Essence Atkins

Essence Uhura Atkins (born February 7, 1972) is an American actress and model. She began her career appearing on television sitcoms, before regular role on the short-lived first African-American prime-time soap opera Under One Roof (CBS, 1995). Atkins is best known for her roles on television comedies. From 1997 to 1999, she starred as Tasha Yvette Henderson in The WB sitcom Smart Guy. She later went to star as Dee Dee Thorne in UPN sitcom Half & Half (2002–06) and TBS comedy series Are We There Yet? (2010–12) as Suzanne Kingston-Persons. In film, Atkins has appeared in Deliver Us from Eva (2003), Dance Flick (2009), A Haunted House (2013) and A Haunted House 2 (2014). 2Career Atkins began her career as a teenager guest starring on NBC sitcom The Cosby Show in 1986. The following years she spent playing guest roles on sitcoms include Family Matters, before landing co-leading role opposite James Earl Jones and Vanessa Bell Calloway in the short-lived first African-American prime-time soap opera Under One Roof in 1995. The following year, she co-starred with Keri Russell in the short-lived Fox teen soap opera Malibu Shore