Vivica A. Fox — Movies, TV Shows & Roles

Actor

1964-07-30 · South Bend, Indiana, USA · Female

69 series in the catalog

Vivica Anjanetta Fox (born July 30, 1964) is an American actress, television presenter and producer. She began her career on Soul Train (1982–1983) and played roles on the daytime television soap operas Days of Our Lives (1988) and Generations (1989–1991). In prime time, she starred opposite Patti LaBelle in the NBC sitcom Out All Night (1992–1993). Fox's breakthrough came in 1996, with roles in two box-office hit films, Roland Emmerich's Independence Day and F. Gary Gray's Set It Off.
Fox has starred in the films Booty Call (1997), Soul Food (1997), Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998), Kingdom Come (2001), Two Can Play That Game (2001), and Boat Trip (2002). She played Vernita Green in Kill Bill (2003) and landed supporting roles in films like Ella Enchanted (2004). She scored leading roles in the short-lived Fox sitcom Getting Personal (1998) and the CBS medical drama City of Angels (2000). From 2003 to 2006, she co-starred in and produced the Lifetime crime drama series Missing, for which she received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series. Fox starred in more than 25 The Wrong... movies for Lifetime since 2016 and played Candace Mason in the Fox musical drama series Empire (2015–2020). Her later film appearances include Arkansas (2020) and Is God Is (2026).
Fox's involvement in the entertainment industry goes beyond acting, as she has produced films and TV shows, some of which she did not star in. She made her directorial debut with the 2023 biographical crime film First Lady of BMF: The Tonesa Welch Story about the "First Lady" of the notorious Black Mafia Family in Detroit.
Early life
Fox was born in South Bend, Indiana, the daughter of Everlyena, a pharmaceutical technician, and William Fox, a school administrator. Her parents relocated to the Benton Harbor, Michigan, area soon after her birth. Fox is a 1982 graduate of Arlington High School in Indianapolis and subsequently graduated from Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California, with an Associate of Arts in Social Sciences.
Career
1982–1995
In 1982, Fox relocated to California to attend Golden West College in Huntington Beach. While there, she was a dancer on Soul Train from 1983 to 1984, and also appeared in the music video for R&B group Klymaxx's hit single, "Meeting in the Ladies Room". Afterwards, she started acting professionally, first on the NBC daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives in 1988, playing Carmen Silva. Following her film debut as a hooker in Oliver Stone's 1989 war drama movie Born on the Fourth of July, Fox was cast as Emily Franklin in the pilot episode of ABC comedy series, Living Dolls, a spin-off of the sitcom Who's the Boss? but was replaced with Halle Berry for the remaining episodes. Later that year, Fox was cast as Maya Reubens, the leading character in the NBC daytime soap opera Generations. The series broke new ground as the first soap to feature an African-American family from its inception.
In the early 1990s, Fox began appearing in prime time television, playing guest-starring roles on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, 90210, Family Matters, Matlock, and Martin. In 1992, she was cast as Patti LaBelle's fashion-designer daughter, Charisse Chamberlain, on the NBC sitcom Out All Night. In addition to this role, she returned to soap operas, playing the role of Dr. Stephanie Simmons on CBS' The Young and the Restless from 1994 to 1995. In 1995, she also had a cameo in the comedy film Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood.
1996–2003
In 1996, Fox played Will Smith's character's girlfriend, Jasmine Dubrow, in the epic sci-fi disaster blockbuster Independence Day, directed by Roland Emmerich. The film grossed over $800 million worldwide. Fox received an MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss with Smith, and was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. Later that year, she played Francesca "Frankie" Sutton in the crime action film Set It Off opposite Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah and Kimberly Elise. Directed by F. Gary Gray, Set It Off became a critical and box office success, grossing over $41 million against a budget of $9 million. In 1997, Fox starred in three films: Booty Call, a Columbia Pictures comedy opposite Jamie Foxx; the superhero film Batman & Robin; and 20th Century Fox's critically acclaimed comedy-drama Soul Food. The latter was also a major box office success. For her role, Fox received her first NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture nomination, and MTV Movie Award for Best Performance.
Fox had additional leading roles on television. She played Queen of Sheba in the British television film Solomon in 1997. That same year, she starred opposite Arsenio Hall in the short-lived ABC sitcom Arsenio. In 1998, she was lead actress in the short-lived Fox sitcom Getting Personal. Also in 1998, Fox starred alongside Halle Berry, Lela Rochon and Larenz Tate in the romantic drama film Why Do Fools Fall in Love, playing one of the three wives of singer Frankie Lymon. The following year, she appeared in stoner comedy horror Idle Hands, and Teaching Mrs. Tingle with Helen Mirren. In 2000, she starred alongside Blair Underwood in the short-lived CBS medical drama, City of Angels.
In 2001, Fox played Lucille Slocumb in Kingdom Come, a comedy-drama starring LL Cool J, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Whoopi Goldberg. That same year, she was the lead in the romantic comedy Two Can Play That Game, and had a supporting role in the independent comedy-drama Little Secrets. In 2002, she starred alongside Miguel A. Núñez Jr. in Juwanna Mann and Cuba Gooding Jr. in Boat Trip. In 2003, Quentin Tarantino cast her as Vernita Green in his two-part martial arts film Kill Bill.
2004–2019
From 2004 to 2006, Fox co-produced and starred as FBI special agent Nicole Scott in the Lifetime television crime drama series Missing. She received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for her role in 2006. During this time, Fox produced and played the leading roles in several films, including Motives, The Salon, Getting Played, and Three Can Play That Game. From 2007 to 2009, she had a recurring role in the HBO comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm, as the mother of a family displaced by a hurricane and taken in by Larry and Cheryl.
Fox was a judge on The WB's talent show The Starlet. She participated in the third season of ABC's hit television show, Dancing with the Stars, but was voted off after the fourth week. In 2009, Fox served as celebrity spokesperson for the then newly revamped Psychic Friends Network. After receiving backlash for her involvement with the network, Fox denied any involvement with the company, despite having filmed a commercial and promo video which had already gone to air. She hosted her own VH1 reality series Glam God with Vivica A. Fox (2008), TV Land's The Cougar (2009), and Lifetime's Prank My Mom (2012). She was also a contestant on The Apprentice in 2015.
In the late 2000s and 2010s, Fox had supporting roles in films poorly received by critics, such as The Hard Corps (2006) alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme, Kickin' It Old Skool (2007) starring Jamie Kennedy, and Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous (2008) with Jessica Simpson. On television, she had guest starring roles on Law & Order, Drop Dead Diva, Melissa & Joey, Femme Fatales, and Raising Hope. As a regular, Fox starred in the syndicated sitcom Mr. Box Office alongside Bill Bellamy and Jon Lovitz.
In 2012, she acted in the Nigerian action drama film Black November, starring Mickey Rourke, Kim Basinger, Akon, and Wyclef Jean. In 2013, Fox landed a part in the Christian sports drama, Home Run. The film had a limited release on April 19, in the United States and has grossed over $2.8 million. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film received 45% positive reviews from 11 critics. Fox also gave her voice to the direct-to-DVD animated film Scooby-Doo! Stage Fright…