Michael Michele

Personal life

Michele was born Michael Michele Williams in Evansville, Indiana, the elder of two daughters. Her father is white and her mother is black. Her father is a furniture-rental entrepreneur and her mother was employed by Bristol-Myers. She was named for her mother's best friend, Michael Ann. Michele attended Howard Roosa Elementary School and Benjamin Bosse High School, where she was active on the basketball team. She has a son, J. Brandon, born December 21, 2004.

Career

Michele has appeared in music videos by R&B singers Freddie Jackson and Eric Gable. In 1989 she sued actor Eddie Murphy in a high-profile Hollywood lawsuit alleging she was fired from the movie Harlem Nights for rejecting his romantic advances. "She had the role that's now being played by Jasmine Guy, from A Different World," Murphy told Rolling Stone. "The fact of the matter is, I wanted someone with greater marquee value than Michael Michele. She wasn't working out. As for her claim that I was touching her, realistically speaking, if you're gonna be a sleaze and try to fuck somebody, you try to fuck 'em before you give 'em the part… In her lawsuit, she says I tried to touch her, like I was a pervert. I never tried to touch this woman. We had, like, four conversations, each time with up to sixty people around us on a sound stage. But the lawsuit itself didn't bother me. Lawsuits for me are an occupational hazard."

Michele is known for her role as Dr. Cleo Finch on the television series ER from 1999–2002 and her role as Det. Rene Sheppard on the final season of Homicide: Life on the Street. She also had a starring role in the short-lived television series Kevin Hill and a recurring role in New York Undercover. Michele played the role of Veronica Porsche Ali in the 2001 film Ali. She appeared in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit that aired in early 2007. She also appeared in two episodes of the fourth season of House as a doctor who had previously worked with the CIA. In 2009 Michele appeared in the Hallmark Channel original movie Relative Stranger with fellow ER cast member Eriq La Salle. In 2011, Michele had a recurring role on The CW teen drama Gossip Girl.

In 2005, TV Guide ranked Michele # 36 on its "50 Sexiest Stars of All Time" list. In 2012, she was named one of the "50 Hottest Biracial Women" by Complex Magazine.