CELEBRITIES WHO INSPIRE
Photo by Hosea Johnson
“Who wouldn’t want to be one of the
players? At the time, it was very hard to
take,” she said.
But along with lows, there have been so many
highs, it’s hard for her to pinpoint just one.
“Carnegie Hall was a big one,” she said.
“One of my favorite roles was probably Zelma
Bullock in What’s Love Got to Do With It?”
Among her highs and lows, she was
diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1997.
“When I was young, people would laugh and
say, ‘that Jenny is crazy,’” she said. “I think
people who become entertainers have a kind
of extra ‘edge,’ and I never knew it meant
something was wrong.”
As the AIDS epidemic began to take the lives
of around 200 of Jenifer’s friends, her grief
was so great that she literally “broke.” She
knew she needed some kind of help.
Photo by Eric Charbonneau
After her diagnosis, Jenifer has kept her
disorder “level” with medication and therapy.
“If it’s left untreated for too long, there can
be real problems,” she said. “I’m glad I got
help, and can continue to enjoy my life.”
She appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in
2007 and discussed her experience with bipolar.
“I had no idea I was ‘coming out,’” she said.
“I wasn’t ashamed of it.”
But after her disorder became public,
people began coming to her, talking about
themselves or people they loved who also
dealt with a mental illness of some kind.
“I continue to talk about it because for
so long, mental illness was a taboo in the
world, but it’s something that needs to be
addressed. No one should have to be too
embarrassed to get help,” she said.
Jenifer was chosen to receive this year’s
American Black Film Festival Career
Achievement Award in New York. And
she recently completed a screenplay with
writing partner, Nathan H. Williams, which
she describes as “Auntie Mame meets The
Blind Side.”
And to top it off, she is writing her memoirs,
to be published by Harper Collins in 2016.
“I owe what I’ve accomplished to everyone
who has been in my life,” she said. “If just
one thing had been different, I wouldn’t be
where I am at this moment. If my classmates
had not elected me president, if I had gotten
the part on Saturday Night Live, if I had taken
different classes in college. One thing can
change everything.
“I had the courage to pursue my dreams
because my family, teachers and friends
encouraged me,” she said. “If you love
something, nothing can keep you from it.”
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SAVVY I SOPHISTICATED I SASSY