After much whisper and speculation, it has been confirmed that Nicole Ari Parker is slated to replace Kim Cattrall on the Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That, as the necessary fourth member of the New York group. According to the Mail, our girl will play Carrie Bradshaw's new best friend, documentary-maker Lisa Todd Wexley--a role she accepted after the backlash that accompanied the news that the era-defining show's most iconic character was done with the series.
But listen, this is exactly why we cannot wait for Ms. Nicole to show up and out!
Nicole is known for starring in Soul Food, Chicago PD, most recently, Empire, and a variety of other gems. But what's even better, in addition to the news that she is the newest cast member, is that the entire cast is slated to be a part of this one too--including the infamous Michael Patrick King--talk about moving on without you, whew!
Nicole has been mostly on some if-you-mention-it-then-I'll-mention-it tight-lipped vibes regarding the project, but based on the outfits and pictures that have been released from both Sarah Jessica Parker and the show, we are ready, mkay!? And why wouldn't we be? Our good sis has been giving us good acting for years!
On 'Empire', she was the prestigious, Giselle Barker:
Giselle was a go-getter, a hustler who worked her way up from knowing nothing about the music business, to owning the building the record label was stationed. She was ruthless, maybe had a few skeletons, but was completely unfckwithable. Of the character, she told Wendy Williams:
"I'm having so much fun, because I get to play a character that you love to hate, you know? And to work with Terrence, who I've known for almost 20 years and Taraji, we all came up together. I play one of these women...you could say I'm evil. But I represent these women who got into an industry, started at the bottom, and took advantage of her situation. Yes, she can be a little ruthless, but it's so much fun."
She played Teri Joseph on the television series of 'Soul Food':
This role, based on Vanessa Williams' character from the movie version was dynamic and huge for Parker's career. She went on to receive five NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series nominations. Five! She recently revealed to REVOLT that playing Teri was one of the most empowering roles she's ever played.
"Soul Food was great and that was a great example of Black women behind the scenes in decision-making positions because the stories that were told were given a lot of depth and humanity, and weren't this one-sided strong Black woman narrative. There was a strong Black woman who hurt, a strong Black woman who loved, a strong Black woman who's not always strong. That really trained me and it was really eye-opening for me about how television can do it when it wants to."
Come through! Soul Food is also where she famously met her husband, actor Boris Kodjoe. The two even re-enacted their very first scene together, on the show's 20th anniversary (above)!
She even hilariously played herself on 'Real Husbands of Hollywood':
And sis brought all the comedy to hit parody series, showing she has the acting range to keep up with the best of them!
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Details of Parker's role have been kept mostly under wraps, with more to be released. The 10-episode, half-hour series began production in the Big Apple last month and is set to premiere on HBO Max in late 2021.
Are you excited to watch?
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Featured image by Paul Archuleta/Getty Images
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Skylar sees things differently. At the time, she was shooting content on her iPhone. Temi came into the picture with a new perspective, an understanding of tech, and, eventually, a camera. “He doesn't give himself enough credit,” Skylar says. “He wasn't just my tripod. He wasn't just standing behind the camera and going ‘click.’ He was giving advice. He was giving me insight to how I could look at things from a different perspective. And I was like, 'Oh, he’s an artist.' I think it was maybe a heartbeat of that kind of energy of like, ‘Baby, can you take this picture?’ And it turned so quickly into, we're partners. We can work together in a way where we're advancing each other's creative thinking.”
The pair often says they’re two sides of the same coin. Skylar is an Aquarius. She attended art school, paints, and loves poetry. She’s more than happy to let the couple’s management firm and agency, Kensington Grey, handle their admin work. And, she loves to sleep in. Temi, on the other hand, wakes up early. He’s a Virgo. He loves a to-do list and regularly checks in on the couple’s brand partnerships spreadsheet to make sure everything is on track.
Because his storytelling was steeped in his love of technology, he didn’t always think of himself as a creative person. “Where I [am] the dreamer who wants to pluck things out of the sky and spend all day with my head in the clouds, Temi [is] so good at grounding me and helping me figure out how to make things make sense on paper. We just work together in such a complimentary way,” Skylar says.
It’s been more than six years since Brooklyn-based couple Temi and Skylar started dating, and nearly four since they cemented their working relationship. On TikTok and Instagram, the couple’s travel, fashion, and home content regularly rack up hundreds of thousands of views. They’ve worked with brands such as Coach, Aesop, Away, and Liquid IV, bringing their vibrant perspectives to every campaign they execute. Still, nearly two years since both Temi and Skylar committed to full-time content creation and creative directing, the couple says their romantic connection remains their priority.
“We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting,” Skylar says.
Working from home can make it hard to separate work from personal life for any entrepreneur. It can be even more challenging when your business partner is also your lover. Temi and Skylar had already used couples therapy as a tool to help them effectively communicate with one another. When they ran into challenges while working together, their therapist helped them set physical boundaries to help combat the issues.
"We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting."
“It actually took us doing very specific physical things to create boundaries between work and play in our relationship,” Skylar says. “So, for instance, we will only have conversations about work when we're out of bed or we're at the table or in the office. Initially, when we started, we had to light a candle to say that, 'Okay, this is a space where we're connecting, we’re not talking about work.' We needed really hard boundaries at the top. And then it became a little bit more organic.”
The boundaries have been crucial to implement, especially because the couple began working together so naturally. When the pair first met, Skylar was NY-based a social strategist for BuzzFeed and was using content creation to drive business to her lingerie company. She was shooting her own content. Temi was working for Microsoft in D.C. He’d recently traded in his DJing equipment for a camera. “I've always loved taking pictures,” he says. “Even when I was a kid, my African mother would wake me up at 3:00 a.m. [during a] party, and be like, 'Come take the family picture.'”
Growing up, Temi says he watched his parents support each other and be the true definition of partners. He knew he wanted the same for his own relationship. But, the couple also wanted to make sure they were being financially responsible. The pair didn’t quit their traditional jobs until they’d saved up two years' worth of their cost of living. And, Temi received his Master of Business Administration from New York University with the knowledge that it could either help him advance in his corporate career or be applicable to his business with Skylar.
Temi and SkylarCj Hart @hartbreakToday, they say their working relationship is more of a “quiet dance.” They still implement some of the boundaries they learned in therapy, but they also lean into their natural strengths and deep love for one another. When we speak, Temi has planned a date for the couple to see Princess Mononoke in 4K IMAX and added it to their Notion so they can factor it into their busy schedules. “I fully plan to date for the rest of my life,” he says.
Skylar says the couple doesn’t just wait for date nights to check in with one another, though. This often happens in the mornings, after Temi has made her peppermint tea and poured himself a cup of coffee. When they ask each other how they slept, she says, it’s not just a “nicety.” It’s a genuine question meant to foster connection.
“A lot of it happens during the day in the midst of work. We'll stop and we'll hug. Or we’ll slow dance in the kitchen,” she says. “Sometimes it's hard to set a whole date night when you have 7,000 things going on. So, we must grasp these moments and check in when we can. And I think it's become so organic to us that I actually didn't even realize how often we do it. But all day long, we're like, 'Are you good? I felt like your energy shifted,' because we're best friends, we just know. We just feel it happen.”
What’s better than being in love? Building wealth while doing it. Watch Making Cents here for real stories of couples who make money moves together.
Featured image by Cj Hart @hartbreak