Hooker #1 | Gregory Brown |
| 1998 | Martial Law - TV series | Maria | John Kretchmer |
| 2000 | Rave | Rosa | Ron Krauss |
| 2001 | 10 Attitudes | Claire | Michael Gallant |
| 2006 | Sweet Deadly Dreams | Detective Rodriguez | Walter Stewart |
| 2013 | Common Sense Mamita | Hostess | |
| 2014 | Latinas Chat Media | ||
| 2015 | Absolutely Jason Stuart |
By 1988, Nicole took up comedy in the Latino standup world.[7] She was one of very few Latinas on the comedy circuit and a regular at the World Famous Comedy Store. She also opened for her former employer, R&B singer Patrice Rushen. In 1993, Nicole was featured on BET's Comic View. In 1991, the lack of racial and gender diversity in stand up prompted Nicole to co-find "Funny Ladies of Color"[8] with comic Cha Cha Sandoval and agent Sharona Fae. The group was composed of women of color including Sherri Shepherd, Jackie Guerra, Dyana Ortelli, Lotus Weinstock and Carlease Burke. She also co-founded "The Hot & Spicy Mamitas",[9] the first all female Latina stand up comedy show, featuring Sully Diaz, Marilyn Martinez, Ludo Vika and Dyana Ortelli. Together, they released a stand up comedy album on Uproar Records.[10][11] The group was mentioned in Darryl J. Littleton and Tuezdae Littleton's book, Comediennes: Laugh Be a Lady along with female comedians Whoopi Goldberg, Lily Tomlin, Lucille Ball, and Margaret Cho.[12]
Nicole took her standup and created her first one-woman show entitled "Calling Up Papi" at the World Famous Comedy Store[13] in which she performs the roles of 26 characters.
Other ventures
editNicole co-produced comedy shows "Funny Ladies of Color" and the "Hot & Spicy Mamitas", and also wrote, produced and starred in her second one-woman show, A Rose Grows in Spanish Harlem.[14] Starting in 1985, Nicole began working alongside filmmaker Robert Townsend" on the movie Hollywood Shuffle (1988). She worked with him again in 2002 on film and web series productions. She started as a basic assistant and became associate producer of Code Black Entertainment's Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy, Los Americans, and In the Hive.[14] In 2015, she produced Townsend's film Playin' for Love, a romantic comedy film with Townsend Entertainment.[15]
Philanthropy
editFrom 1991 to 2002, Nicole took her childhood story Calling up Papi to high schools across the country and youth authorities around Southern California in an effort to promote the importance of education to inner city kids and juvenile offenders.[16]
She spoke for various organizations such as Athletes and Entertainers For Kids, The Ryan White program, Kareem's Kids and Kathy Ireland's Mother's and Daughter's Tea.
References
edit- ^ Cilantro, Spicy (2012-11-05). "Politicizing Rape Inflicts More Injury to Victims". Spicy Cilantro. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ^ "The American Latina: September 2010". Theamericanlatina.com. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ^ "Lydia Nicole's "Common Sense Mamita" Vlog Exclusive On Latin Heat Channel | LatinHeat Entertainment". Latinheat.com. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ^ Engine, Pitch. "Actress/Comedienne LYDIA NICOLE Returns with Spicy Season Three of Popular Vlog 'COMMON SENSE MAMITA'". Local news, local events and what's happening around Australia. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ^ Ebony. Johnson Publishing Company. 1983-04-01.
- ^ "The Paley Center for Media". The Paley Center for Media. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ^ "Crossing The Line". Entertainingdiversity.com. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ^ "Archives". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
- ^ KARLIN, SUSAN (1999-03-15). "It's Loco Emotion With Latina Comics". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ^ "Sully Diaz, Dyana Ortelli, Lydia Nicole, Marilyn Martinez, Ludo Vika – "The Hot & Spicy Mamitas" | Uproar Entertainment". Uproarcomedycd.com. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ^ "Hot and Spicy Mamitas". Audiobooks.com. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ^ Littleton, Darryl J.; Littleton, Tuezdae (2012-09-01). Comediennes: Laugh Be a Lady. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9781480329744.
- ^ "A must see! - Puerto Rico Discussion Forum". Puertorico.com. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
- ^ a b "The Rose of Spanish Harlem, Actress & Executive LYDIA NICOLE". Heralddeparis.com. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ^ "Multi-Talented LYDIA NICOLE Produces Positive Message with ROBERT TOWNSEND's "PLAYIN' FOR LOVE" : Spotlight PR Company". Pitchengine.com. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
- ^ "Actress Lydia Nicole on Her Long Hollywood Career". Film Slate Magazine: Your Hub for Moviemaking Tips and the Insightful Commentary on Indie Film, Television and Hollywood. 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2016-05-03.