Elise Neal (born March 14, 1966) is an
American film and
television actress. Neal has demonstrated her versatility in roles from
Hustle and Flow to the cult horror classic
Scream 2. She has worked with such acclaimed directors/producers such as
John Singleton,
Brian DePalma,
Steven Spielberg and
Craig Brewer.
Early life
Neal, a
Memphis,
Tennessee native, was born on March 14, 1966, daughter of a construction worker.
[Elise Neal Biography (1970-)] She attended Lakeview Elementary in
South Memphis. She was a ballet dancer and a cheerleader. She broke her left wrist in a high toss cheerleading stunt; after the bones healed, her wrist never straightened back out completely. She graduated from
Overton High School for the Creative and Performing Arts in 1984, and attended the
University of the Arts in
Philadelphia. After graduation, she moved to
New York City, where she landed roles in musical theater and found herself traveling the world with various touring companies. Her experience in musical theater allowed her to easily transition into commercials, eventually bringing her to
Los Angeles.
Career
Once in
Los Angeles, Neal landed the role of "Janice Sinclair" on the ABC soap opera
Loving. Shortly after she made the leap to
Prime time on
seaQuest 2032, as fighter pilot
Lieutenant J.J. Fredericks. Her film debut was a starring role in
John Singleton's
Rosewood. Other film credits include:
Paid in Full,
Money Talks,
Mission to Mars and
Restaurant. Neal's newest film,
4 Life, also starring Wood Harris, hit stores July 3, 2007. This project also marks her first debut soundtrack single, "I'm Down Baby", produced by
Hustle & Flows award-winning songwriter. She also appeared in the series K-Ville, which starred Anthony Anderson and Cole Hauser. Neal will also be seen in Ransom Games
, playing a wife forced to negotiate for the safe return of her husband.
Neal and the rest of the cast of
Hustle and Flow were nominated for a
Screen Actors Guild award for best ensemble, an
NAACP award for Best Picture, and won as Best Cast at the
"Young Hollywood" awards. She has three NAACP award nominations: Best Actress in a Comedy for
The Hughleys twice and a Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for
Hustle and Flow.
Neal appeared in Dannii Minogue's 1993 music video for This Is It,
Aretha Franklin's video
A Rose is a Rose and in
50 Cent's music video for "Follow My Lead"
Vanessa Williams's video "Work to Do" as well as
Portrait's
Honey Dip. Neal graced the cover of the November, 2007 edition of
King Magazine,
Chubb Rock's Music Video "Just The Two Of Us" &
Trick Daddy's 2001 Music Video "I'm A Thug".
Expanding her role as producer, Neal is creating and developing several multimedia projects: a reality show based on her R & B group, "Assorted Flavors", a fitness and lifestyle brand, and multiple feature projects through her development deal with Mandalay Bay Entertainment.
Partial Filmography
