You have been a force in television production for years. Can you speak to the changes you’ve witnessed in opportunities for minorities to be involved in front and behind the camera?
I entered the television and film industry as a film producer in the mid-’90s with the film Soul Food. At that time there were no African American dramas on television, no African American reality shows, very few nonviolent African American dramas being made, and only one African American TV or film executive that I can even remember. As a drama, “Soul Food” was trailblazing to air during an era of African American sitcoms and was the longest-running African American drama to date. As the executive producer of “Soul Food,” I was proud that we had an African American showrunner, writing staff, directors and crew. We also helped to launch the careers of many talented African Americans on the rise in the industry. Kenya Barris, the creator of “Black-ish,” was a writer for “Soul Food” during the early part of his career.
You and Deion Sanders have opened up about what makes your relationship successful. Can you share how you enjoyed each other over the holidays?
Deion and I prefer quality time over materialistic things during the holidays. Although we do appreciate and celebrate each other with some gift-giving, our favorite thing to do as a couple during the holidays is [to] just chill. We both go so hard in our careers, and cherish holiday time as our “us” time. Our house in Texas is set up like our own little resort [or] spa so we enjoy unwinding and doing things like jacuzziing together, taking a sauna together, grabbing the blankets, popcorn, and fresh cookies to watch movies together in our mini-theater … and eating great food.
